‘Citizen Kane’ was distributed by RKO in 1941. At the time, Welles was most well-known for his highly criticised, infamous but also remarkable 1938 episode of ‘The Mercury Theatre On Air’ radio broadcast show called ‘The War Of The Worlds’. This clever episode realistically depicted an alien invasion around the world, which terrified the public into believing it was actually occurring. Prior to this launch of success, Hollywood was interested in Welles, possibly due to his dedication and hard work implemented solely in the theatre. This could be why he denied many opportunities to work within Hollywood, to pursue his passion. However, it was the large contract and the promise of complete creative control; something never offered by RKO previously, which convinced Welles to make the leap from theatre to Hollywood in July 1939. Remarkably, Welles was given the opportunity to cast his own crew, dictate cuts wherever he wanted and even so far as to decide on the final cut. Although RKO did have some control over approving Welles’ desired plot, their trust remained within the hopeful success of his impending work. Despite the early interest invested in Welles, it was primarily due to the wide public (although mixed and extremely controversial) perception of the broadcast show which finally convinced RKO to invest in the later talent that would be ‘Citizen Kane’

Before his infamous radio broadcast, Welles had worked within radio for several years with an even earlier and extensive theatre background. His frantic radio schedule mixed alongside his continuous passion for theatre in the mid-1930s led to an average of $2,000 pay a week. Arguably, his success arose from an outstanding performance as an announcer in the radio series ‘The Fall of The City’

Arguably, RKO was one of the best and more successful Hollywood studios during the 1930’s. During the lead up to Welles’ signing, RKO made one of their most successful creative years excluding the slight net worth drop. They produced 49 films including the famous ‘Hunchback Of Notre-Dame’. However, there were no academy awards winning films during the end of this period nor real innovations worth mentioning. Despite the arguable success of the studios, their signing of Welles towards the end of the decade was considered one of the most significant manoeuvres at the time. There could be many reasons for Welles’ signing, perhaps RKO finally decided to act on Hollywood’s opinion to utilise his talents from 1936. It could also be due to the frantic public reaction to the broadcast, although widely criticised, it gained perception from many and caused a lot of people who wouldn’t have before to actually notice Welles

The protagonist of the film, acted by Welles himself is Charles Foster Kane. A brash, selfish and controlling yet troubled character, there have been many debates throughout time over who this controversial character is based from. Most notably, it has been heavily implied that Kane is a parody of the narcissistic, incredulously rich Hearst. Despite Welles claims that ‘Citizen Kane is the story of a wholly fictitious character’, the parallels between both characters are too similar to regard as a coincidence

Although Welles denies replicating Hearst within the film, he admits to basing elements of his character from the newspaper tycoon. However, he claims that it was Hearst who brought on the attention himself whereas he only used elements of his character to influence the development of Kane. Regardless of the controversy and drama surrounding Kane’s’ character influences, the character is well acclaimed due to the levels of complexity and realism developed by the many influences added (with Hearst being just one).  The makeup design of Kane was also influenced by Samuel Insull, whose mustache was admired by Welles. With a lower significance to the success of Citizen Kane, Insull served merely as inspiration from the unique look of Kane.

Another possible influence for Kane could come from the businessman Harold McCormick. He shared many similarities with the character in regards to failed relationships so we can assume that Welles based the disastrous love life of Kane from this character. He was divorced by his first wife in favour for a new woman of which he tried to promote a singing career for her. He arranged for her to play the lad in a signing production, alike Kane did within the film. In a similar situation to what occurred in the film, McCormick’s wife fled the country after being told by her vocal coach that she was unprepared for the performance. Within the many complexities and controversies surround the character of Kane, his relationships is something of great development and expansion. Due to the selfish nature of Kane’s’ created personality, it is inevitable that his desire for power and success outweighs his supposed love for family and relationships.  But we are forced to focus on the negative traits of Kane’s personality by being constantly shown him display behaviours such as having an affair, and pay little attention to his first wife. The vulnerability of Kane is only shown as a child, meeting his Susan and during his death. During this we are given a glimpse into his gentler demeanor which is contrasted by this fury at Susan after she refuses to sing later on. This implies his deep troubles and furthers the complexities which make him such an intriguing character

At the time of production for the film, America was primarily dominated by extremely power-hungry men who wanted as much success and wealth as possible. The traits of these men are portrayed by Kane, this is significant in shaping his character since he is likable and also relatable to these men because of the close similarities.

