POST 16

THE KULESHOV EFFECT

The data gathered with the Kuleshov Experiment were heavily used by Russian filmmakers, especially in respect to the Soviet Montage. Filmmakers knew that you could cut and splice the film strip, but they didn’t thoroughly comprehend the purposes of doing so.

Lev Kuleshov, a Soviet filmmaker, was among the first to dissect the effects of juxtaposition. Through his experiments and research, Kuleshov discovered that depending on how shots are assembled the audience will attach a specific meaning or emotion to it.

In his experiment, Kuleshov cut an actor with shots of three different subjects: a hot plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, and a pretty woman lying in a couch. He used the same expression in all three portraits and kept a neutral face in them. Although, he had the same face for all three portraits, the audience said that at first he looked hungry, then sad, then lustful.

Hitchcock regularly used this effect. This video clearly explains how he uses it, and how the effect can change the audiences emotions.