Citizen Kane Film Techniques

As the camera pulls in and, later, out, the character appears to be sitting there almost like a picture. Another great film technique that both films used is the foreground, middle ground and background the scale of their components, often correlates to the dominance in an image, and those were in focus all the time, this is called deep focus. In both films the directors uses this deep focus to show some kind of control in the character, the audience will be able to see what the characters such as Kane were able to manage. Deep Focus gives a good understanding of things that Kane has control of things in which he has no control. A great example of this would be the scene where Kane’s parents are signing him off; it shows us that he has no control of the outcome of his future.

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.

One of the most famous scenes in film is the beginning where Charles Foster Kane dies after saying rosebud. What makes this scene so great was the camera angle. The snow globe that Kane drops after his death created an angle never before seen. This angle allowed for the intensity of the scene to increase as it emphasizes the nurse running in the room and the broken globe to show Kane’s world as comes crashing down on him. Another interesting camera angle is when Kane is being taken away from his mother where both her and Kane are visible and in full focus. Along with this angle it also has a smooth transition from the angle of the mother and sliding through the window to allow for the new scene. These

For instance, Cloverfield uses a deep focus by zooming in on Rob as he enters the door to his surprise going away party, indicating our focus at hand is on Rob. The aesthetic, deep focus, explores the moral truth of where attention should be directed at a certain time. In this case, Rob is the most important person at the party and everyone should be focused on cherishing time with him before he leaves the country. The purpose of the truth is to give viewers insight in doing the same during certain events in their life with the people they love. Additionally, Thin Blue Line uses the realist aesthetic of deep focus when camera shows a motif of a hypnotic swinging clock followed by a zoom of the license plates from different kinds of Blue Vega’s at the time. This deep focus reveals the truth of why remembering certain things around you can be very important at a certain time. This truth is shown when Officer Wood’s female partner had trouble following procedure when Officer Wood was shot and didn’t remember the license plate of the shooters car, hypnosis was at play, but failed to help her remember a precise plate number. This truth could be important in case of similar personal conflict. Deep focus is a great realistic aesthetic in Cloverfield and Thin Blue Line because they both reveal truths that serve to impact an audience view on how to appreciate time and use time wisely in certain

The scene we’re analyzing starts off with a shot of the New York Daily Inquirer. It’s a close shot, taking up the entire screen. I feel this close up is to show the viewer that the newspaper company is going to be the primary focal point for Kane, and his two partners at this point in the film. After the close up, the camera pans down to show Kane and Leland sitting in a car looking up at the building. Kane says “Take a good look at it Jedidiah, it’s going to look a lot different one of these days.” Despite the look on Kane’s face being one of optimism and promise, this statement gives leeway to all of the bad things to follow. Kane specifically says, “look a lot different” as opposed to anything else (i.e.

In Citizen Kane, Orson Welles blends camera movement with the drama of the scenes. A good example is the introduction to El Rancho. This is where Kane’s second wife sings. The camera begins on a sign outside the restaurant and from there is moved with a crane towards the roof of the building. From there it is moved through another sign and approaches the skylight. When it reaches the skylight, the camera goes through the skylight and we are presented with a high-angle shot of the El Rancho. The shot establishes space and sets up the scene, but it does this in a plain and noticeable way.

It is only in the reaction shots (a “shot that shows how one character is responding to what another is doing or saying”) that the angle is shifted to a high angle. (Lewis) Mr. Kane is still under the belief that he can control the situation around him. The use of a high angle, when in Mr. Kane’s perspective, could also elaborate on his prideful thoughts that he is better

When his second wife leaves him Kane realizes the corruption wealth has done on his life and says “rosebud” because he wants to return to his sled, his childhood, to return to the beginning when wealth has yet to corrupt him. Citizen Kane is the story of a man’s great ideas to make the world better, but unable to because of the corruption wealth brought him.

Identity is an essential part of all our lives. Our actions determine our identity, and in turn, our identity structures our actions. One’s desire to seek a self-identity is an essential for the alignment of his or her pursuit of happiness. However, when such desire to fulfill one’s standards grows too strong, one might neglect other parts of his or her life. This neglect could lead to graver consequences, such as one’s sensations of failure and even his own downfall. In movie Citizen Kane, the director Orson Welles presents a complex and pessimistic theme of a spiritually-failed man, Charles Foster Kane, through discovering his life story from several perspective by different characters, to tell a tragic epic story of a “rags-to-riches” child

Another aspect of this film is that it is in black and white. This gives it a serious tone. The lighting they used also gave a dramatic effect. There is a scene where two gentlemen are talking but you can see Kane dancing in the reflection of the window. This reminds the audience that he is still important to the scene even though he isn't directly involved. This

To help create his debut film Citizen Kane, Orson Welles assembled a talented group of artists and technicians who together produced a film that redefined cinema forever. During the film’s production process, Welles himself stated that making a film “is the biggest electric train set any boy ever had.” By this he meant that the production studio was his playground and he intended to use every tool at his disposal. Starting from the film’s very first shot; he proves this to be true. As the film begins, the camera silently cranes up over the fences that surround Charles Foster Kane’s mansion and then slowly transitions to a montage of palatial estate. In this unique sequence the viewer understands that they are watching no ordinary film! Since its release in 1941, Citizen Kane consistently is called one of the greatest films ever made. It also is one of the most analyzed films ever created as well. In watching the film, a person can select from a countless number of famous scenes on which to review, comment, admire, and draw conclusions. For this assignment, I chose my personal favorite scene from the film to analyze in depth. The scene occurs near the end of the film just as Kane’s second wife Susan Alexander leaves him for good. The scene lasts about 3 and a half minutes in length, consists of 12 shots, contains almost no music, and just one word of dialogue is spoken. However, even with these limitations, the scene has more impact and film techniques packed into it

Citizen Kane takes place in many different settings so this affects the unity of place. There are scenes

The camera angles varied greatly throughout the film. Multiple times the camera was close to the floor looking up at the characters and other times it was very high up looking down. There are also multiple times within the film that the actors look straight into the camera. This happens when Leland and Kane are talking about the newspaper declaration as well as when Walter Thatcher reading Kane’s newspapers headlines. Most narratives do not have the actors acknowledge that the camera is there, however, some TV shows now have actors look into the camera for an added dramatic effect just as Citizen Kane did.

The debate over Casablanca and Citizen Kane has been a classic argument between film critics and historians alike, and this is because both of these pieces are timeless pictures that have managed to captivate audiences well after their era. On a broad spectrum analysis this is an apples and oranges debate as the two films both have great cinematographic value but for different reasons. However, the real question at hand is which film is the greatest? Which film transformed the future of American film making? It is these questions that I as many others have, will attempt to answer in the following essay as I explain why I believe Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made.

Depth of field is an element in cinematography that means a range of distance between objects and how they are being shot in sharp focus. Depth controls the perspective relations by depicting what planes will be in focus. There is also a director’s decision to choose a selective view. It is used to focus on only one plane and the others being blurred. Selective focusing automatically makes us pay attention to one area equally visibly but not all being in sharp view. It also examines deep focus and racking focus. Deep focus is a tight shot of an object; it’s a shorter lens and offers better lighting to be focused on. Attention is on several areas all being visible. Racking focus also known as “pulling focus”. The point of this focus is to transfers the attention from the foreground and the background. It overall makes one action blurred and another in a sharp focus.