<P> Montage (/ mɒnˈtɑːʒ /) is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information . The term has been used in various contexts . It was introduced to cinema primarily by Sergei Eisenstein, and early Soviet directors used it as a synonym for creative editing . In French the word "montage" applied to cinema simply denotes editing . The term "montage sequence" has been used primarily by British and American studios, and refers to the common technique as outlined in this article . </P> <P> The montage sequence is usually used to suggest the passage of time, rather than to create symbolic meaning as it does in Soviet montage theory . </P> <P> From the 1930s to the 1950s, montage sequences often combined numerous short shots with special optical effects (fades, dissolves, split screens, double and triple exposures) dance and music . They were usually assembled by someone other than the director or the editor of the movie . </P> <P> The word montage came to identify...specifically the rapid, shock cutting that Eisenstein employed in his films . Its use survives to this day in the specially created "montage sequences" inserted into Hollywood films to suggest, in a blur of double exposures, the rise to fame of an opera singer or, in brief model shots, the destruction of an airplane, a city or a planet . </P>

When did films start using different cuts/shots/montage to help tell a story