Welles was given a budget of $500,000 for the film and told not to exceed it. Compared with modern films, this does not seem significant but it was worth much more in the 1940s so really showed the trust embedded in Welles by RKO. However, Kane managed to actually exceed the budget by an extra $186,000. Not only was the budget large, but it was in particular for someone with little film background. Since Welles had only really worked within theatre and radio, it took lots of trust and potential for RKO to invest in such an unproven filmmaker. By upholding such a large budget, Welles could ensure that Citizen Kane followed his exact aspirations, which could perhaps explain why the film is considered now, such a success

Another unique idea within Citizen Kane constructed by Welles was the concept of using relatively new actors to motion pictures. Ten of which were billed as Mercury Theatre actors from the theatre Welles himself worked with prior to Citizen Kane. The film showcased the debut of several budding actors, including; Agnes Moorehead and Paul Stewart. Many of the Hollywood studios utilised famous actors to entice the audience, by using a fresh palette of unknown actors; Welles id displaying a high level of trust within his assembled cast but also showing that he can make the decisions for the film himself.  Another relatively unheard of innovation used by Welles was the practice of group rehearsals before filming. This was used to ensure the best quality acting by the actors and Welles deemed it ‘necessary’ in bringing the cast together. Although some actors had played several small roles within Hollywood, the majority of the cast was new to Hollywood. This could represent the lack of familiarity and practice honed by the cast but also Welles who was new to Hollywood himself. The actors influenced the ‘look’ and ‘feel’ of Citizen Kane by delivering raw and emotional performances due to their vulnerability from a lack of experience within the industry

Although the themes embedded within Citizen Kane were hardly new nor innovative, the high levels of technicality were considered remarkably advanced compared to other films produced around the same time. The cinematographer, Greg Tolland received lots of praise for his work within the film; in particular the unique use of deep focus used throughout. In particular, this technique is used to separate and segregate Kane from his family by trapping him in the background of the frame. This is done to express the significance of his lonely and isolated character by creating a physical separation from his family, which makes us pity him as we are beginning to understand his actions due to his upbringing. As well as visually engage us, deep focus is used primarily to develop the character of Kane by continually expressing the theme of isolation within his character throughout. Another new innovation introduced by Tolland is that of the ‘wipe’ transition between two scenes where one image is ‘wiped’ off screen by another. This was a new creation and influenced the fluid and natural flow of the film, by effortlessly connecting and contrasting each scene.

Another significant aspect of Citizen Kane is the storytelling. Although the film is fiction, it almost acts as a biopic due to the high levels of realism and honestly perhaps mainly due to the realistic themes which resonate with the audience. A long time period is portrayed, primarily told through flashbacks. The film is not told with a linear, chronological order but instead overlaps to join together moments within most of Kane’s life. More information is told to the audience as the film progresses by matching the onscreen action alongside each narrator’s addition to what happened. This adds a sense of reliability, because we are both seeing and hearing accounts of what happens; thus ensuring verisimilitude throughout the entirety of the film. Although flashbacks were used commonly at the time, they were used to great extent within Citizen Kane as they helped to tell the story by mixing past and present. Contrasted against the aged narrators, they provide a visual confirmation of what happens to ensure reliability from the lack of remembrance by the narrators of the events actual occurrence. Since the whole film is based around ageing and time passing by, the narrators could be considered unreliable since they may forget what happened, or their opinions bias their memories. By constantly referring back in time, the audience know that what we are seeing on screen is truthful to what happened

The makeup used throughout the film is also significant in expressing the important theme of ageing. At the time makeup would’ve been done by experts who had near enough perfected the art to create the most realistic looking working possible. However, this changed with Citizen Kane as all make-up was applied by a young apprentice. Usually make up would be quite simple, excluding horror or monster films. But within Citizen Kane, the makeup was quite complex to show the definite time changes. This is significant because the audience need to believe that the characters have aged to present the non-linear storytelling aspect of the film. Plaster molds were used to create wrinkles and lines to show ageing, with the exception of Welles himself who had a lower body cast made to pad out the character and expand on the ageing. This is arguably one of the most significant elements of the film since the ageing had to be done accurately to show the different stages of age throughout the whole film.

Since Welles had claimed to have done ‘everything’ within the film, a controversy surrounding authorship of the script arose. A young author called Mankiewicz drafted the script, after Welles gave a basic character explanation. Although his contract stated that he would not receive credit for his work, Welles adjusted the scripts to downplay his contribution to make it seem like he conceived the entire script alone. Eventually RKO awarded him credit in 1941 after he threatened to go to the newspapers. This showed that perhaps Welles was not as involved as he would’ve liked to be, suggesting the exaggeration of his ‘boy wonder’ persona to paint a positive picture of him within Hollywood.

innovative use of mise en scene-

Throughout the film the mise en scene is very strange, instead of regular set designs with real looking houses/surroundings the set design is very exaggerated and distorted, this is innovative as it tried to make not only the characters get a message off to the viewer but the set itself too.

