Collision & Fusion

The Odessa Staircase

Sergei M. Eisenstein was one of the most influential directors in cinematic history, pioneering the use of editing to deepen the emotional and thematic connotations of film. In Battleship Potemkin, Part Four: The Odessa Staircase, Eisenstein devoted seven minutes to depicting a single harrowing event—merciless soldiers slaughtering innocent civilians on a staircase as they welcomed and supported sailors from the battleship that had just initiated a coup d'état.

Eisenstein masterfully utilized interlaced editing to combine five independent incidents happening simultaneously. The collision and fusion of these events were executed with precision and fluency, creating a powerful and unforgettable sequence.

In this project, I aim to analyze five simple incidents individually, magnify their defining features, and reimagine them in an architectural context. Through this approach, I seek to reconstruct and combine these moments into a cohesive spatial narrative inspired by Eisenstein’s groundbreaking techniques.