Discuss how, and to what effect, Citizen Kane arranges people and objects within the frame.
Citizen Kane, hailed by many as one of the most important and innovative films ever made, is the story of one man, Charles Foster Kane, and the rise and fall of his idealistic, media empire. An empire which sought to conquer the world for the working man, but ended in Kane's ever increasing corruption, distrust and loneliness. Throughout the film the framing of people and objects reflect Kane's life and his relationships with the other characters. Techniques such as deep focus Through the framing, the audience receive a better idea of how Kane's attitudes, emotions and relationships served to bring about his eventual downfall. .
In Citizen Kane, people are framed in the shot facing the camera. There are very few moments where the character speaking has their back facing the camera. Many times Orson Welles uses shot/reverse shot to continue this framing structure. This gives the person speaking more attention and focus as to what they are saying. This is especially important during the deeper focus shots, since the characters tend to be much further away from each other. One example of this is during the shot in Xanadu where Kane talks to his wife across a large hall. As they converse the camera utilises shot/reverse shot as a means to keep a frontal position on whoever is talking, which helps focus the audiences attention on that character. The only character exempt from this is the reporter, Thompson. He is generally kept with his back to us and in the shadows whenever he talks to a character. The effect this has on Thompson is that it turns him into more of a neutral character, one who serves to develop and connect the plot, rather than actually being part of the story. It is not until the end where we see a much clearer image of his character, and even then it is only to aid in his conclusion of Kane's character, and the movie itself.