However making a realistic looking set at this time would’ve been challenging for the production team so this was a more innovative way to get around the problem of creating a set, in a way that makes it easier for the production team and benefits the audience.

innovative use of cinematography-

Cinematography at this time was quite limited as they did not have a camera that could be used in a mobile fashion. The camera had to stay still while recording which put restraints of shots they could achieve, so this high angle shot would’ve been very innovative for the time.

innovative uses of editing-

As film at this time was still physical, editing was very very limited, however the wasn’t absolutely none. For starters as it was a silent film the text cards had to be added in, giving speech from characters or information about the film so far.

Secondly, they where able to use a type of fade effect. Where the iris of the camera would close slowly or open slowly to have the look that it was fading into or out of black around a character or object.

However the iris of the camera could not completely close but instead would close to a very small opening, so to get a complete fade out they would drop a small piece of material to cover the final opening giving the view of a fade out.

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My favourite scene in the film is Kane’s final speech for governor. This scene is very memorable for it showing both the political ambitions and Kane’s character in general. In this scene their is a range of micro-elements used well.

Mise en scene is used well by how the set design is used to show the power and confidence of Kane by giving an idea the size of the room he is in. Space is used in a way where nothing is compact but it shows how popular he is. Lighting and composition is the main important part of Mise en scene in this as light focuses on Kane as a statement he is winning, where his dialogue is at its most clearest while comparing to his rival who is covered by a dimmer light when the sound of the scene is at its weakest. In general it was a good idea to do this film in black and white from Welles as it fits the idea of this being a noir film and colour would of made this scene in particular feel less serious.

Cinematography is used in a unique way here by Gregg Toland who uses multiple techniques in the space of under 3 minutes. He uses an extra long shot to show the size of the crowd, while using symmetry to show Kane as a powerful figure to them. This makes the audience admire Kane in both the scene and in real-life, where you feel supportive and see him as a different political figure. The camera also is used well when the camera is zooming towards Kane and goes to worm’s eye view, this part of the scene was likely used as a way for verisimilitude, as if the viewer is walking to congratulate Kane for his speech. Other techniques what are used is the birds eye view to show his cabinet and the close up shots of Kane to show the power and emotion he is putting into his speech.

Editing is greatly used especially by the final cut is used to foreshadow something is about to go wrong and it is great way to highlight the idea that Kane is a flawed character, as throughout the movie everything what starts off good for Kane eventually goes wrong. Cutting to the rival was a great way to end this scene as it brings more power to following scenes when everything does go wrong.

Sound is used very well here as you feel your in that room hearing Kane’s speech. The echo in the room is the stand out thing you hear and that is done well to show the scope of supporters for Kane. With no score in the background, it helps as it shows how powerful the speech is by to make the audience motivated with it. Welles has used the use of dialogue incredibly here as a way to show Kane’s power and ability to motivate a crowd in a way that also does the same for the audience. I believe if Welles had used anything non-diagetic sound here the scene would not have the same affect.

This scene likely had lots of inspiration on the filming of other film scenes such as JJ Abrams Star Wars Force Awakens when General Hux speaks in a very vicious speech to the First Order. This may also have inspiration on villain speeches in film and all media, even though Kane is not a villain, he is a flawed character and lends a lot to villainous characteristics. A moment inspired by this is Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now’s speech, or in any other visual forms of entertainment with Walter White from Breaking Bad with all his passionate speeches.

Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) is widely regarded as the best film ever made by many critics largely because of its use of cinematography and editing, it was of a far higher standard than usual. At the time many camera shots were from the same heights, same angles – there was not a lot of variation.

Additionally, there was great use of editing in the film. The famous transition wipe scene in the opera house when the camera is rising and rising, the use of deep focus when Mrs Kane is signing the papers, the Xanadu miniature fading away to reveal the next shot. All these techniques were far ahead of their time and left the audience in awe.

Here is an example of a very good tracking shot, very few movies had used this kind of cinematography before and that is why Citizen Kane receives such high reviews

Here the camera is on what i presume is a crane which then moves up to a restaurant sign, through it and finally a transition is very well hidden with the stormy weather where rain covers the glass roof which then dissolves into the next scene. The creativity of this shot is what makes Welles such an amazing director and shows off his artistic capabilities in film.

