I believe that the best scene within the film “Citizen Kane” was when the main character Charles Foster Kane signs the “Declaration of Principles”. This is because a very well-used feature used in this scene that stuck out to me was the lighting use. This is when Charles is explaining to two other characters how important his document is and how it displays rules that should be followed for his newspaper. The lighting is used so that you are able to see the character’s faces clearly, apart from Kane’s; who is in complete darkness. This could be a metaphor for him slowly becoming alone and foreshadowing his tragic death. It is also used as irony due to Kane himself, later on, forgetting these rules and produces anything he wants. This shows him going off the rails because he’s refusing his own instructions that he deemed so important to other people.

Kane is proven to be a dreamer and one with a desire for people to love and rely on him, this is shown by this quote from earlier on in the scene: “I’ve got to make the New York Inquirer as important to New York as the gas in that lamp”. It is shown to the audience, later on in the film, that he wants love from everyone, despite himself not having any love to give them, just like the gas in the lights. Everyone loves his newspapers but not he personally, as no one cares to get to know him. The technology used to present the lighting was amazing for the time it was produced. The costume in this scene was another prominent feature that was used. The creative use of Mise-En-Scene was what I liked most about this particular scene. The two men in this scene are both well-dressed in suits, whereas Kane is unpresentable in an untidy uniform. This emphasises to the audience his oncoming increase of apathy and lack of control with the company which, again, foreshadows he going off the rails.

In this scene, the Brechtian technique of “breaking the fourth wall” has been used. Jedidiah is the one telling the story in a flashback, therefore he knows how it ends, unlike the audience. Therefore his quote: “I have a hunch it might turn out to be something important”, as he stares right into the camera, is foreshadowing to the audience by directly addressing them. Cinematography is another well-used feature within this scene. Firstly, throughout the song, the camera is facing upwards to Kane. As though the audience is beneath him. Also, it appears to be a long-take lasting two minutes. This forces the audience to watch the entire time he is signing the document, despite us knowing the lie. Also, the lens is fully in focus allowing us to see the clear faces of each character, this way the lighting is what’s used to draw attention towards Kane. Almost like an opposite spotlight. The amazing use of Mise-En-Scene, foreshadowing and breaking the fourth wall is why I chows this specific scene as my favourite as also why, I believe, Citizen kane was the greatest film ever made.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) has been regarded as the best movie ever created. It is consistently being used as a comparison and the gold standard of films for many directors, actors, and producers. It has kept it’s novelty for decades after its release which proves that it is extremely well-known and difficult to top.

This film, Citizen Kane, was released by the famous studio “RKO” in 1941. In this time period, it wasn’t as well developed as modern studios are today. However, many films were not produced by large companies at this time, therefore the fact that this movie managed to be produced by a largely known studio already shows that it is significantly better than most movies released in this century. Sound was already introduced to the film- making world along with a start to incorporating in colours using the technicolour process famous to have been used in The Wizard of oz. However, this process was very expensive and so for a long duration film, like Citizen Kane, it was ultimately decided to leave it as black and white. This appeared to be a better choice for the film anyway because the contrast of lighting helped intrigue the viewer and displayed his changes throughout the film in terms of his money, physical health and his personality. The darkness at the end of the film foreshadows his death due to the drastic change of lighting contrast which creates a setting of sadness.

RKO had a beneficial impact on the film’s display and success. Cameras had been improved to create a better developed fluidity within the film in terms of movement. Not many films at the time were able to depend on these types of things. An example of this is during a scene at the beginning of the film, A camera moves from showing the front of a room, moves through a table in which it opens up, and then closes again to show the other side of the room after the camera comes out again. This was an impressive effect which allows the audience to appreciate the film much better compared to many other films. 

Overall, Citizen Kane was a masterpiece due to many reasons but mostly because of its incredibly well used and sophisticated technology and help from its studio system which made it very well-made for its time. Despite the film not being anywhere near as well-developed as films in this day and age, the studio systems still managed to portray a very amazing plot of the famous Charles Foster Kane. Its use of sound mixing, lighting, foreshadowing, and use of cameras lead it to be the most famous movie of all time.

