The technique of film editing (1958)

to finish Que Viva Mexico ! have meant that his theory was left to others to put into practice. One of the most successful films to assimilate Eisenstein's theory was Basil Wright's Song of Ceylon. Before going on to discuss its use of the element of sound, let us look at an excerpt. The excerpt from Reel 3 of Song of Ceylon* is quoted below in order to illustrate the function of editing on a dialectical plus emotional basis, where both the juxtaposition of image to image, and the relation of cutting to an elaborately edited sound-track, are conceived as part of a central idea or mood, and not in terms of normal continuity. The reel should not be considered without reference to its fellows : it is part of a logical progression which makes up the whole film. It contains, moreover, echoes from Reels 1 and 2 and in turn provides echoes (both in sound and picture) to Reel 4. Bearing this in mind, it is possible to break down the continuity into its main elements. First : What does it set out to say ? Broadly speaking, it says (or implies) that there is a powerful impact of Western machines, methods and commerce on the life of Ceylon ; that this impact, for all its apparent surface significance, may not be as deep as it seems ; and that the benefits of Western civilisation may be less than they are commonly supposed to be. Second : How does it set out to say it ? By bringing together completely incongruous elements in picture and sound. It is only by the principles of montage employed that the incongruous elements become congruous and then only when they unfold in sequence. It is not easy to choose a brief excerpt for analysis because the reel depends on the continuity of visual-cum-sound effect. Wherever one breaks off, one is leaving things in the air. However, here is a brief passage from the opening of the reel. SONG OF CEYLON Extract from Reel 3 After the title, Voices of Commerce, we hear the whistle and puffing of a locomotive which begins before the fade-in. The fade-in reveals that the camera is on a train travelling through the jungle. There are several shots. We pass a woman walking beside the railway track ; then a small station. A slow dissolve takes us to a shot of an elephant pushing against a tree, clearing the jungle. The sound of the locomotive gets slower and slower as the elephant continues pushing (the sound of the locomotive was produced artificially in the studio in order to get the exact speed to coincide with the elephant's movements). The train has nearly come to a standstill when its sound is drowned by the splintering and creaking of the tree as it is uprooted and tilts over. The tree crashes ; as it hits the ground, there is the stroke of an enormous gong (a recurring motif), the vibrations of which continue over the subsequent shot — the elephant and his mahout towering over the prostrate tree. Almost at once a voice comes in briskly : " New clearings, new roads, new buildings, new communications, new developments of natural resources ..." Meanwhile, the scene changes to a procession of elephants breasting a steep hill in single file, each carrying a block of granite. Their trumpetings (the sound was purposely produced artificially in the studio) are cross-cut with the sound of the clatter of typewriters. The scene dissolves to a long shot of a boy coming through a coconut grove towards camera ; we hear three different voices, inter-cut rapidly Notes by Basil Wright. 157