Mr. Bauks
February 27, 2014
Period 4
Simple Camera Shot
Reviewing the film Citizen Kane, the scene that caught my attention was of Mr. Kane trashing the bedroom after Susan had fled. The action of Mr. Kane throwing objects around the room was a sense of alert that something major would occur in contrast to the slower scenes prior. As Mr. Kane runs throughout the room throwing a tantrum, with a simple movement of the camera to keep the character in sight or a switch to different cameras spread around the room, the scene remains as one full shot. I found this to be very interesting since many of the shots throughout the film had been a visual of one action and then a cut to another.Other than the shot of the scene, the position of the camera was very important to the mood that the scene portrayed. The camera was positioned lower than Mr. Kane presenting the power Mr. Kane had throughout the film and still had as he released his anger on the objects in the bedroom. Even though Mr. Kane's anger was already shown through his acting, the position of the camera magnified power and rage further.
As Mr. Kane moved closer to the camera, the significant snow globe was rested on a table and the camera no longer pursued the objective in fitting the characters entire body in the shot, but focusing on the object itself. Mr. Kane's rapid movements was interrupted as his hand hovered over the snow globe. Holding it close to his chest with little movement as the camera scanned from the snow globe that was shaken revealing a snow fall to Mr. Kane's face that had revealed disturbance.
While watching the movie, I did not really realize the importance of the camera angle, but when you pointed it out, I noticed that it would not have made the scene as dramatic as it was. I think the abrupt camera movement throughout the scene set the stage for the scenes that followed. Another thing that you mentioned that I agree with is the anger portrayed through Mr. Kane's acting, throughout the entire scene, as he was thrashing around trashing the room, he had a very stern face and looked like he was about to go crazy. With his acting and the various camera positions and techniques, it really set the emotion of the scene which was, angry, and intense.
ReplyDeleteAs I read your description of how a long take was used during the destruction scene, I began to realize how different the mood of the scene would be if it were separated into a few dozen shots. If this scene followed conventional filmmaking, the camera would be much closer to Kane and cut every few seconds. The audience would see and feel what Kane felt: angry, betrayed, and frustrated. By making it a long take, a whole different mood is created. Instead of seeing the destruction from Kane's point of view, the viewer sees it as an outside observer. The audience does not feel as Kane does but rather feels shame and pity.
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