Moving Images, Understanding Media

Chapter 2 Inventions and Origins 61

Kuleshov Eff ect. In his workshops, it was observed that when a shot of a

relatively blank-faced actor was juxtaposed with diff erent shots: an empty

bowl, a dead body, an attractive woman (the accounts and examples have

diff ered), the interpretations of the character’s behavior and the reactions to

the actor’s performance change.

Th us, the meaning of what we see in motion pictures is determined not

only by what we see in individual shots but by the messages and ideas that

are created between the juxtapositions of the shots. For example, Kuleshov

showed how we can see a scene in which people are talking and we do not

even need to see the people together in the shot. We link them together

even though we have not actually seen them together at all, as long as the

information gathered between the shots is signifi cant enough. Normally,

a sequence will begin with an establishing shot that shows the setting of

the scene with its characters, but as Kuleshov demonstrated in his editing

experiments, an establishing shot is not necessary, as long as the information

is clear, because of the interaction of the shots.

Most notably in France and the Soviet Union, fi lmmakers were writing

about movies and making them in ways that enhanced their creative potential

Figure 2-25 An illustration

of the Kuleshov effect:

compare the effect of seeing

each of the shots on the

right juxtaposed with the

same shot of the actor. We

interpret the character in

relation to the other shot.

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