The Kuleshov Effect is a form of editing designed to evoke emotional responses both within a shot and through that same shot juxtaposed with another seemingly different shot. He wanted to prove that meaning was not only in shots themselves, but in their collision. This method of throwing unrelated shots together alludes to the puzzle aspect of film that I relate to the most, two pieces that may mean nothing to each other at first, may actually fit together in a certain context or mood. Kuleshov had a famous experiment in which he took differen't people's reaction to different pictures.
Experiment
He first shows a picture of a man and then a bowl of soup
The subjects tested said you could see the emotional longing and hunger for the soup.
He then shows the exact same man with the same expression and shows it with a coffin.
The subjects said they could see the emotional destress associated with the loss of a loved one.
Finally, he had the same man followed by a shot of a little girl holding a teddy bear.
The subjects said they could see the man's emotional warmth and attatchment to the little girl.
As you can see, Kuleshov was correct in his assumption that different shots can have different meanings in various contexts. His method has been used extensively in classic film, especially in Soviet Propaganda shorts. Here are some uses of the Kuleshov Effect.
Associative Edits
Tempo Edits
Conclusion
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