https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/4306f449-dbde-48d1-a6ef-7430db9351f2

‘Name at least 3 other films from this period which were being directly influenced by classic German Expressionist films + illustrations’

3 films that were being directly influenced by classic German expressionist films were:

‘Explain how the political, social and economic context of the Weimar Republic affected the production and context of classic German Expressionist Cinema’

During the Weimar Republic [after WW1 ended], Germany began constricting the type of films that were released, banning any film that wasn’t German which encouraged more German films to be produced. However, due to the unstable economic situation during Weimar, production companies were unable to create large, intricate sets or hire large casts [smaller production companies in particular were struggling] as it would often lead them to bankruptcy. This led to them experimenting with new ways to create films in a variety of genres in order to reach the biggest audience they could, eventually leading them to create unrealistic sets with exaggerated movements being used by actors which would later be labelled as German expressionism

‘Name at least 3 other films identified by critics as classic German Expressionist films + Illustrations’

3 films that have been identified as classic German expressionist films are:

‘Describe some of the stylistic conventions associated with the expressionist art movement. Post some additional examples of expressionist art.’

Expressionist art tends to use a lot of extreme angles, rough lines and distorted views in order to portray what the artist is feeling rather than focusing on making the art look realistic. Along with that, expressionist art tends to use a lot of vivid colours and bold strokes in order to exaggerate what the artist is feeling at the time.

Some examples of this are:

‘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.

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/9499caf9-d4e0-42d3-a704-a08192de5e94

‘Explain how the production context of Citizen Kane influenced the ‘look and feel’ of the end product’

Citizen Kane was produced, co-written and directed by Orson Welles who is now known as one of the most influential film makers of all time. Welles was given complete control over the whole filming process by RKO from casting the actors to having final cut privilege with a huge budget of $839,727. It was an unusual decision by RKO to let Welles have full creative freedom, especially as he was filming his first feature film which meant he had no experience in filmmaking, however, it ended up being an incredible decision as ‘Citizen Kane’ is now regarded as the ‘greatest film of all time’.

Welles used his knowledge on theatre and created detailed sets, moved the lighting [as he usually would in theatre productions] and found ways to move the camera in ways that had never been done before at the time. The most notable shots are the low-angle shots that allowed the ceilings to be in view as Welles believed that the camera should be able to see what the eye would see. This was new to Hollywood at the time as that was usually where the mics and lights were kept, making it quite inconvenient to record the audio, causing some of the ceilings to be made out of fabric so the audio could still be recorded.

‘Why, in your view, do you think Citizen Kane is regularly cited by critics as “the greatest movie ever made”?’

I believe Citizen Kane is often cited as ‘the greatest movie ever made by critics due to how influential it’s been on the film industry as a whole along with how it successfully managed to introduce a variety of techniques into the film industry and combined all of them together to create a linear and engaging story for the audience, most of which are still being used to this day.

For example, Welles’ use of cinematography introduced new ways in which cameras could be used and where they could be placed in order to create new and interesting effects that can help move the story along without relying on the characters or their dialogue which allows the film to naturally flow from scene to scene. One specific way he used cinematography was by introducing extreme-low camera angles into the industry, sometimes achieving the low angles by cutting holes into the set, which helped add some naturalness to the scene as the viewers were able to see the ceiling in a film for the first time, making the film seem more realistic and less like a set.

Welles’ use of lighting also manages to create visually interesting scenes throughout the film through techniques such as backlighting. He often uses backlighting in order to emphasise something/someone in a scene, intentionally bringing the viewer’s attention towards it whilst simultaneously setting the atmosphere for the scene.