Film Project

Techniques and Theories Employed in The War on Drugs Short Film

“There is no substitute for good footage,” Barry Hampe writes in his chapter, “Visual Evidence” (Hampe, p. 49). This is the mantra our group followed during the process of creating our film – a documentary-drama presentation of the War on Drugs. Using techniques and theories we learned in class, our team experimented with a variety of storytelling forms, from machinima and animation to true-to-life documentary presentation. Exploring various methods of film creation allowed our group to better understand our objectives and narrative goals, and how different methods can convey a particular message. Ultimately, we decided to employ realistic imagery and audio to communicate our message, which used documentary-drama techniques to create a story following a local drug gang in Chicago; the film explains how the War on Drugs has been a fruitless effort that has resulted in the mass incarceration of thousands of people – primarily minorities – for petty offenses, while the drug trade continues to thrive.

The process of film creation is a daunting one: a team must come together to consider how and why carefully selected visual and audio cues will intertwine in order to properly convey the message the team is crafting. The team must consider the context of space, time, and place, while also ensuring ideal content of characterization, imagery, and aural techniques. After considering the content and context of the film, they must then decide how to logically and effectively present the argument that has been crafted through visuals and audio. Drawing on experience from this course, our team was able to consider the theories and motives behind film creation using our past experience with audio and visuals. This essay will reflect the theories and rationale behind the choices made in creating our film. First, we will explore visual techniques and the ways in which particular images and directorial techniques reinforce an argument. Second, we will discuss audio techniques, and how qualities of music, voice, tone, and sound effects come together to create ambience and a convincing message. Finally, we will explain how these audio/visual techniques and theories came together to create our film, and how the film effectively conveys our message about the War on Drugs.

The Visuals

In his chapter “Visual Evidence,” Barry Hampe explains the importance of visual evidence in the creation of a documentary. A documentary, he claims, must follow specific ground rules in order to be successful. “A documentary is made to communicate to an audience” (p. 53), he writes. “A documentary communicates through strong visual images organized in sequence to make a statement.” Most importantly, though, is his assertion that “It’s the documentary you show, not the footage you shot, that counts.” In this sense, what is seen on screen is the only thing that matters in the final cut of a film; the audience does not have the same background knowledge as the director. Hampe frankly asserts, “You have to have the evidence on film or video” (p. 55). Therefore, a director must effectively capture visual evidence in order to effectively convey his or her message. Hampe writes, “It is important to think of the images that you shoot as visual evidence. The question is not whether you can argue the case for what your images mean… The only real test is whether the images can stand on their own and argue the case themselves” (p. 58).

Visual argument is therefore grounded in the idea that a standalone image can effectively communicate a message. This is echoed in Cara A. Finnegan’s article “The Naturalistic Enthymeme and Visual Argument.” Finnegan explains, “[There are] three types of context relevant to a theory of visual argument: immediate visual context (the relation of an image to other images with which it is associated); immediate verbal context (the relation of images to the verbal texts in which they are embedded), and “visual culture””(Finnegan, p. 135). These three conventions help to provide narrative context for a visual, and allow an audience to better understand the “argumentative resources of a specific visual image” (p. 135). Finnegan particularly emphasizes visual culture, and how it can be profoundly influential in the interpretation of visual argument. Therefore, the cultural implications of an image greatly impact the way a message is communicated and received. She also calls upon “the naturalistic enthymeme,” which is the phenomenon in which “we assume photographs to be “true” or “real” until we are given reason to doubt them” (p. 135). The naturalistic enthymeme plays a crucial role in the manipulation of an audience’s perception of a message.

In tandem with Hampe, Finnegan’s discussion of visual context, verbal context, visual culture, and the naturalistic enthymeme played a key role in the development of our visual argument. The introduction of our film, for example, highlights the urban setting in which the narrative takes place, as well as the crime and danger that accompanies gang and drug-dealing life. Images of weapons and police intervention create a sense of tension and fear in the viewer, and the cultural implications of these images, which are staged to take place in Chicago, reinforce the idea that the city of Chicago has become a dangerous area rife with crime and drug activity. The way these images represent gang life within urban space impacts the way the message is understood.

