Let’s say you’re a college student. You want to study media—perhaps seek employment in T.V or film. One of the first classes mandated by the curriculum will be a course entitled: Film Theory.
In short, film theory is the basic study of visual language. What, exactly, makes a great image? A great sequence of images? How, exactly, do filmmakers tell a story in a manner that is both dramatic and exciting?
Does a story need to be 2 hours long? What about 45 minutes? Perhaps even 10?
The questions pile high and continue on. The perfect analogy for the process of filmmaking. Lots will be covered in this rudimentary course, the most important subject will be that of The Kuleshov Effect.
Simply put, the Kuleshov Effect is a concept of film theory in where the meaning of one image can be enhanced or altered in the mind of the audience by the addition of the proceeding image.
Here’s the classic example of duo images:
The first, a close-up of Russian, silent film actor, Ivan Mozzhukhin, holding a stoic gaze.
The second is a shot of a girl laying in a coffin:
Please excuse the quality of images. These are screen grabs of a short film made over a hundred years ago.
In isolation, the image of Mozzhukhin’s face can only be taken at face value (pun not intended.) It’s cold and unexpressive. Was the guy having a bad day? We don’t know.
With the addition of a proceeding image, we are suddenly presented with a source of friction. A shot of a man’s face, followed by that of a dead little girl (by the way, the girl is fine. Just going hard for that academy award.) What are the connections?
You see, in order for the experiment to work, Mozzhukhin’s face must be like a blank canvas, a cold stone. He must not give any sense of a sneer. Or even snarl, for that matter.
And so, in the absence of any definable emotion, we invent our own.
We immediately start putting the pieces together in our minds—invent narratives. With no other context, we conclude that the little girl must have been Mr. Mozzhukhin’s daughter. His inner turmoil, reason enough for the cold gaze.
Let’s try this experiment again. This time, we’ll switch the second image.
again, Mr. Mozzhukhin:
and this time, a bowl of soup.
Now, the context has changed. The look of quiet turmoil that underscored the last pairing has now altered colors. Mozzhukhin now has hungry eyes.
What does he have to hide? Why is he hungry in the first place?
The Kuleshov effect was coined by Lev Kuleshov, a Russian filmmaker and pioneer of early cinematic storytelling. One in a cadre of influential film theorists who stressed the importance of editing and its powerful storytelling effects.
In editing, the marriage of two images leads to the invention of an entirely new meaning. No doubt, the very thing that distinguishes film from all other art forms.
It would be very remiss of me to neglect Alfred Hitchcock’s own wry contribution to the experiment in editing:
Though it’s certainly an important concept, I can’t help feel that the experiment is slightly antiquated by today’s standards.
Not to cast aspersions on the great Lev Kuleshov and Ivan Mozzhukhin, but I feel that this experiment in editing should be updated to include modern films.
I nominate this next scene from Quentin Tarantino’s JACKIE BROWN.
Bail bondsman, Mar Cherry, is hired to pick up an inmate at the local penitentiary. Cherry has never seen this woman, and only knows her by name: Jackie Brown. Leading to the sequence attached below:
An image of Max Cherry gazing at his client:
And its complementary image: A shadowed walkway. Jackie Brown.
Here is a youtube link of the sequence in motion. A beauty to behold and my favorite from the film.
Click here for the specific start of the sequence.
Robert Forrester is the actor portraying Max Cherry. A venerable character actor, Forrester has made a career on his distinctive face. The kind of leather-worn downtrodden look that comes straight out of classic Hollywood.
His piercing blue eyes betray a quiet stillness. Bloodstones’ “Natural High” plays over the scene, adding a milky swoon that hints at some interior discovery. A man falling in love with a woman draped in darkness.
After you’ve watched the video, play it again without sound and watch the contours of his face pop out in bright detail.
I’m fond of saying that the human face is the most cinematic thing in film/television. Better than any CGI or make-up effect.
It’s all in the eyes, when you get down to it. It’s the thing that connects us to our lived experience.