My favourite scene in Citizen Kane is when Getty blackmails Kane due to his affair with Susan, this is due to the clever use of lighting that helps set the scene and tell the story.  

The scene begins with Kane and Susan centred in the background of the frame with Getty and Mrs Kane either side of him in the foreground. Shadows are casted over Kanes face hiding his expressions and symbolically taking his power from the situation, by putting him in the dark.  

As Susan emerges from the shadow to her own defence, the blocking of the scene begins to resemble an earlier flashback of Kane’s childhood when his parents are deciding to send him away, Kane is shunned to the back with no power over decisions made about his life. The scenes are portraying the same message and so Welles blocks the scenes similarly to demonstrate this. 

The costume choice for Mrs Kane also signifies a lot for the scene as it makes her stand out when between Getty and Kane even when Kane is towering above her, she still stands out due to her bright dress.  

At one point in the scene, Mrs Kane turns to leave the room, a half shadow is then casted across her face with the key light shining from the left. The lighting here portrays her conflicted feelings towards Kane and how she feels hurt by him but still wants to appear strong.  

Kane then completely comes out of the shadow and is fully lit in the centre foreground, filmed from a slight low angle making Kane appear taller than the people around him, showing his rise to power and how he no longer will let people make decisions for him.  

Finally, I really enjoy how the scene has long takes before it cuts to a different shot and that it isn’t choppy. The scene flows well at a good conversational pace, and this helps in understanding what is being spoken about and the events happening in the scene.