With representations of space in mind, our group drew upon Joanna Drucker’s piece, “Language in the Landscape” as inspiration for the setting of our narrative. Drucker writes, “Language has…powerful effects on our perception of the environment in which it lies” (Drucker, p. 94). It provides information that transcends its physical setting. Language creates a sense of context within a space, and works in tandem with the space in order to effectively craft a message. Furthermore, “Language provides leverage. It is the only element in the landscape that challenges us to reevaluate what we see according to ideas not indicated by the physical setting” (p. 94). While Drucker writes in terms of language, her theory helped our group better understand the importance of place and space in creating a message, and how interpretation of a message is shaped by the environment in which it lies.

Thinking about the development of narrative in the context of place, our team carefully chose the settings in which the film took place. Because the film dealt with a gritty, true-to-life subject, we chose settings that would emphasize the urban-oriented life of a drug dealing gang. Hampe advises documentarians to “Shoot people doing what they do, even if you’re mainly interested in what they have to say. Plan the location so that it becomes a part of the evidence of the scene” (Hampe, p. 60). For example, the two drug dealers in the film are contacted in an echoing stairwell, which features exposed pipes, white brick walls, metal doors, and a concrete floor. Because of these qualities, this space clearly defined itself as an urban industrial building that may host city gangs. This is juxtaposed with the office, classroom, and library settings in which Val – the scholar – is featured.

The Cinematic Elements

Further visual reinforcement is brought about through directorial techniques and editing schemes. The elements of cinematography and mise-en-scene are important when it comes to conveying a message through film.  In Timothy Corrigan’s article, “Film Terms and Topics for Film Analysis and Writing,” he defines mise-en-scene as  “what is put into the scene” and addresses “lighting” as one of the key elements of mise-en-scene (Corrigan, p. 49). Lighting has the ability to show a character’s state of mind: dark lighting is used to depict a villain-like character, while bright lighting is used to depict a hero-like character. In our film, lightening was used to introduce T.J. as a villain, since he is the leader of the drug gang and threatens Val with her life.  When seeing T.J. for the time, there is a bright light behind him, creating a silhouette effect that makes it hard for his face to be seen until he gets closer to the camera.  Additionally, not being able to see T.J.’s face establishes an uneasy atmosphere for his introduction as a character, as the audience is left wondering whom the dominating male voice belongs to.

Corrigan introduces many terms regarding cinematic methods and techniques to create a film that is logical, natural, and continuous.  The first element he discusses in his article is the “establishing shot,” which is defined as “a sequence of shots as a way of locating a scene clearly in a certain place before dividing that sequence in more detailed shots” ( Corrigan, p. 65). An establishing shot is used in the film to establish the urban setting of Chicago within the first thirty seconds of the film where the Chicago Tribune building, a Chicago street sign, and a Chicago Police Department car is shown.  Showing these visuals to the audience offers them a logical explanation as to where the film is taking place by immediately establishing the location in the introduction.

Another term that Corrigan addresses is continuity editing, which is also used to establish a logical, natural, and continuous film.  He discusses the “fade in or fade out” technique, which he defines as “an image that is darkened or lightened so that it appears or disappears” ( Corrigan, p. 67).  This technique is used in the film in between many of the scenes to make the break from scene to scene appear more natural and continuous. Corrigan emphasizes the importance of continuity editing – also referred to as “invisible editing” – by explaining how it avoids cuts and transitions between images that would be too obvious. While making this film, it was understood that the invisible editing method was the best way to edit, as the audience is given the opportunity to become more focused on the story that is being told through the film, rather than being distracted by the jumps between scenes. Unfortunately, the film is not completely free of the feeling of ‘jumpiness,’ due to the lack of cinematic editing skills needed to create successful continuity editing. Nevertheless, the “fade in” and “fade out” method was used to reduce the feeling of discontinuity throughout the film as much as possible.

