Theoretical Analysis: Ejzenštejn's Montage and Electroacoustic Reality

Ejzenstejn’s General Theory of Montage and the Electroacoustic Image

The General Theory of Montage by the brilliant Russian filmmaker Sergei Ejzenstejn—written in the late 1930s and published in Italy by Marsilio in 1985—is a cornerstone of our collection. For over a decade, this volume has sparked focal insights into the vast intersection of arts and technologies.

In this profoundly interdisciplinary work, Ejzenstejn theorizes two fundamental points through technical-linguistic analysis.

First: Every work must simultaneously express a dialectical relationship between "representation" (the phenomenon/reality) and the "general image" (the formal process and construction). In short, the rhythm of expression restores a fundamental, otherwise unperceived truth of the content through the medium of the artwork itself.

Second: The common principle of all arts is the dialectical relationship between deconstruction (extracting from reality) and reconstruction (reassembly within the work). Montage is thus defined as the ultimate constructive operation, a cognitive intention to reveal unknown aspects of reality. As Ejzenstejn noted, a montage that ignores the complex whole of its elements has nothing in common with authentic art.

In more specific technical terms, the "segmentation of the object into different shots" and its reunification into a generalized image is the hallmark of montage. It leaves the captured reality intact while interpreting it anew. These principles act with precision within electroacoustic music regarding "sonorous reality"—which is why we speak of the "sound object" as a "sound image."

Ejzenstejn's study of the "behavioral process of the eye," made possible by technological development, translates perfectly to the ear in the digital age. He once asked: "Does sound know an analogous possibility of technical reproduction of the conditions of behavior of the ear?" Today, the answer is a resounding yes: that possibility is music produced through technology. While Ejzenstejn disagreed with the early, rudimentary "commentary-style" film scores of his time, he advocated for a dialectical relationship between different languages within a multimedia product—a principle we have consistently championed.

[R. Daniele, courtesy of Electroacoustics Magazine, from the forthcoming essay Voce Sola (RDM Records)]

English References (Citations)

1. S. M. Eisenstein, The General Theory of Montage, Venice, Marsilio, 1985.

2. R. Daniele, Dialogue with Disintegrated and Recomposed Matter: An Analysis of Luciano Berio's Thema (Omaggio a Joyce), RDM, Milan, 2010.

3. M. Chion, Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen, Columbia University Press; A. Costa, Cinema and the Visual Arts, Einaudi, 2002; R. Daniele, Ascenseur pour l'échafaud: The Place of Music in Audio-Vision, RDM, Milan, 2011.

4. W. Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Einaudi, 1966.