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Shot Analysis: Citizen Kane

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Shot Analysis: Citizen Kane Orson Welles, director of “Citizen Kane”, is well known for his unusual directing methods that defied conventional cinematic techniques. Welles provided his audience with original forms of cinematography, narrative structures, and music. The scene I chose to analyze is extremely important to the plot of the film because Kane begins to realize that he is going through some serious financial problems. During the scene, Kane maintains a sarcastic mood, until he finally decides to surrender and signs the papers that transfer the ownership of his media empire to Mr. Thatcher. Throughout the film, Welles uses unusual arrangements of music that creates suspense for the audience. The main thesis of this scene is the myth …show more content…

Mr. Kane is arguing to Mr. Thatcher that he is going to lose 60 million dollars over the next 60 years, but does not express much concern. Kane is very sarcastic in his approach and has a small smirk on his face during the shot. The lighting is from the bottom, but very low light. Deep focus is also used in this scene, even though we are very close to Kane’s face we can still see Thatcher’s head. From this shot, I suggest that Kane is trying to tell Thatcher that he does not care about losing money and that he is going to do whatever he wants to do. In the final transition there is a short sound of music that is very humorous. Throughout the film, Welle’s includes these pieces of sound that relate with the dialogue, it is a continuous pattern throughout the film. Welles uses these unusual techniques to create different emotions among the audience. The transition between this shot and the next is characterized by a small dim of the light that darkens and transitions into the next …show more content…

Deep focus refers to having everything in the frame in focus at the same time, including the background. Welles technique of deep focus was much different compared to other films that mainly focused on the people and things in the foreground. The deep focus technique requires the cinematographer to combine lighting, composition, and different camera lens to produce the desired effect. When using deep focus, a filmmaker can showcase overlapping actions, and mise-en-scène becomes more

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Citizen Kane by Orson Welles is a cinematic classic, released in 1941. Citizen Kane challenged traditional narrative and technical elements of classic Hollywood cinema. Kane was narrated by several people that include their take on Kane’s life. The story unfolds by many flashbacks and is told by different perspectives over the years through different narrations. Charles Foster Kane was a millionaire, head of newspapers and died saying “rosebud”.

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He still lost the love and control over the voter and now his ex-wife. After the election, Kane’s character flaw starts to become present. In the Inquirer office with Bernstein, the camera angle was low, where throughout the film this had been representing dominance between other characters, it portrays Kane’s perspective of himself. How he dealt with the scandal makes him still think he has the upper hand. This is because he believes he’s making his own choices and following his own morals.

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In Citizen Kane, the mise-en-scene was designed to evoke an emotion that permeates the whole movie. The mise-en-scene in the film happens when the parents of the young boy, Charles Kane, are speaking with a refined man in the house. While they are all speaking, you can see the little boy playing with his sled, having fun outside in the snow, as you look into the background through the window. This part presents the image of the innocence that is taken from him in that exact moment. There he is pure and innocent and what a child should be, but we will at no time see him in this condition after the decisive change that is taking place without his understanding and

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In the movie, Citizen Kane, charterer’s actions and makeup play an important role. In the beginning, when Mr. Thatcher first meets Charles Foster Kane, Mrs. Kane and him both are shown to have black hair while Charles father had white. This might symbolize that they both liked Charles but his father’s love is slowly disappearing similar to the color change in his hair. Mrs. Kane’s hair is also tightly pushed back with clips and hair ties, which symbolizes that she does not want to look like a mess, rather presentable to show that she’s not upset about Charles leaving but rather happy because he is going to live a good life.

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In the beginning when Susan Alexander (Kane’s’ second wife) tries to commit suicide there are layers of mise en scene. The point of view is neither from the report nor audience. The flashbacks are relevant the audiences point of view shifts between characters (CinemaConfessions). The first set of the film creates the feeling of a very wealthy man.

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