Citizen Kane: The Projection Room Sequence

             Shot: In the final shot of the newsreel with Kane living in Xanadu we end up with a full screen shot of Kane as a very old man. The image of Kane remains on the screen and as the camera backs up the scene slowly changes into the dark projection room. The camera points at the editors of Rawlston Magazines, but their faces are never really seen. The room is very dark, and there is only a small light being emitted from a piece on the table and the back wall. The light is one hundred percent decisive in choosing who we get to see. The path of the light is random and constantly changing. As some time passes a silhouette is placed on the screen and the editors faces and bodies are transferred onto the screen against the slanting beams of light. The silhouetted figures give a rich dramatic mood.
             Effects/Significance: Just as the audience is trying to pick out the faces of the editors in this scene, the editors are too struggling with something. Kane's death is something that they can definitely capitalize on with a great story. However, none of these men truly know what Kane was really like, "Charles Foster Kane was a..." Rawlston was impressed with the short that Thompson put together, but it didn't have character. Rawlston was looking for the full exposure on Charles Foster Kane, "What made Kane what he was? And, for that matter, what was he? What we've just seen are the outlines of a career. What's behind the career? What's the man? Was he good or bad? Strong or foolish? Tragic or silly? Why did he do all those things? What was he after?" Rawlston then suggests that Thompson consult people that Kane knew and base his new report off of Kane's last words, "Rosebud..." Thompson tells Rawlston he'll get right on it, as if it were going to be simple. Ra!
             wlston, standing in front of Kane's picture on the screen, says, "It'll probably turn out to b
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Citizen Kane: The Projection Room Sequence. (2000, January 01). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 11:15, September 14, 2026, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/103093.html