A “Studio System” is a method of film production dominated by a small group of major film companies. Historically, a Studio System refers to the large movie companies’ practice of large motion picture studios in 1920-1960.  Before the 1920’s, every film was silent. Musicians hired by cinemas would typically play the piano or electric organs as background sound in these films. Films in the 1920’s were typically enjoyed by the public despite no talking being involved; however in 1927, “Talkies” were introduced. A “Talkie” is a disc of audio with people speaking, separate to the silent film. Then, popular movie companies would add the talkie over the film to create movies with dialogue. This time period is known as “The Golden Age of Hollywood”.

During 1920 in Hollywood, the major film companies were Warner Brothers, Paramount, Fox, and MGM in which they mainly focused on the genres of cowboy movies, detective stories, comedies and romantic drama movies; which succeeded in interesting movie stars to take part. Most silent films before Talkies were under the genre of Drama. Since the public enjoyed the dramatic silent movies, the famous film companies decided to create that genre into a talkie. Two of the movie companies used different types of technology to produce the sounds of talking – Warner Bros used Vitaphone, and Fox used Movietone. Vitaphone was proven to be less effective as the discs would become easily lost or scratched.

Overall, the studio system affected the movie industry because the popular fads were used as a way for the popular film companies which dominated the studio system to compete with each other; therefore leading to successful and more developed films to come out. Some of the public preferred silent films, especially in the genre of Drama, however some preferred the talkies.

Whiplash is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It depicts the relationship between an ambitious jazz student (Miles Teller) and an abusive instructor (J. K. Simmons).

The last scene in which Neiman is performing with his drums utilises many different editing techniques to create an effective scene. These techniques include “The Kuleshov effect”. The kuleshov effect is when the camera cuts between two people to show their reactions, and it’s effect causes the audience to see more meaning within the reactions than in a single isolated shot. This effect is used when Neiman is looking at the audience after Fletcher humiliates him, the shot then cuts to the audience, and then back to Neiman’s face. A wide angle is used in the shot of the audience to show just how many people witnessed him failing. This makes the viewers realise how important this performance was for him.

After that, the scene cuts from Fletcher’s reaction to Neiman getting off the stage. There is a contrast within their facial expressions because they contradict each other. Neiman is upset and Fletcher is amused. This emphasises the manipulative-ness of Fletcher’s character, in which it creates sympathy from the audience as the intentions of Fletcher have been exposed and his true colours are revealed. This could also be viewed as a “matched cut” due to both character’s faces being similarly presented other than their expressions. This gives a sense of continuity in the scene, but also amplifies how different their facial expressions are to the audience.

Another editing device used in the next scene is known as a “jump cut”, which is an abrupt transition from one scene to another. This happens during Fletcher’s speech in which the camera speedily cuts three times towards Neiman’s face as he starts playing the drums; interrupting Fletcher. This shows a sense of determination to show the audience what he’s capable of, and it also gives him power over Fletcher as it distracts the audience’s attention. The increase of pace it creates for the scene shows how much impact it has and the risks that are involved in doing this. The scene cuts to show Fletcher’s reaction, which is shocked, which could have the audience fear for Neiman.

During this performance, the camera cuts to show different characters joining in on the song, which are in time with the beat of the music. After this montage of shots, the camera switches to a high angle shot to show the viewers the entire performance. This is used to show the development of the performance and the impact Neiman has created. He went from risking abuse from Fletcher by playing the drums alone, to inspiring other players to join in, and then eventually it turns into a grand performance. Towards the end of the scene, the high angled shot is used once more just to show what Neiman has achieved by doing that.

During the performance, the camera cuts to show Neiman’s dad watching him play. This allows the audience to watch from a different perspective when it cuts back to the stage, while also reminding them that Neiman’s dad is finally seeing what he is capable of. You can see that Neiman cares a lot about his drumming and how passionate he is due to the camera also cutting to different parts of the drum sets, allowing the viewers to realise how talented he is for being able to hit so many parts at the same time, and how much effort he must put in. It also shows blood on one of the symbols, and then cuts to his face to show slight pain as he works. Again, this shows how much he cares about his passion and that he risks pain and effort in order to play. This creates sympathy from the audience and also makes his drumming seem even more magnificent.

The ending to the film shows a resolve I conflict between Neiman and Fletcher. This is a happy ending because it finally rids of the abusive relationship between the two throughout the whole movie. This is presented by another use of the Kuleshov Effect, just like in the beginning. At the end of the scene, a moment where Fletcher and Neiman stare at each other is shown. The camera cuts between their faces a number of times, except their expressions change in the second shots to show them smiling at each other, instead of their expression remaining the same. This smile represents Neiman finally achieving his goal of making Fletcher happy and proud of him for his drumming skills.

