Citizen Kane Techniques

The extraordinary film, Citizen Kane, was directed by Orson Welles in 1941. Orson Welles is not only the director of the film but the protagonist as well. This film was very different for the industry during the time it was released, it brought forth many new camera techniques. The film introduces the film with a dead screen, which was something completely new to the audience. Once the film starts, the camera tilts up the fence to “enter” the famous castle and it also adds some some suspense because the fence has “no trespassing” signs. The camera the goes through a series of lapse dissolves to show all aspects of the house until it finally goes inside the house to where Charles Foster Kane is.
Something that occurred a lot throughout the
movie was the camera moving inside a building through a window. For example, the scene in which Mr. Thatcher is going to take Charles away, the camera enters and leaves through the boarding house window. The camera moves and positions itself to show the importance and perspective of the actors in this scene as well. The camera work in the scene that shows Charles and his first wife’s relationship deteriorating is quite fascinating. The camera will go back and forth between Charles and his wife but will only show them individually, a technique called shot reverse shot, and as these shots are taken, time will pass and at the end, they are farther apart and are no longer talking to show how their relationship is not working anymore.
At last, the camera work throughout the movie allowed for many changes in the film industry. Sometimes the positioning and movement of the camera is often overlooked and not seen as something important but in this film, the camera work is so incredibly important. Many new things were introduced in this film, which encouraged others to not be afraid to try new things as well, evolving the film industry.