Explain how the production context influenced the ‘look and feel’ of the end product.
Citizen Kane was the first movie Orson Welles co-wrote, directed and produced. Welles was given a surprising amount of creative control from RKO studios, this was because he was seen as a theatrical genius so Hollywood wanted to ‘woo’ him from the theaters of New York. This amount of creative control meant he was free to choose the cast as well as to write, direct, produce, edit, and act in the film he created. The film’s budget was originally $500,000, which was a substantial amount for an unproven filmmaker, but Welles managed to surpass this and the films total expense totalled $839,727. Welles’ young age and high budget may of affected the ‘look and feel’ of the end product since he had the money to experiment with his ‘new’ ideas, for example, Chiaroscuro lighting, extreme high and low angle shots, mirror shots and elaborate blocking.
since foreign films were banned in Germany during the first world war there was a high demand for films to be produced due to hyperinflation as people could now afford to go to the the theaters as it was very cheap and easy entertainment for everyone. improvements in technology allowed films to be made and released quicker and these films often showed darker themes such as crime, power and human behavior in a cheaper way giving it its own style and aesthetic. This basically creating Gothic horror and the noir genre in film.
The Weimar Republic, also known as the German Republic, was the German government from mid 1919 to early 1933. They struggled throughout their run with issues such as hyperinflation, largely due to the Great Depression, and political unrest, including political murders and attempted power seizures from opposing parties.
With all these problems, people needed a break from reality. Doing as humans do, they decided to create escapism in the form of art, in this case film. This is how the Classic German Expressionist Movement began. Filmmakers used real life as a imitation by distorting it, creating unusual cityscapes with stranger stories. These stories reflected real trials and tribulations in some bizarre way, for example The Cabinet of Dr Caligari warns of controlling figures and being forced to commit terrible acts, which was a bit ahead of its time.
