. Lev Kuleshov Experiment Relation of film shots to each other The illusion of cause and effect Around 1920 the Soviet Filmmaker Lev Kuleshov conducted a famous experiment which showed the filmmaker's ability to alter the audience’s perception of reality with perceived “cause and effect” rules. The theory suggests that the compilation of individual shots put together is more important than what is actually filmed. The theory assumes that audiences project their own emotional reactions onto a series of shots. The Kuleshov experiment makes this abundantly clear to us with his method. What he did is… 1. He filmed a close-up of a man's neutral expression. 2. He filmed clips of other “objects” and “events”. 3. He used the footage of the blank stare in shot A and then inserted one of the other clips as shot B. 4. Shot B(s) included a bowl of soup, a women’s funeral and a boy playing. The audience is supposed to see each one as a unique shot sequence. So for example, sequence 1 is a man’s reaction to a bowl of soup. The second sequence suggests a man’s response to the women’s funeral and the third sequence is a man’s reaction to a boy playing. In fact, the man wasn’t reacting to anything. The audience however makes assumptions when two shots are put together. Kuleshov's experiment was meant to show that the meaning of shots can be achieved entirely through editing. When audiences are shown this shot sequence they believe the first shot shows someone’s response to hunger. The next shot at the women’s funeral (same expression) is the man feeling a deep sense of lost. The same expression is interpreted totally differently due to the editing of shots. If you didn’t know the man wasn’t reacting to each circumstance, you too see would assume that he was and would draw your own conclusions about his feelings, what he’s thinking and who he is. Knowing this, you can manipulate images with editing in many different ways. Directors will shape these reactions to fit the “cause” of their emotional intentions.   Continue Below... Re-Establishing Shot Bridging Shots Without a Pivot Shot Manipulating Cinematic Geography Exploring Temporal Connections Lev Kuleshov Experiment Constructing Scenes Using Q and A without Dialogue How Much to Feed Your Audience More About Q and A and Cause and Effect Cutting in the Camera Vs. Open Approach       .

Frequently Asked Questions Film School Home Who can enroll? What do I need to enroll? How much does the course cost? How long does the course take? What is the course curriculum? What have your past students done?	Course Breakdown Ideas & Funding Screenwriting Cinematography & Composition Feature Films Short Films Documentaries Preproduction / Post Production Music & Sound Publicity / Marketing & Distribution Film Jobs	Film School: Popular Pages Screenwriting: Learn the basics of screenwriting by reading this short essay on the beginning, middle and end. Read more... Cinematography: Lights Film School is dedicated to teaching our website visitors and students as much about cinematography as possible.  Read more...