What’s the Purpose of a Montage?
A montage compresses a significant amount of time into a shortened period, displaying a character’s transformation. (Montages can highlight other elements of storytelling, but for the purpose of this post, I am focusing on character montages).
Rocky IV has the greatest montage in movie history. Actually, it has the greatest two montages in movie history. Rocky completes his first training montage, Adrian joins him in Russia, and then Rocky finishes his training with another montage (the two montages are separated by mere minutes). In the video above, the first montage stops at 3:33 and the second begins immediately afterwards. Additionally, going from Vince DiCola’s Training Montage to John Cafferty’s Heart’s on Fire is akin to a Tyson right hook to the body quickly followed by a right uppercut.
How Can a Montage Help You Achieve Your Goals?
In New Year’s Resolutions – Goal or Action Step I distinguish between goals and action steps (kind of give it away with the title). In Rocky IV, Rocky’s goal is to avenge Apollo’s death (don’t worry he has a son!) and end the Cold War. His actions steps include: helping Russian sleigh drivers, sawing logs (not snoring, actually sawing logs), chopping down trees, scaling mountains, giving Paulie sled rides, lifting rickshaws, and not taking steroids (in your face Russia).
After watching Rocky’s training montages, there is no doubt that he’ll knockout Ivan Drago. But what if between eluding tailing Russians and barn shadow boxing, Rocky was pounding a bacon burger dog? Or, after twisting with a wooden harness (is that for horses?), he’s leaning against the woodshed chain smoking a pack of Marb Reds? The outcome of this unsanctioned bout might be in jeopardy.
Where Do You Come In?
Imagine that you’re being filmed 24/7 (think Truman Show). Unlike The Truman Show, you’re being filmed by a young director who is creating his first movie montage for his film class’s final project (the professor has a thing for 80’s movies). He needs to get as much footage as possible because it will give him more to work with in the editing room.
The young director understands your goal and you’ve conveyed your actions steps. But here’s the kicker, the director is an honest craftsman – whatever activities you partake in will make their way into the montage.
Example
Goal – To publish your first short story
Action Steps
- Get up at 5AM everyday and write for 90 minutes straight
- Read at least 60 minutes per day
- Keep a journal with you at all times to jot down ideas
- After dinner, review and revise your work each night
- Bring your work to a writer’s group every Saturday morning for feedback
Stumbles
- Sleep in (sometimes past 7AM)
- Scroll social media on your phone
- Allowing your journal to collect dust on the bookshelf
- Watch Netflix after dinner
- Skip out on Saturday writer’s group to go to the bar to watch football
With constant recording, the young director catches it all; the days you commit to your action steps and the times when you stumble.
At the montage screening, the audience is completely confused as they watch an intermixing of self-inflicted setbacks alongside you working diligently towards your goal. Did you finish your short story? Did it get published? Is it any good? Hell if the audience knows. The events captured in the montage don’t convey a transformation.
Whatever action steps you’re taking, carry them out with fidelity. A Kenny Loggins jam is a lot more powerful accompanying a montage where the protagonist achieves their goal.
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