Jenny Picot Citizen Kane

            Since Welles began in the theatre, it is interesting to see how his talents molded into filmmaking. Clearly in live theatre there is no way to cut a scene, the best that can be done is to manipulate the stage with lighting. Stepping into filmmaking was a totally different world of cinematography. Welles clearly was able to make a seamless transition from theatre to film. He had an amazing grasp on how to use camera angles and lighting. Some of the low angle shots were so low that “the floorboards of the set had to be torn away to allow for the camera’s placement” (Giannetti). The low angles help to make Kane look powerful, maybe too powerful, because of how much money he has. There is a lot of depth of focus in this movie as well. When Kane’s mother is giving him up to Mr. Thatcher, the viewer watches Kane play in the snow in the background completely unaware of what is happening inside. This set up profoundly affected me because I thought it was not fair that something as life changing as this would happen so quickly and without Kane’s input. I found myself mostly looking at Kane and feeling bad for what was to come for him. This shot gave the viewer an idea of what was to come and I think the depth of field made the shot a lot more effective for the viewer. This is the scene where Kane is taken away from his mother, and “his subsequent life is forever influenced by this separation and void in his life” (Dirks). From a viewer’s perspective, this scene tells you a lot without using dialogue to produce the effect.

            Mise-en-scene was also used in Citizen Kane (1941). Welles was “an expert at staging action dynamically” (Giannetti). This was probably because in theatre the action had to be ongoing and interesting since there were not many other elements that were presented to the audience other than the actors. Welles used cranes and pans to follow Kane. They were also often at low angles to show the power of him as he moved through his life. Before anything significant happens in the beginning, the camera takes a while to make it into Xanadu and the camera finally gets there by dissolving from a location closer and closer to Xanadu. This technique made me curious as to how exciting Kane’s life really was and what was so special about him.

            Film gave Welles the ability to use flashbacks. He uses “a series of interlocked, semi-overlapping flashbacks and tightly-woven, personal vignettes” and he does this when “each of Kane's closest associates gives a different, slightly prejudiced, contradictory and inconsistent account of the Kane they knew” (Dirks). He uses flashbacks to try and confuse the viewer, as well as interest them. When I was watching the movie, I felt as though I needed to get to the end to finally understand who Kane was and what all of his secrets were. This is not an action movie that will have you on the edge of your seat, but it will make you itch to know the secrets of Kane’s life. The different perspectives the people around him give make it hard to see the true personality of Kane. Even from the very beginning, the fading in and out of scenes creates an initial suspense. The beginning, middle and end of the film never specifically tell the viewer the secrets of Kane’s life. Kane does not narrate or reveal anything to us. Even the mystery or Rosebud is not explained, just shown.