Dunkirk is a 2017 war film written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II.

At the beginning of the film, it is silent for a few seconds until finally it is obstructed by the sound of guns being fired. This creates a sense of tension from the audience as they are forced to wait for something to happen during the silence up until it happens – the sound of a ticking clock can also be heard which shows to the audience that there is only a short amount of time the army soldiers have to get everyone off the beach. It is important for Nolan to get the sounds correct as the film is representing an important time in history, therefore using sound to create a specific atmosphere has to be done delicately in order to portray historical accuracy and also, to create a sense of nervousness from the audience so they can experience the right emotions from it. Also, the film tends to use variation diegetic sounds, which are used in addition to the soundtrack, which allows the audience to feel involved into the film’s world.

A device used in the films known as “Shepard Tone” creates an essence of rising tension within the movie. This is used by scales being an octave a part increase from low to high pitch in a continuous loop. The lower pitch increasing in volume and the higher pitch decreasing in volume creates an illusion where when it repeats, the audience only pays attention to the increasing in pitch rather than it constantly lowering as well. This is used throughout the whole film to create tension and to have it appear to be constantly rising in order to allow the audience to know when danger is coming. This device is normally used during the scenes where the British soldiers are about to be attacked. Another use of sound effects in this movie was a constant heartbeat. This allows a personal relation to the audience. This sound is used because in real life, hearing your own heart beat means that you are usually scared or intimidated by something, which means that danger is near. Being able to hear the heartbeat throughout the film makes the audience know how the characters are feeling, while simultaneously being reminded that they’re still alive.

A sound Mixer controls the way the audience hears sound in a film, whereas a Sound Editor is in charge of a film’s dialogue, sound effects, and other sound elements. The Sound Editor has to intertwine all the sound elements together before the Sound Mixer can complete their work.

Kuleshov Effect

The use of symmetry is used a lot in this movie. It relates to the idea that the concept of doubles is viewed as creepy within human-kind because there is something disturbing about the idea that there can be duplicates of something, or that one thing can be two conflicting entities at once. The “evil-twins” concept is used with the shining as they are introduced with no context to the audience, but simply give off a creepy vibe by the way they are stood still, staring at Danny. The way they hold hands means that there is no good twin, evil twin. If they are evil entities, it means they are both evil since they are shown to be on the same page as each other. This creates a frightening feeling for the audience because we don’t know what is going to happen next, and the “double” idea is generally creepy. As for specifically the twins, there is something for-boding and corpse-like about their demeanor. Their sunken-in eyes stare at Danny and there is something very unnatural about their symmetry, they are not identical but they don’t need to be. It’s the idea that if one of them is terrifying enough. Two of them up the horror ante.

The scene from the 1980 horror film “The Shining” in which Jack Torrance is chasing Danny in the hotel’s maze is shot using a Steadicam. A Steadicam combines the stabilized steady footage of a tripod with the fluid motion of a dolly shot and the flexibility of hand-held camera work. While smoothly following the operator’s broad movements, the Steadicam’s arm absorbs jerks, bumps, and shakes; while it’s almost frictionless gimbal gives precise control of the camera and framing. During this specific scene, Danny running for his life through the maze in the snow and Jack limping behind with an axe, the look of the maze is being shot using a Steadicam. The operator is filming the dark, snowy hedges that contain lights in order to show the audience the eeriness of where they are. This creates an atmosphere to make the scene more intense and creepy. A smooth filming of the maze is shown to eliminate some of the chaos that an unsteady camera would create, so that the audience is fully focusing on the location rather than the situation.

Depth of field is the range of focus in a shot. There are two ranges of this –

A “shallow focus” is when there is a small depth of field and only one part of the image is in focus while the rest is blurry. An example of this is used in the film “Fathers and Daughters”, where it focuses on Katie’s face and her reactions, so the audience is fully focusing on that rather than anything else in the background.

A “deep focus” uses a large depth of field, so the whole of the scene is in focus for the audience. An example of this is used in the film “Ex Machina”, and in this scene we can see other people in the background and what is going on around the humanoid.