Citizen Kane Techniques

Citizen Kane is an American film written, produce, directed and starring Orson Welles. The movie debuted in 1941, eventually becoming one of RKO’s most prevalent films of all times. The main character Charlie Kane is played by Orson Welles and is often argued to be a portrayal of the media mogul William Randolph Hearst’s life. There are several reasons why the film grew in popularity, whether being the decent acting by fresh faces of Hollywood, or the creative, unique and innovative cinematic techniques developed by Orson Welles. Cinematic techniques are used throughout the films to demonstrate, emphasize and provoke the true emotions of the characters or settings using different forms camera work. The camera can focus more on the setting,

This is the artistic choice the director uses that can be shown throughout the film or in a single scene in a brief couple seconds. Welles demonstrates a montage that is particularly interesting towards the end of the film. When Susan leaves his beloved castle in Xanadu Mr. Kane is highly upset with her decision to leave, he then therapeutically trashes her room and accepts the fact that Susan is gone. As we see him shade we see fade to grand piles of his precious belongings pile up that were once neatly place and watched after. By this scene viewers know that Mr. Charlie Kane has passed and his precious values are being auctioned or incinerated. Viewers also see a quick lapse of the word “Rosebud” fading off his favorite childhood sled, which can also show a symbolic time lapse of his very own life. Welles uses this technique in the scene to show how much things have dramatically change for Charles Foster Kane, his highs and lows, and also how the vast amount of possessions he once cherish would eventually become meaningless and purposeless. Physically seeing all his lavish valuables, some being boxed up in one massive room Welles allows viewers to see that although Welles enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle he still died unhappy and truly

In this scene newsreel reporter Jerry Thompson is taken to a room that presents him a chance to read the memoirs of bank manager and Charles Foster’s guardian Thatcher. This scenes allows for several flashbacks to be introduce first starting with Thompson who sits down where other techniques are used, such as shadow when the room is darken with a beam of light hitting the book which withholds the entry. This technique is called Single-source lighting, which is use to illuminate an object or person for a significant purpose usually resulting in a form of enlightenment. Welles use the memoirs as a symbolic key or map to finding out who Charles Foster Kane was and what was the meaning of “Rosebud”. Also, the way Welles uses ceilings to make the table appear longer and larger in comparison to the journal which is the focal point is interesting. Welles also makes the room enormous as well. The book being captured small on camera, because the book wouldn’t literally give him the answers he was looking for, he would have to find