The opening titles (as shown below) are played with no sound, which makes a large impact on the viewer when the film does start and further emphasizes the haunting power of the opening theme in the next shot which perfectly fits the dark, gloomy and secluded visuals.
The close up shows a sign which says 'NO TRESPASSING', this connotes to the viewer that either someone dangerous is inside or perhaps someone of importance.The sign is dirty and worn out which could have been done to imply to the viewer that the grounds have not been well kept.
The camera (still using a close up) then pans up to to multiple shots of barbed wire. The viewer can't see anything past the wire, it's all distorted by fog. This could have been done to symbolize that people outside do not know what goes on inside or who lives there. It also works to create anticipation and mystery about what could be inside. Also, barbed wire is typically used in very heavily guarded locations which further implies that someone or something important inside.
After panning past multiple barbed fences (many fences were possibly shown to emphasize the size of the grounds, we are finally shown the building inside, which is a huge mansion on top of a hill - the sheer size of the building is very intimidating. It should also be noted that only one light is on in the mansion which implies that there aren't a lot of people inside.
We are then shown a shot of two small monkeys in the empty cage of a much larger animal - the tiger in front of the the mansion. This could be a visual metaphor for the likelihood of there being a very small amount of people in the mansion that is much larger than what they need. The exotic nature of these animals also shows the audience the wealth of the owner.
We are then shown a shot of some sort of dock, even in the reflection of the water the mansion's domineering presence over the grounds can still be felt.
The establishing shots continue and further emphasize the size of the mansion and its grounds, along with the wealth of the owner. The mystery continues to build as a lot of the screen is still obscured with fog. This continues and with each shot we get closer and closer to the mansion's lit up window. The closer we get to the building the more intimidating its size becomes.
Finally, we reach the the lit up window and the soundtrack intensifies until the light is shut off - this grabs the viewers attention. We then fade into the bedroom where an old man is seen lying down holding a glass object in front of the window we were just looking into.
We then fade into a snowy environment and are shown a small house in the snow. However, then the camera pulls back and it is revealed that we are looking into a snow globe. He then meekly whispers 'Rosebud' and the snow globe slips from his hand and smashes. The home in the snow globe is a lot smaller than the one he lives in, perhaps he is thinking about when he was younger and less wealthy, or maybe he would rather live in a smaller less lonely home. The way we slowly fade into the snow globe, in a way that fools many viewers into believing they're looking at a real place, could further hint towards the man fantasizing about a different life or time. The smashing of the globe could mean that his hopes of living that life are over or that he'll never have that life. The word 'Rosebud' intrigues the viewer and gives them the their first taste of the film's mystery.
We then cut to a woman, who is presumably a nurse, entering the room. She approaches the bed and then folds the man's lifeless arms across his chest and then covers his face with a blanket. This implies that he has died and cements the mystery plot.
The scene then fades to black. The screenshots were taken from this clip of the opening sequence below.
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