Released in 1941, Citizen Kane and was produced, co-authored, directed and stared by Orson Welles. The movie was Welles first feature film and was nominated for Academy Awards in nine categories. Furthermore, the film is considered to be the greatest film of all time by critics, filmmakers, and fans. The setting takes place in Xanadu which is a luxurious mansion estate in Florida. The editing uses dissolves as the scene nears the mansion. We can see the lighting is low key and there is low angle of Xanadu. Charles Foster Kane is on his death bed and as he holds a small snow globe he mutters “Rosebud” and then dies. The globe falls out of his hands and crashes to the floor. When Kane dies, the angle is reversed and get see close ups of the glass
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His death becomes world news and Jerry Thompson; a reporter is tasked with finding the meaning behind “Rosebud”. Thompson sets out to interview Kane’s family, friends, and associates. He approached Kane’s second wife, Susan Alexander Kane who was an alcoholic and runs her own nightclub. However she refused to speak to him. Thompson then goes through a private archive of the late banker Walter Parks Thatcher and through his written memoirs discovered that Charles Kane began his childhood in poverty. Scenes of Kane’s childhood are shown and in particular the when young Kane plays in the snow we can see many techniques used. For instance there are sounds of trains whistling, close ups are caught of the mother and son, and proxemics is used. One visual metaphor that stood out was the abandoned sled which we later learn has meaning. Charles Kane was sent to live with Thatcher after a gold mine was discovered in 1871 on his mother’s property. She wanted her son to have a better education even though her son protested the …show more content…
It’s most significant contribution was the use of deep focus. Deep focus refers to having the entire scene including the background in focus at the same time. Normally in a scene the background or other aspects that are not the main idea are not in focus. Citizen Kane grasped this concept perfectly as the cinematographer combined lighting, composition, and type of camera lens in order to produce the desired effect. The lighting would be a conventional mix of subtle lighting and soft focus. Studio sets were built without ceilings in order to better enhance the lighting for this technique. With this technique, the filmmaker can show everything that is happening in that scene and mise-en-scene become more critical. Mise-en-scene refers the arrangement of the scenery and stage properties in a setting. By effectively controlling the mise-en-scene of the deep focus, the cinematographer can actively engage the entire space of the frame without confusing the audience. We can see this greatly captures in scenes where Kane loses control and his personal isolation because it also gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane demands as well as the space where he has no power. Greg Toland was the cinematographer for Citizen Kane and he had used this technique in prior
His death becomes world news and Jerry Thompson; a reporter is tasked with finding the meaning behind “Rosebud”. Thompson sets out to interview Kane’s family, friends, and associates. He approached Kane’s second wife, Susan Alexander Kane who was an alcoholic and runs her own nightclub. However she refused to speak to him. Thompson then goes through a private archive of the late banker Walter Parks Thatcher and through his written memoirs discovered that Charles Kane began his childhood in poverty. Scenes of Kane’s childhood are shown and in particular the when young Kane plays in the snow we can see many techniques used. For instance there are sounds of trains whistling, close ups are caught of the mother and son, and proxemics is used. One visual metaphor that stood out was the abandoned sled which we later learn has meaning. Charles Kane was sent to live with Thatcher after a gold mine was discovered in 1871 on his mother’s property. She wanted her son to have a better education even though her son protested the …show more content…
It’s most significant contribution was the use of deep focus. Deep focus refers to having the entire scene including the background in focus at the same time. Normally in a scene the background or other aspects that are not the main idea are not in focus. Citizen Kane grasped this concept perfectly as the cinematographer combined lighting, composition, and type of camera lens in order to produce the desired effect. The lighting would be a conventional mix of subtle lighting and soft focus. Studio sets were built without ceilings in order to better enhance the lighting for this technique. With this technique, the filmmaker can show everything that is happening in that scene and mise-en-scene become more critical. Mise-en-scene refers the arrangement of the scenery and stage properties in a setting. By effectively controlling the mise-en-scene of the deep focus, the cinematographer can actively engage the entire space of the frame without confusing the audience. We can see this greatly captures in scenes where Kane loses control and his personal isolation because it also gives the audience a clear view of the space Kane demands as well as the space where he has no power. Greg Toland was the cinematographer for Citizen Kane and he had used this technique in prior