Orson Welles uses many different
kinds of film techniques throughout all of his films, but there are some that
he uses in both his Shakespearean adaptations as well as his independent
productions. In both he uses different kinds of lighting tricks, including
using silhouette and shadow. He also uses narration as well as other radio
techniques in interesting ways. He also uses different editing techniques to
cut for a certain rhythm to the piece. As well as these, there are some
differences that will be discussed between these adaptations and independent
productions.
To
begin, there are many different lighting tricks and techniques that Welles uses
throughout his work. One includes silhouette. When Welles uses silhouette, he
usually has the subject backlit and fades out the light in front of the
subject. One example of this is as early as The
Magnificent Ambersons, when he has the main couple near the door and they
are silhouetted as they say their goodbyes. He uses these in several
Shakespearean adaptations, such as in Macbeth
when he frames the witches in silhouette against the sky near the middle of the
film. He also uses it in Othello at
the beginning with the funeral procession against the sky. These are used
similarly to how a stage play might be lit, and might have come from Welles's
experiences on stage plays. Of course with Shakespeare, they can evoke the
stage version as well as help increase the tension. With his independent work,
it also has a similar feeling to it. Welles uses silhouette in several independent
works, but maybe most noticeably in The
Fountain Of Youth. There are many transitions from scene to scene where the
scene ends with the subject being silhouetted, with multiple times the
backgrounds changing behind them or fading out behind them. There is also a
scene in F For Fake where Welles is
sitting at a park bench and is silhouetted. This technique is used many times
by well, and normally evokes the same dramatic feel.
Welles
also similarly uses shadow in both kinds of work. In his adaptation of Macbeth, There is much use of shadow, as
in the scene where Macbeth has a speech, and he is looking up at the sky. There
is much use of shadow, and it changes throughout the scene and even sometimes
is on Macbeth's face. This scene itself is very stage-like, and the lighting
reflects that. The use of shadows in F
For Fake is also much like that. In the scenes where Welles is sitting in
an editing room talking about the story, there are shadows on him and on the
background, evoking sort of a set or stage. In Hearts of Age, Welles starts the film by having a shadow of a hand
in front of a cross, and there are similar shadows on gravestone crosses later
on in the film. The shadows evoke the same sort of lighting as stage, and help
create a darkness and mood to the scenes they are used in.
Welles
also has a good use of sound and other radio techniques in both types of works.
He used Narration in both, usually of himself. In Othello, there is Narration of the story at many points, and as
well there is Narration in Chimes at
Midnight. While not Narration per say, there is use of Macbeth's soliloquy
being used over other footage in Welles's Macbeth.
In the Independent productions, Welles uses narration heavily. The Fountain of Youth is almost all
narration by Welles, with pictures being shown over his narration and even
sometimes Welles narrating the character's dialogues. In F For Fake There is also a lot of narration, as Welles tells the
story, again sometimes over pictures, and sometimes sitting in an editing room
telling the story. Sometimes he even has narration, taken from an interview, of
one of the people in the story over other pictures or sometimes footage.
Welles
also uses different sound techniques that might have been a holdover from his radio
days in both kinds of productions. For example, in his adaptation of Chimes at Midnight, he uses dubbed
audio, which works especially well when the character is far away from the
camera. He also uses sound to help with the sense of space in Othello, were when the characters go
underground there is an echo to their dialogue, and when they are near the
ocean waves can be heard in the background. In his independent productions, he
uses a similar technique. In The Fountain
of Youth, the ticking clock in Mr. Baxter's office reminds the viewer about
time, and in F For Fake, Welles does
something a little different, and has the sound kind of overlay itself, as
footage from Elmyr's party would be under his narration, both giving a sense of
the place and explaining the story at the same time, much like could be used in
radio.
Welles
uses many editing techniques in both types of productions, and there are some
very obvious similarities in the editing style. In the Shakespearean
adaptations, Welles tends to use a more traditional editing style, though there
are times in Macbeth, Othello and Chimes at Midnight where he uses a more
complicated editing. In Macbeth, when
Macbeth has his soliloquy where he looks up at the sky, the editing is a little
more fast and haphazard. In Othello,
during the battle scene where they are firing cannons, the editing is also
quicker, with shots of the cannon immediately cutting to other images, and the
boats they are firing on. As well, in the scene where Iago kills the man in the
bathhouse, there is fast cutting as he stabs to a overlay of the sword going
through the floorboards for a few seconds, and the fast cutting and overlay
work to add to the scene.
In Chimes at Midnight There are a lot more fast cutting during certain
sections where Falstaff and Harry are at the pub area. This shows the
fun-loving nature of the scenes, and there is also faster cutting to the
trumpets blaring in Henry's court.
Some
of these same cutting techniques are used in Welles's independent productions.
He uses it much in Hearts of Age, as
there are shots of a bell, a cross, and people's faces, and they switch between
these shots and others throughout the film. There is also a part where the same
shot is looped three times, and this helps add to the surrealness of the film. F For Fake is full of this kind of
editing, as there are shots of the interviewee, then Welles, then the monkey
playing around with stuff. Welles uses heavy editing techniques in F For Fake to help add to it, many times
using the technique of Soviet Montage to show two elements and create an image
in someone's mind, such as when he shows Oja and a picture of El Myr. This
helps create images in people's mind and make connections, and he uses it along
with quick cutting all throughout F For Fake. He uses it to a lesser extent in The Fountain of Youth, but there are
still some times he uses interesting editing techniques. Instead of cutting,
many times throughout the production there is a scene transition as if on a
stage, with the character changing outfits and a new background sliding in, but
then Welles will cut to another view, such as who Baxter was talking to, and
then the location has also changed. The same thing is done with transitions,
such as when time is being shown to pass, it transitions behind Welles as he
narrates. Welles typically uses his editing techniques to help fluidly keep the
film going, and with his Shakespeare adaptations and his independent
productions you can really see the kind of editing Welles enjoys.
Although
there are many similarities between Welles's independent work and his
Shakespeare adaptations, there are also some key differences. In general, the
Shakespearean adaptations were a little more Hollywood-style, though done independently.
There were large casts, including many extras, which you can see in the armies
and background characters in all three adaptations. They are generally larger
productions, with extravagant locations, such as a Scottish castle or a
battlefield. They also sometimes have poor dubbing, perhaps due to the filming
conditions, or perhaps because of a decision on Welles part to help make sure
all the lines were understood, but they don't always match up. They still use a
lot of independent techniques and shot design, but are generally larger
productions than his independent productions.
his
independent productions, in contrast, are usually much smaller. Hearts of Age seems to be predominantly
shot in one location, and The Fountain of
Youth quite possibly was all filmed on one soundstage. There are more
locations in F For Fake, but it never
reaches the production value of the Shakespearean adaptations. as well, there
are very few, if any extras in these productions. both Hearts of Age and The
Fountain of Youth Have a small cast, with no more than ten actors in both. F For Fake has more people in it, but
they are mostly from the interviews and documentary aspects, while there are
probably still less than ten actors in the acted parts of the film, such as the
opening train part and the conversation between Welles and Oja. The dubbing,
however, seems better on these productions, possibly because of the small
aspect of them, and a more set-based filming.
All
in all, both kinds of productions show the talents of Welles are vast, whether making
a small-budget Shakespearean adaptation into a large affair, or making a small,
studio-based television show. Welles uses his talents and techniques from radio
and stage to help present the stories. Welles seems to have a way with making
productions remarkable, and all the while keeping the independent filmmaker's
mindset. Shakespearean adaptation and an independent production could be
drastically different, but for the most part they are similar when made by
Welles, and both seem like something that he had a hand in.