‘Choose your favourite scene from the film and explain why this is the case. You should consider Welles’ use of microelements.’

One of my favourite scenes from ‘Citizen Kane’ is when Mrs Alexander performed on stage for the first time. The use of mise-en-scene created a busy, yet controlled atmosphere that presented how stressful performing was for Mrs Alexander and how it wasn’t as dreamlike as she’d previously expected. This was further expressed through the use of sound as the number of voices heard helped to convey how much pressure and anxiety Mrs Alexander was feeling, especially with her vocal coach yelling at her on stage, making the scene even more overwhelming.

Along with that, the slow zoom out of the camera allows the shot to change from a mid shot of Ms Alexander to an extreme long shot, showing the rest of the stage. This makes Mrs Alexander look small in comparison to everything else surrounding her, representing how small and nervous she feels on stage. This is further shown due to the staging as she’s farther forward on the stage compared to everyone else, implying that she’s isolated from the others and doesn’t belong there. Alternatively, it could represent how much pressure she feels as everyone is watching her and expecting her to give a flawless performance despite her lack of experience and the fact being it’s her debut show.