Britannica AI Icon

Kuleshov effect

film technology

Quick Summary

The Kuleshov effect, demonstrated by Soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, highlights how the juxtaposition of images in film, known as montage, can influence audience perception. Kuleshov experimented by showing an actor's neutral facial expression followed by different images—soup, a child, or a corpse. Audiences interpreted the actor's emotion as hunger, tenderness, or grief, respectively, based on the subsequent image. This showed that the meaning derived from a shot is not solely from its content but also from its context and placement within the film's sequence. This principle is fundamental to filmmaking and the art of editing.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.