Does anyone know the name of this kind of montage

September 30, 2010 5:00 AM

Does anyone know what the name of this type of montage is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0voSWdX4jo

It's kind of a cross section in time of what is happening "right now", but also summarizes the mood of the previous few episodes. I've seen this kind of montage a few times, but can't seem to find the name of it on the TV Tropes montage page: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Montages.

The West Wing did it at the end of the episode "Holy Night" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Night (at least I think so...I can't find the clip on youtube). Anyway, I love this kind of montage...and if anyone knows if it has a specific name, I'd love to know.

posted by tomargue to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Best answer: TV Tropes calls this a Medley Exit:

Important characters are serially visited without dialogue. Music is played over the sequence, usually a slow, indie/folk/alt-rock song. The intention is for the actors to show where the preceding action has left them emotionally. Also known as Montage Out.

A more theatrical than cinematic variation is done with dialogue, replaying clips of each major character saying a meaningful line.

As noted below the TV Tropes entry, The Wire is known for doing this at the end of each season, and it's very common across all sorts of dramas from the last ten or so years. It's most often seen at the end of a series.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:35 AM on September 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

And I can't find a Youtube video of it, but the final scene of the surreal UK comedy 'Spaced' pleasantly subverts the usually melancholic feel of this trope in a really optimistic Medley Exit with the Lemon Jelly tune 'The Staunton Lick' over the top of it.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:38 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks Happy Dave!
posted by tomargue at 9:01 AM on September 30, 2010