Film technique and film acting : the cinema writings of V. I. Pudovkin (1954)

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ON FILM TECHNIQUE 33 continuity titles we must emphasise once again the following : the continuity title is only good if it removes the superfluous from the scenario, if it shortly explains essentials to the spectator and prepares him for clearer apprehension of the subsequent action (as in the example with the tramps). A continuity title must never be stronger than the subsequent image of the action (as in the example of Olga leaving her husband) . i3 SPOKEN TITLES This kind of title introduces living, spoken speech into the picture. Of their significance not much need be said. The main consideration affecting them is : good literary treatment and, certainly, as much compression as possible.14 One must consider that, on the average, every line of title (two to three words) requires three feet of film.15 Consequently a title twelve words long stays on the screen from twelve to eighteen seconds, and can, by a temporal interruption of this kind, destroy the rhythm, and with it the sequence and impression, of the current shots. Clarity is as important for the spoken as for the continuity title. Superfluous words that may enhance the literary beauty of the sentence but will complicate its rapid comprehension are not permissible. The film spectator has no time to savour words. The title must " get " to the spectator quickly — in the course of the process of being read.