The Kuleshov Effect

       After the 1917 October revolution most film makers left Russia as the Soviet Union formed, this left few filmmakers in Russia for the creation of the Moscow Film School. One of the few remaining filmmakers in the Soviet Union was Lev Kuleshov, a camera-man during the revolution. The school administrators felt that Kuleshov would not preform well in a traditional class room setting; so, the administrators allowed Kuleshov to form his own separate, experimental, curriculum called the 'Kuleshov workshop.' It was in this setting, in 1922, that Kuleshov discovered what would later be called the Kuleshov effect. In this he placed shots of a bowel of soup, a child in a coffin, and an attractive women all followed by the same expressionless face. When audiences saw this, they thought that the actor was exceptional showing great range, even though it was the same expressionless face. The Kuleshov effect shows the impact perceptive interpretation has on film viewers. -Because we would be hungry at a bowel of soup, we interpret the character as being hungry- When viewing a film there is always an active interpretation that is being done by ones brain, this can be on the simple level of seeing a man hold a gun and understanding that he is associated with danger and power, or on more complex levels such as what is seen with the Kuleshov effect. It is based on the same human tendency to perceive reality as making sense, that reality breaking walk-throughs and montage is effective. The Kuleshov effect was the first real demonstration of the importance of audience interpretation and perception in film.
        Above is a recreation of the Kuleshov effect, expanding on the original idea showing four new emotions.

Works Cited

Pramaggiore, Maria, and Tom Wallis. Film: a Critical Introduction. Pearson Allyn and Bacon, 2011.

“The History of Cutting - The Soviet Theory of Montage.” YouTube, YouTube,                   www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLrMEncyd64BdPt-          iWyxiAdo19tYm7myf1&v=JYedfenQ_Mw&feature=emb_logo.

Music cited in description