Citizen Kane: The Projection Room Sequence

Citizen Kane Scene Analysis The Projection Room Low Key Lighting 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 …

…the lighting of this scene gave some insight into Kane's past. The real Charles Foster Kane stayed deep inside himself. He led two lives simultaneously, one being the politician, and the other being the true Charles Foster Kane. Thompson's original short showed the strong american politican Kane. Rawlston wants Thompson to uncover the Charles Foster Kane that stayed hidden in the shadows. The dark lighting used in this scene is able to display this perfectly.