Prelim 3: Kuleshov Effect

I and Darrgha wanted to understand the Kuleshov effect, we did so by creating a short video recreating a short video demonstrating the effect.  The Kuleshov effect is a psychological phenomenon in which the spectator takes more meaning from the interaction of two back-to-back shots than from a single shot alone.

       

The Kuleshov effect is a method of film editing called after Soviet director Lev Kuleshov, one of the forefathers of Soviet cinema. The effect is created by combining two shots to form a new meaning that is not present in either picture alone.

The Kuleshov effect is best demonstrated by a close-up of a man's face, followed by shots of a bowl of soup and a lady in a coffin. Even though the shot of the man's visage is the same in each instance, the viewer assumes that the man is both hungry and sad, as if he is lamenting the woman in the coffin.

​The Kuleshov effect illustrates how a shot's context and the shots that occur before and after it can affect its meaning. Since more than a century ago, it has been used in movies and television programs as a potent tool for manipulating audience emotions and responses.