Directing

The idea of showing footage of still imagery in Citizen Kane, just for the sake of setting the mood was really a first in feature films. Many movies would show a close-up of a sign or letter, but they were for the sake of giving the audience information, not to describe atmosphere.


The Direction in Citizen Kane was very much focused on the setting, environments, and lighting. Being the lead actor, Welles had no bias in terms of filming the actors, rather than the environment. Even in important scenes, his artistic choice to focus on simple props, or a backlit scene were well placed and uninfluenced by actors hungry for screen time. As seen above, the main focus in the scene is of the cup and spoon, and not Welles himself.

Citizen Kane was also a first of its kind in that the director used floorplans and miniatures of the set and actors to lay out the scenes before they were shot. In doing this, he had a very planned and precise idea of what would happen in each scene of the movie.