Citizen Kane is a 1941 Drama Film by Orson Welles. It was his first full length film and he had full control of the film even down to the people who he cast for the roles. The cinematographer is Gregg Toland who used techniques like deep focus (= having everything in the frame even the background in focus at the same time) and deep space (= the spacing of characters in a scene and how they occupy the space in frame). He used these techniques in films that he worked on before Citizen Kane but this one is where it was used the most effectively.
The use of deep focus in this scene (see image below) shows the power struggle between the characters in the scene. The woman holds the power because she is permanently in the foreground whereas the father is in the middle ground. He doesn't hold as much power as the woman because he doesn't seem to have much say in the situation. Young Kane is in the centre background of the frame still in focus without a clue about what is happening, the window around him is kind of foreshadowing imprisonment because he is being sent away from his family home.
Another example of deep focus
This scene also uses deep focus and deep space. With Kane in the centre background again we can compare it to the scene I mentioned above. In comparison to the windows behind him, his position in the room makes him look intimidated by the financial difficulties he was facing. The people in power are once again in the foreground of the frame and Kane is in the background once again.
Quotes from ‘Orson Welles talks about Citizen Kane in 11 minute 1960 interview’
"I must admit that it was intended consciously as a social document, as an attack on the acquisitive society and on acquisition in general"
“I thought you could do anything with a camera that the eye could do or that the imagination could do”
“Anything I could think of in my dreams I attempted to photograph” because he didn't think there wasn't anything that you couldn't do with a camera and his cameraman attempted anything without fear of ridicule. His cameraman told him
“There was nothing about camera work that I couldn't learn in half a day” it doesn't require twenty years to learn how to use a camera and I think that’s what made the cinematography so great. It’s because he wasn't afraid to take risks.
Do the Right Thing- Ernest Dickinson
This film shows the hate and bigotry in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and how it violently comes to the surface on the hottest day of the year.
The opening credits reflect this by using warm colours, mainly a red glare, to light the opening scene. This emphasised the heat of the location that the characters are living in as well as the hostility and racial tension between each characters, which the viewer will soon notice throughout the films progression. Within the opening credits there is a woman, Tina, dancing and boxing, emphasising even more the aggression and tension that is being held underneath the surface of each of the characters. The dance moves of Tina are unlike those of other dance opening scenes in other films; her moves and expressions are raw, setting the real undertones of the meaning behind the film. The wide shots within this opening scene allow the audience to observe all of this very well, the location, the dancer and all the details mentioned above.
Camera angles are very important in Do the Right Things, they are used to emphasise the tension and rising anger felt throughout the film. Exaggerated angles such as the close-up above help the audience to empathise with the intimidatory body language and stances that are used between the characters. By having extreme close ups such as this one where the characters look directly at the camera the audience feel part of the argument itself as well as noticing details which may be missed by other shots, such as the beads of sweat on people's faces as well as their threatening expressions. These close-up shots tend to have quicker edits between each shot as the tension within the scene builds to emphasise the anger bubbling to the surface. The exaggeration of these close-ups also adds to the comic value of the film.
Another camera technique that Ernest Dickinson uses quite a lot of in Do the Right Thing is a zoom into or from an extreme close up. This is used to emphasised moments in the film that could be missed by the viewer, such as when a man steps on another's foot. Even though this does not seem like a significant event the extreme heat in the film makes the characters behaviour irrational and emotions heightened, so when events like this occur it sparks off aggression within the characters. These heightened reactions are shown to viewers within these exaggerated zooms.
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