After
viewing Citizen Kane, one way of describing director and writer Orson Welles
would be "risk taker". At the time many of the filming techniques
such as lighting and camera angle that Welles used in this movie were not used in
previous films. I do not think many people would have it in them to take this
risk of trying new things when trying to create successful films, but obviously
Orson Welles did and it definitely paid off for him. If you mention the title
Citizen Kane, a lot of people will know what you are talking about. This just
proves that it is a great film.
As
I mentioned, camera angles were a very effective technique used in this film.
Welles was so devoted to the low angle shot that there were holes cut in the
floor of the set to get the shots that he wanted. As you can see in the picture
above, you can see the ceiling in these shots because of the holes in the
floor. You can also see the point of the low angle camera angle which is to
make characters seem taller. By making a character seem tall, it appears that
they have more authority than other characters. Notice how the second character
is stand further back. Whoever is the tallest is normally seen as the person in
charge.
Another key factor in this film was the lighting
that was used. It appears as if they used a key light which is lighting that is
the "primary source of illumination"(Giannetti 20). This is the kind of
lighting that is used most of the time in low budget films. As you can tell, it
creates shadows throughout the film. This helps create the mood of the film as well.
It is kind of a mysterious feel that you get from it.
In the
photo above, I believe back lighting was used. this is a form of light that will
without a doubt make the viewer feel a somewhat eerie feeling. This is because you
cannot see the details of the characters, you can just see a black figure. The light
shines down like a spotlight on the most important thing that is going on in the
scene.
Another technique that is used is the editing that is
done. There are quite a few cuts throughout the movie. They are used in many different
ways, but like Tim Dirks said in his article, it is used to show different flashbacks
throughout the film. This is something that is very effective because it gives the
viewer more information to put together to make future scenes or even past ones
make more sense.
As usual, when I realized that this was a black and white
film, I automatically thought "Oh great, this is going to be boring",
but once again to my surprise, I enjoyed it. I found the different techniques that
were used to film this made my viewing experience a lot better that I thought it
would have been. If you have the same opinion as me about black and white movies,
I have learned if you just look past the "older style" of the film, you
might actually really enjoy it. I definitely no longer see Citizen Kane as one of
those movies I get stuck watching when I go over to grandma's house, instead I see
it as a very successful film that is worth watching.
Works
Cited
Giannetti, Louis D. Understanding Movies.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
