Anthony Jones
THE 124
Visual Interpretive Analysis
October 18, 2014
The Real Puzzle in Citizen Kane: Cinematography, Lighting, and Sound Design in the Puzzle Sequence Scene from Citizen Kane. When it comes to the process of film making, it is both an art and an industry. One of the industry’s greatest is no other than Orson Welles, who was a writer, director, producer, and American actor who worked in radio, theater, and film. In 1941 Welles’ first feature film was Citizen Kane and has been said to be one of the world’s greatest films of all time. Citizen Kane is the life story of Charles Foster Kane who was a powerful newspaper tycoon. It is praised for it’s narrative structure, cinematography and musical selections, along with it’s…show more content… Camera movements and angles combine to create the sequence of images and Welles definitely knew how to use these camera shots to tell a story. When the scene opens up it uses an Extreme long shot to establish the location, in which was the massive mansion Xanadu. It then cuts to a close-up shot focusing on Susan Alexander Kane putting together a puzzle. After fading from the close-up to a medium shot of Susan, it then cuts to a long shot showing Mr. Kane in the distance, which give the audience a sense of how far he is from Susan giving a point of view shot from her perspective. As the camera pans right it also gives the audience a sense of how massive and empty the house really seems to be. As the scene progresses on, it uses many different angles dissolve cutting to extreme close-ups of the puzzle at various stages of completion. This gives the audience a sense of how time is passing and still Susan feels trapped in this huge lonely palace. In addition, Susan is in evening wear and clad with diamonds, dreaming of outings in New York, but yet she is stuck working on a puzzle all dressed up with no place to go. Towards the end of the sequence with the use of deep-focus shots, Kane is shown sitting in a chair across the room. This method exaggerates the distance making him seem alienated and lonesome again giving the audience a sense of how far apart Kane and Susan…show more content… Orson Welles was a genius before his time. He knew that sound, as well as the music, plays a major part in any production film. During this scene the music plays a great part in giving the audience a feel of emptiness and loneliness. From the opening shot to the ending shot, the melodramatic music and sounds gives the audience a sense of how Welles wanting the scene to play out. As soon as Mr. Kane starts speaking, the echo of his voice gives the audience a sense of emptiness. Without even knowing how Susan really feels, you can almost feel how lonely she is and how they both feel somewhat trapped in a false paradise. Susan solves jigsaw puzzles for no other reason but to relieve her boredom. Living in that echoing mansion Xanadu, Susan missed companionship most and so turned to playing with the jigsaw puzzle as consolation, filling the void in her