Not only that but one of its most famous scenes situated at the beginning of the film in the opening sequence where the camera, through a series off dissolves transitions, zooms in on the room Kane is in, from the bottom of a mountain to the single room lit with a light. This kind of masterpiece of cinematography is what pioneered film into the wonder it is today and plays a huge part in what makes Citizen Kane one of the greatest movies of all time.

Furthermore, Welles’ use of deep focus in the scene in Mrs Kane’s boarding school causes the viewer to sympathise with Kane. Normally you would expect the camera to be focused om the conversation however in this instance it is focused on both the conversation and the subject of the conversation. We can feel as much a part of the conversation as we feel a part of Kane playing in the snow – this allows the viewer to connect with Kane on a more emotional level.

Deep focus was not widely used at the time and it was difficult to discretely create an emotional attachment with a character. That is why when these types of shots were introduced it shocked and inspired film critics and directors for decades to come.

use of steadicam in the shining-

A major part of the filming process of the shining was the use of the steadicam mounts created by Garrett Brown. This allowed the cameraman’s movement to not affect the level or position of the camera meaning a steady shot almost anywhere, not just limited to using tracks etc.

Kubrik, the films director, got the creator to operate the steadicam during filming as to make sure it was used correctly as it was a brand new invention.

notable uses in the shining-

In one scene in the shining we follow behind Danny riding a tricycle around the the hotel hallways, the use of the steadicam in this scene helps massively to create tension within the audience, and help to emerse them within the film. This is done by, firstly, the steadicam itself not making any noise which focuses the audience on the loud noise of the wheels on Dannys tricycle, this eerie noise of the wheels unsettles the audience and builds tension and secondly, helps to emerse the viewer in the film by having zero other noises then the tricycle. For example noises that could have possibly been made by the operator of the steadicam was removed by using a wheelchair to push the operator along to film, the use of this wheelchair also allowed the steadicam to be at a lower level which is why we are able to have the along the floor shot behind Danny, which itself also helps to build tension and  emerse the viewer because as we are following behind Danny, we don’t know what is coming next or what will be around a corner, which will engage the audience as they will want to see what is coming next.

symmetry in the shining-

The use off symmetry within the shining is extremely prominent. Symmetry is used frequently through the course of the film, to effect the viewer in a way that aids the scene.

The first way the use of symmetry will effect the audiuacne is an immediate attention grab, anything centred in a shot will draw the attention of the viewer to it straight away and give them a sense that whatever object or person is being centered is important and should we payed attention to.

An example of this is the twins in the halls in the shining hotel.

Already, twin girls in matching close silent and starring would be an eerie or spooky sight for an audience, however when symmetry is added the audience no longer see this as a small eerie thought an they might have if for example the girls where features in the background of another shot. They become the entire focus of the viewer and all thoughts are on them, and as naturally auidiances try to guess hat will happen next, which in a scene like this combined with the tone and dark imagery of the film leads to some uneasy thoughts about what could happen to these girls, or what they might do.

 

 

 

 

Location/set design –

Blade runner is set in Los Angeles in the dystopian year of 2019, the setting is made to feel dark, mysterious and scary. This is done in a few ways.

Firstly, the skyscrapers in the city do a good job of giving a daunting vibe to the film by making everyone feel small, in comparison to the massive structures all the characters look small which makes the audience feel as if they are less powerful, which in turn makes the film more suspenseful as the characters face off against the antagonists.

Also, the constant clouds of smoke pouring out buildings adds an eerie atmosphere to the whole film, in multiple scenes of the film the smoke is used to aid the scene by means of adding suspense or camera work for example.

lighting-

The lighting in blade runner is not just there for the aiding of scenes and audience enjoyment, but it also serves a more metaphoric purpose.

Everything about blade runner is dark, the story, the characters, the place, there are very few highly lit shots however these are done with neon lights that are scattered about the city. The contrast of the neon lights against the dark smokey setting, suddenly bright then suddenly dark makes the city feel scary to the audiance and gives the film and unpredictable nature.

Lighting is also used in the film to portray character, for example in the scene where we see Deckard’s apartment.

In this scene Deckard’s apartment is poorly lit and we have very little detail in what we can see, similar to how Deckard has been closed up and not showing too much of himself as a person or the way he feels. However, later on while he is with his girlfriend Racheal, not only does the character of Deckard open up from the cold or emotionless person he showed at the beginning of the film, but the lighting also opens up and we more more details of this apartment allowing the audience to learn more about him.

costume-

Costume design is probably one of the most iconic parts of blade runner to many viewers, the costumes combine the attire of the 1930s and 40s with a futuristic look that fits the setting of the film brilliantly.

