More thoughts on Eisenstein's montage writings...  The idea of a tonal montage was something new to me, but after seeing the scene from Battleship Potempkin in class I have a better appreciation for the idea.  It is representative of the idea of using the feeling of light or darkness to convey more information to the viewer.

This was also used on Hollywood films back in the 40s to the 60s in a technique called "American Night","La Nuit américaine in French and Amerikanishe Nacht in German." Filming was actually done in the daylight but with a blue filter, the film could then be under-exposed,  to make a scene look like it was night rather than day.  There was a "typical" indication that the technique was being used in that there would be shadows.  I think we just all were supposed to assume moon light but the crispness and depth of the shadow was only possible from sunlight.  This is how the technique could be recognized.

However, the illusion actually worked quite well.  And it can be seen in a lot of westerns from that period.  In 1974 a film was made that used the technique in the title: "American Night","La Nuit américaine in French and Die amerikanishe Nacht in German"  From the Wikipedia web page translated from German:

The film is a special method is used, which simulates the viewer night, although that scene was shot on the day. This filter trick is Day-for-Night called (or even American night). Here, a blue filter is placed in front of the lens and the aperture of the camera blinded down one or two levels.

The American Night is devoted to the Gish sisters ( Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish ).

Sequences from The American Night in 1978 found use in Truffaut's Love on the Run . From Scriptvolontärin Liliane is now alleged flashbacks Christine's friend Liliane, who has a brief affair with Antoine. In a dispute between Liliane and Alphonse from The American Night is Claude Jade as Christine mounted so that the impression that the scene actually belong in the Doinel cycle .

Mathieu Carrière said the texts of the German audio description for film in 2003 by Arte was created.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_amerikanische_Nacht

The point of all this history is that this technique can be used to create another type of Montage, which Eisenstein refers to as Tonal Montage, cutting from a daylight to a night shot or from an interior to an exterior night shot to support the movement of the visual story.  But, "American Night" keeps the image in the story and provides the detail to support the flow of the story.