Use Of Cinematic Techniques In Citizen Kane

An example of deep focus appears in this sequence. A young Mr. Kane is visible in the background by the window in the middle ground while Mrs. Kane signs over custody of him to Mr. Thatcher in the foreground of the shot. There is a great significance to Kane appearing at the background of the frame. The narrative perspective captures Kane being present, but almost pushed to the literal and symbolic background as decisions are made to determine his future in the foreground. The use of deep focus turns what would’ve been a flat cinema screen into a three-dimensional world with a strong sense of realism. Although our attention is not immediately forced to any specific aspect of the mise-en-scene, a certain important moment is noted just as Mrs. Kane signs the paperwork. Young Kane while playing a childish game of “civil war” screams “Union forever;”

Citizen Kane was groundbreaking in many ways, as it introduced some new techniques and challenged the classical way of shooting film and storytelling. The producer Orson Welles, who also directed and played the character Charles Kane, used nine different narrative sequences to tell the story. Some innovative techniques that he incorporated were the mobile camera, depth of field, lighting/ framing, effects, and the film is done in a non-linear story telling approach, which was different than other films in 1941.

The first montage seen is the March of Time Newsreel. This reel is very important as it tells us that Charles Foster Kane dies and gives us a backstory on his ridiculous life. Another important montage in the story was after Kane got married to his first wife, Emily Kane. This montage shows him and his new wife happy at the table. Going through many weeks and months this montage shows the transition Kane and his wife has just through the being at the dinner table. At first, they are lovey dovey sitting close to each other, then Emily starts talking about how he is always at work which leads to them sitting away from each other by the end of the montage reading opposite newspapers. The montage are really important but the lighting allows the story to really stand

Citizen Kane is filled with symbolic imagery. In most of the movie you can pick out scenery, character actions, lighting, camera movement, and the composition within the frame of key shots that help tell the story without the character orally telling the full story. However, because of its new and experimental use of mise-en-scene, the movie did not do well in the box office. In time Orson Welles movie would become one of the best movies of all time and would even come to change filmmaking in

The film was made in 1941 and won best screenplay at the Oscars and was also nominated for best picture, best director, best actor and best cinematography. It was directed by Orsen Welles and its main actors were Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore and Agnes Moorehead. The film has aged incredibly in the last 75 years from its release and has defined film in how good it really was. Citizen Kane changed the way movies are made because it became the starting point for many filmmakers first learning about how films are made and how a director can give a film a particular style. The editing (by Robert Wise) was as innovative as the cinematography by Gregg Toland - add these two talents to the talent of director Orson Welles not knowing how to direct properly and you have stylistic flourishes and a film that still impresses today. It didn't immediately change how movies were made citizen Kane was actually a somewhat forgotten film for several years until it was rediscovered in the late 50s - but it was definitely ground-breaking and many of the techniques used were copied and used by later directors.

Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane is a revolutionary film. Although it might not look like much to the modern viewer, many aspects of the film were the first of their kind to appear and are still used today.

Why was Citizen Kane so different from the traditional Hollywood Films? Citizen Kane defies the traditional narrative and classic elements of Hollywood cinema by uniquely setting up the story in a different fashion from what the typical storyline would usually follow. It took on an approach of arranging the events of the story as it unfolds in a nonlinear pattern, while using multiple narrators while leaving the suspense of what did the meaning of a dying man’s last word open to the audiences’ interpretation.

“There’s only one person in the world to decide what I’m going to do – and that’s me.” – Charles Foster Kane from Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane.

Citizen Kane however was not like the traditional films. The film centered on the man known as Charles Foster Kane. The film was different for one particular reason. It made the viewers really think about the storyline. The film was shot combing composite and non-linear storytelling focusing on Charles Foster Kane, but it was shot in multiple points of views.

When discussing the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, usually comes up. It’s influence in American cinema can still be felt today, but at the time the film was not released without controversy. The main character in the movie, Charles Foster Kane, is undeniably based of the real life figure of William Randolph Hearst, a famous American newspaper publisher. Hearst was very aware of this fact and tried to hinder the success of Welles’ picture by denying it any sort of press in his newspapers. Despite the smear campaign Kane’s influence lives on through Welles’ revolutionary filmic techniques and its presence in pop culture.

Citizen Kane makes it very clear that wealth and fame cannot necessarily bring or buy happiness. This is very much demonstrated in Charles Foster Kane and Emily’s “Breakfast Table” sequence, accomplished in a montage and with cinematography, but also with attention paid to the use of costumes, gestures, soundtrack and vocal tones. However, the breakfast table montage and cinematography illustrate not only the passing of time, but also gives us a glimpse into the marriage of Kane and Emily. Orson Welles depicts the gradual deterioration or emotional separation of a once-beautiful marriage between Emily and Charlie using only a few minutes, all set in one room, in a sequence of six scenes. The editing and the cinematography of the sequence goes beyond just the communicated words, but with each new scene the viewer understands that the couple is in trouble as they become more and more angry with each other, until their relationship deteriorated into total silence at the end, which reviews to the audience that the couple has reached the point of no return.

Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), is remembered as one of the greatest American films to be made. Its' revolutionary storyline and the new ideas that Welles introduces in the film sets it apart from others created at the time. The film depicts a young man, Charles Kane (Orson Welles), who grew up wealthy and who eventually owns a newspaper. Throughout the movie, as he gains wealth and power, he exhibits a distinct weakness that eventually leads to his downfall. While David Fincher's The Social Network (2010) isn’t as famous as Citizen Kane, it represents the same idea. In this film a young man, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) innovates a website that over the course of the movie gains popularity and support, this leads him to gain wealth and influence. Zuckerberg's ignorance and ill-mannered behavior have a significant impact on his downfall. Both of these movies portray the theme, pride goeth before a fall, and throughout the development of the theme of these particular films, both protagonists end up hurting numerous people because of their pride. Both these films represent and portray the theme in a similar fashion, although they also exhibit differences. The theme in Citizen Kane is represented as dramatic and grand. Whereas in The Social Network the theme is more subtle and modest. The cinematography of these films also contributes to the portrayal of the theme. Orson Welles, the director, and cinematographer of Citizen Kane. uses many extreme angels, proportions,

Citizen Kane brought the aspects of a newspaper tycoon in the 1940’s to life in a form of a dramatic narrative. This film is based on a true story of a newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst and based off of some aspects of Orson Welles(Writer and Director). This filmed has been named, “The best American film of all time” due to the fact that, during the time of its making, it was the first film to take on many new techniques of cinematography. Citizen Kane is a revolutionary film not only in the drama genre, but in filmmaking of all forms.

When Citizen Kane was first released in 1941 it was cinematically groundbreaking because first time director Orson Welles had taken various types of filmmaking, much of which had been used in Expressionistic German films in the 1920’s and incorporated them all into one film. Despite the fact that Welles did not create the techniques used in the film he revolutionized the way films were shot. When Welles was asked where he had gotten the confidence as a first time director to create a movie that was so different from its counterparts, Welles said, “ Ignorance, ignorance, sheer ignorance-you know they is no confidence to equal it, it is only when you know something about a profession, I think, that you are timid or careful” (Welles). This “ignorance” was important to the film as it resulted in the use of cinematography that had not been popularized yet, some examples of this are:

I have chosen to use an extract from the film ‘Citizen Kane’, directed by Orson Wells (1941) for this assignment. The technical aspects I have chosen to explore will be the use of both mise-en-scene and editing.