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Orson Welles uses many techniques in his framing of the movie. One such technique is graphical matching, in which shots are connected together by a person or object remaining steady throughout a series of shots. For example, Citizen Kane opens on a sign saying "No Trespassing" which eventually pans out to reveal a lone house on the hill, with one light burning dimly in the window. The camera then moves over a series of fences and boundaries, slowly moving towards the house through a set of slow dissolves, so that the camera moves forward without any apparent movement. What links these shots is the single light in the house, which never changes its position within the frame . The effect of this technique is that it slowly draws the audiences" attention to the lighted window, leading us to believe that whatever is in the room must be important to the story. This technique of graphical matching is evident throughout the film as a means of drawing attention to a certain person or object. It is seen later when Kane headhunts the Chronicle's reporters for the Inquirer. We move from a pictures of the newspaper men in a photograph which fades into a real time shot of the same men, set up as if they are posing for the same photo, and also allowing for a continuity bridge between two time periods, as the two shots span six years in the story. During the same scene we see Kane graphically matched during Bernstein and Lelands" conversation about Kane. This allows for a continual focus on Kane during the conversation, which is important as he himself is the focus of the dialogue. .
Deep focus cinematography is used by Welles throughout the filming of Citizen Kane to great effect. During the scene where Kane's mother effectively signs the boy over to Mr. Thatcher, we are first introduced to Kane through a long shot of the boy playing innocently out in the snow. This shot then pulls back to reveal a window frame, in which Kane's mother enters left of the frame, after which the camera continually pulls back through the house as it follows the adults to an adjoining room .
