Christopher McKinney Citizen Kane Blog Post

What many movies filmed in the 1940’s lacked, Citizen Kane revolutionized and brought to the center stage of the film industry. Total immersion is what many directors strive for when filming nowadays; looking to create an environment that pulls the audience in to make them feel a part of the story, and immersed within the environment of a scene. Of course in 1940 during the production of Citizen Kane the technology used for filming movies, especially on Warner Brother sets were cumbersome and not easily manipulated for aesthetic purposes. In my experience with movies of the early 20th century the staging of many scenes, usually throughout the entire movie is something similar to a common day sit-com. Cameras set up in fixed positions, one or two points of entry or exit for characters, and very little depth of field; simple screenplay. The creativity and technical abilities of Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles made one of the first films to truly create detailed, engaging and visually pleasing environments when filming Citizen Kane.

There are many big scenes that take place during Citizen Kane. From the political rally to the opera house, and Xanadu the director never failed to create seemingly large and immersive scenes. Though these were the bigger and better scenes of the movie, my attention was grabbed by one of the first moments of the movie, when Kane’s parents are signing his transfer papers to his boarding school. We see Kane’s parents and Walter Thatcher speaking in the living room, while Welles’ use of deep focus keeps young Charles Foster Kane in clear view from inside the house. As the scene progressed further into the house, more of their location and surroundings are revealed, giving the audience a greater sense of the environment and where the scene is taking place. Something like this nowadays is not often recognized as cameras and the technology used is much easier to maneuver around a set, giving directors the opportunity to get the angles and shots they want with ease. The technical restrictions that were overcome and creative uses of the technology on hand by Orson Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz are a testament to the successful reception of Citizen Kane by audience members and viewers alike.