Hello, My Name Is Orson Welles
Orson Welles liked to reuse certain elements throughout his films. He
liked a good deep focus shot. He liked low key lighting. He liked the
grotesque side of life, blocking actors in groups of three, low camera angles
and especially pointy bras. He also liked to open his movies in a certain
predictable way. In Citizen Kane, he used the announcer in "News on the March"
to introduce the subject and main character, Charles Foster Kane. In The
Magnificent Ambersons, Welles himself dubs the voice-over which introduces the
life and environment of the Amberson family. The Irish Welles serves as a story
teller in the beginning of Lady from Shanghai, recalling the beginnings of his
plight ...
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on the screen and the viewer in the seat.
Foremost, Welles's legendary long shot opens the film. These three
minutes and twenty seconds have many effects upon the viewer in introducing this
movie. The primary purpose of this shot is to slowly draw the viewer in to the
story by limiting the viewer's role in the film; he doesn't allow the viewer to
actively enter the world of the film. Rather, he constrains the viewer to
simply observe the actions presented without allowing the viewer to get involved
in the action. After the initial focus on the time bomb and its intrinsic
importance to the plot, the camera moves away from the action. At the same
point, Mancini's score begins, providing intrigue and promoting the viewer's
interest in the scenes revealed while, through the rhythmic ticking of the
bongos, also supplies a constant reminder of the ticking time-bomb waiting to
explode. Stepping back, the camera reveals the wider picture of the town; just
as an ...
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the first words spoken in the film. Welles uses these
two factors to humanize the camera and draw the viewer into this interaction
between the Vargases and the border guard. However, the view remains imperfect
for a human participant in the scene. The floating movement of the camera, a
left over attribute from the beginning of the shot, remains to remind the viewer
that he is not yet totally immersed in the action. Then, with a dolly into the
kissing couple, Welles gains some intimacy between the viewer and the characters.
However, still just an outside observer, it takes the violent explosion to
suddenly snap the viewer into the story. With the first cut of the film, Welles
shocks ...
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"Hello, My Name Is Orson Welles." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 21 Aug. 2005. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hello-My-Name-Is-Orson-Welles/32004>
"Hello, My Name Is Orson Welles." Essayworld.com. August 21, 2005. Accessed April 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hello-My-Name-Is-Orson-Welles/32004.
"Hello, My Name Is Orson Welles." Essayworld.com. August 21, 2005. Accessed April 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hello-My-Name-Is-Orson-Welles/32004.
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