How Does Toland Use Cinematic Techniques In Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane, in what is considered by many to be the greatest film of all time, showcases the genius of Orson Welles and the talent of Gregg Toland with its remarkable scenes and performances, cinematic and narrative techniques and experimental innovations in editing, photography and sound. In viewing the “Love Nest Confrontation” scene, Welles and Toland used a combination of different techniques that include deep focus cinematography and exotic camera angles to give the audience an in-depth view/perspective of the exchanges and dialogue going on between characters; the leveraging of character’s movements to control who and where the audience focused on; and the use of both triangular composition and chiaroscuro lighting to provide a sense of mystique to the audience.
In addition to these techniques, the control of character movements is leveraged to focus the audience’s attention to the different characters and areas within the frame. As with any composition, movement will always be dominant to things at rest. Thus, when Charles and Emily were met by Susan Alexander (played by Dorothy Comingore) at the top of the stairs; and all three characters stop moving; the backlit James W. Getties (played by Ray Collins) moves in and captures the audience’s focus because he is the only thing that is moving within the frame.
After a series of movements and shifts of attention from the audience, there is a movement away from the camera, and then back again to the deep focus shot. The entire shot is all in focus with large amounts of light being used. Then, the triangular composition is used once again, this time with Charles in the center. This exchange can be compared to the exchange that Charles had with his parents and Walter Thatcher as, once more, there were two people talking about Charles’