1.) This movie does a fantastic job of portraying tone and mood through camerawork. In this first scene I have chosen to highlight, a medium camera shot shows Kane dancing in a crowd at a party, highlighting his light-hearted behavior. He dances among all of the women while Bernstein and Leland are juxtaposed in the corner of the room, discussing serious topics. Leland is shown with a close-up on his hard-looking face. Bernstein, shown with a close-up but in the background, asks what's wrong. This gives Leland the power in this scene. He is the biggest and most in-focus character portrayed thus far. It is also clear that Leland has become uncertain of Kane, thinking he really only cares about power and popularity. Leland and Bernstein then converse about the faithfulness of Kane's new staff that he essentially stole from the Chronicle. At this time, the camera faces all three of the men, with Kane dancing in between the other two. This shows that he is the topic of their conversation and also the factor that has brought the two together. The camera then switches to Kane's perspective, showing Leland and Bernstein still heavy in discussion with Kane's window reflection now dancing in between them. His reflection is placed so perfectly, in fact, that I think it was meant to represent a puzzle piece, similar to the puzzle that Kane's second wife later works on, fitting perfectly in place.
The next moment I chose differs greatly from that first scene. This part of the movie is not a flashback like most other scenes. It is supposed to be modern day, a short time after news of Kane's death reaches the public. The scene begins with a close-up of a mural of Susan Kane's young face, which will later be explained. As the camera pans up, it passes the mural, eventually reaching a neon sign on the roof of the building that reads, "El Rancho, Floor Show Twice Monthly, Susan Alexander Kane." After this setting has been established, the camera continues on, panning over to a window on the roof and then through it. It continues its journey down towards the main floor of the building and finally reaches an older, very sad looking Susan Kane. Filmed with a long shot, she sits on a chair with her head in her arms, apparently mourning the death of her ex husband. Standing very upright, which is a total opposite to the slumped over Alexander, a waiter guides a journalist to the table. The camera has finally met its destination, so discontinues the panning. A journalist enters the picture, his back towards the camera, to ask Alexander what she knows regarding Charlie's last words. He is silhouetted to perhaps add a bit of mystery to the character, or show that the scene is really not focused on him but rather the subjects of his interviews.
2.) One scene that could have done more was the part when Susan Alexander Kane is trying to sing to the voice coach and is being insulted for her ability. This is clearly a very traumatic scene for Alexander, as she is being told she will never make it on stage. The scene begins with three people in focus: Alexander, sitting across from her voice teacher and pianist. While the two men are facing the piano, listening to Alexander belt some mediocre sound, Kane silently enters the room. He is shown in the background of a medium close-up shot of the three at the piano. As the voice teacher begins yelling that it is impossible for Alexander to sing, Kane steps in suddenly to defend his wife. However, his harsh yelling is just shown in the background of the initial three characters. I think that Kane should have been depicted as more menacing. This was one of the first times he was really controlling in the marriage between him and Susan Alexander, so I think a shot like a close-up would have captured more of his hostility. The camera is also fairly stationary in this scene, when I think it could have moved around more. The scene continues with Alexander finishing the song. She looks to the distance unhappily as Kane listens. I don't hate this scene, I just think it fell a but short. Throughout this movie, the camera is always in action. This is one of the few scenes that it stays almost completely still. And to be honest, it's a bit boring.
3.) Camera Shots/Angles/Movement
This film did a fantastic job with the camera movement. Throughout the different scenes, the camera pans in and out, using almost impossible-looking techniques at times. Continuously the camera will move through objects to get from place to place, which is a very effective tool. It brings a sense of wonder to the viewer while also keeping the movie flowing, which is very important in a movie with a weaving storyline. The camera shots really told the story, explaining who was important, what they were thinking, and so on. When a character was shot with close-up, it was likely that character was to some degree bad, like when Leland first questions Kane, or when Kane writes Susan's bad opera review. It shows emotion when words cannot. Angles also helped to show this emotion. Many times Kane was filmed with a low angle, so it appeared he was looking down on many people. This gave him the appearance of being powerful and also menacing at times. His victims, usually Susan, were typically shown with a high angle, so it appeared they were being looked down upon.
4.) The movie Pulp Fiction actually used many of the same camera techniques. Like Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction has a woven storyline, connecting seemingly random scenes into one plot. The two movies, while immensely different, use the same angle techniques for depicting characters. When the two main characters of Pulp Fiction get their weapons out of he trunk of their car, the camera is looking up at them from inside the trunk, just as person might be. Being shot with a low angle makes the two seem like a dangerous, powerful couple of guys, very similar to Kane.
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