Costume is used in blade runner, more so in the female characters, to make them unforgettable. For example Racheal’s rather wide shoulders in her costume. The first time you see the character, immediately this part of her costume is noticed by everyone in the audience, this focuses the attention of the audience on her even more and helps to solidify her as an important character in the minds of the viewers.

The same can be said for the character of Pris, her extensive makeup/face-paint immediately catches the viewers attention and makes her a memorable character, and also her clothes may not be as outgoing as her hair/makeup the all black gives a mysterious touch to her appearance along with her odd personality ands mannerisms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1osVTlRjreExRVZS_2TIIw4dfjmtJqJ_N

Citizen Kane – Production Context

Citizen Kane was a film released in 1941 produced by Mercury Productions and distributed by RKO radio pictures with a supposed budget of $500,000 but was likely more as it is now believed to range between $600,000-$900,000 due to set costs and budget setbacks. This wouldn’t of been a problem for RKO if WW2 wasn’t going on at the time and their were economic cuts what hurt funding films. However this small budget likely only affected how fast the film was to complete and the colour of the film. The fact it was black and white helped the movie with its realism but plays into the fact Orson Welles wanted to create his own style and that’s why its believed this film created or brought to the forefront the noir genre. The contract Welles received from RKO president George Schaefer was very incredible deal for the time as he was given creative freedom from while also allowed him to produce, direct and perform of two of his own films. Hollywood Studios did not like the contract with it being consistently mocked in the trade press.

During production Wells only wanted to use Mecury actors as they were new to film and became upset when Gino Carrado was cast in it. However the film were feature film debuts of William Alland, Ray Collins, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, Paul Stewart, and Welles himself, this launched several of their acting careers. Welles used the cinematographer Gregg Toland  who he saw as the best in the world. Toland also wanted to work with Welles as he liked the idea of working with a new director with the unusual role of creative freedom, he saw it as a chance of creating new styles in film.

On June 29th 1940 Citizen Kane started filming and finished on October 24th. Locations used for filming took majority on Stage 19 Paramount Studios and the locations of Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo.

Throughout the films production and first year of release was controversy such as the authorship of the script as Herman. J Mankiewicz wanted credit. This was resolved though as Welles shared credit for the screenplay. Basing Charles Kane on William Hearst brought the most controversy as it enraged him into banning any mention of the movie in his papers and threatened cinema’s to not show it. This is likely the main reason the film failed at the box office. There were other controversies during the production such as Welles being sued by a critic however they are not as notable as the above.

 

My favourite scene from Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) is the scene situated in Mrs Kane’s Boarding School. To me it is one of the most masterful pieces of work in the film. The use of sound and lighting to show dominance, paired with the beautiful flowing  camera work really helps set the scene and create a sense of verisimilitude.

My first point will look at the snowy scene wherein we can see a young Charles Foster Kane playing by himself. Here the Mise En Scene conveys simplicity of life and happiness. The lighting is very bright which hints to how fond Kane was of his childhood, it shows positivity and contrasts with how his life is later on. The actual scene is extremely simple and this correlates to his simplistic and innocent life. As a child he had nothing to worry about. However when the camera tracks into the house the scene is much more complicated and full of objects. This shows how the current conversation is going to complicate Kane’s life.

Additionally, the camera work is extremely fluid and helps to push the conversation without interrupting it. This is especially good because the dialogue is fast and any interruptions may cause the viewer to lose track of the conversation and miss certain parts out. This is seen most notably in the instance where the camera tracks through a split in half table which then merges together to be seen in shot. This creates a sense of fluidity and in my opinion is an outstanding shot and shows Welles’ creativity

Not only that, but lighting plays a big part in the dialogue scene. Throughout the whole scene much of the light is focused on Mrs Kane – showing her dominance over her husband and her control over the future of her child. The lighting foregrounds Mrs Kane and shows how important her opinion is in this scene and this conversation. It is very hard to pick out unless you know what to look for but it has such a big impact and therefore is one of the reasons this is my favourite scene.

Finally i am going to look at the how the size of the adults shows dominance over young Kane as this for me really stood out. The physical size correlates to power and seeing them tower over Kane reveals that his future is in their hands, the tallest of them all being Mr Thatcher (George Coulouris). This foregrounds Thatcher and implies that he is now the person with most power and influence over Kane. Kane’s future is in his hands. For me this scene beautifully reveals Kane’s past, and the beginning of his journey to become this new man who is vastly different to his child self.