Continuity editing aims to create a logical flow, which is crucial when attempting to tell an informative story. Another approach that Corrigan discusses to establish a logical, natural, and continuous flow is the “shot/reverse shot” technique, which Corrigan defines as “an exchange between two characters edited to appear logical and natural by cutting from the person speaking or looking to the object or person being addressed or seen” (Corrigan, p. 66). This method of shooting is used in the verbal exchange between Val and T.J. near the end of the film as they discuss what happened at the conference. When Val is speaking to T.J., only Val is shown in the frame, informing the audience that Val is speaking to T.J. This is also the case for T.J. when he addresses Val, as the frame reverses to only show him. Using the shot/reverse shot method, the audience is given a logical representation of the exchange, making it more simple understood and feel natural.

In a film book by Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White called, The Film Experience, they introduce the cinematic method of “blocking”. There are different types of blocking, but the blocking technique used in the film is called “social blocking,” which the film book defines as “the arrangement of characters to accentuate relations among them” (Corrigan and White, p. 76). When T.J. first agrees to participate in the survey to help Val, the two characters stand far apart from each other, almost intimidated to interact with one another. Their awkward interaction shows the audience how their relationship is new, and that they have not yet developed a close relationship. After this scene, one year has passed, and Val has gotten to know the gang very well. This results in T.J. and Val establishing a close relationship. Later, Val and T.J. are seen sitting very close to each other, because a close relationship has been developed, showing the audience how the two characters now feel comfortable with each other.  Val and T.J.’s shift from being blocked far to close emphasizes how T.J. now feels comfortable with revealing information about himself and the gang to Val, as he wasn’t so willing before.

The Audio

However, visuals alone do not fully encompass the message our film conveys. In junction with visuals, audio plays an important role. Like visuals, audio and sound qualities alone can be effective in creating an impact, and have the ability to influence the opinion of the viewer of the film. With regard to our film, we understood the importance of audio in tailoring our narrative and effectively conveying our message. To this end, we carefully chose music, vocals, and sound effects to express meaning. By employing music, various vocal qualities and inflections, and sound effects, we were able to create an impactful narrative that showcased the imposing life of a Chicago drug gang.

Music selection is of particular importance when considering its relationship to the atmosphere and tone of the visuals. With McKee’s statement, “sounds evoke feelings” (McKee, p. 344), as a guideline for the mixture of audio and visuals in our film, we used music to reinforce the tension of the narrative that was unfolding. For example, the music in the film’s introduction demonstrates McKee’s notion of the “expressive plane” ( Mckee, p. 344), because the music clarifies the meaning behind the visuals through ominous, tense tones. These musical qualities reinforce the idea that the issue is troublesome and depressing, and must be resolved. The audio clarifies this by being a “slow passage in a minor key” ( McKee, p. 344), which is usually associated with unfavorable times. The introductory song therefore complements the images of urban gang life, and showcases how it is a life that is neither desirable nor attractive by having qualities commonly associated with negativity. By juxtaposing visuals of dangerous gang activity and ominous music, our team was able to create an introduction that set a dismal tone for the topic at hand.

Similarly, vocals play a key role in the construction of narrative and the conveyance of a message. How words are said can sometimes be more important than what is actually being said. Vocal qualities such as loudness, breathiness, and vibrato were carefully considered to focus on who was speaking and how they were articulating their message. For example, the loudness in our character’s voices matched with what they were saying and when they were saying it. When Val is speaking with the gang members, she demonstrates her nervousness through her vocal tone. As she administers her survey, her voice is soft and repressed. In contrast, when T.J. – the gang leader – approaches, his voice booms, expressing dominance within his element. In this vein, a character’s vocal qualities highlight authority. Val’s speech is “airy,” allowing the audience to make the assumption that she has “less authority” (McKee, p. 340). Her hesitant vocal qualities accent her misplacement in an urban space. Furthermore, the vibrato in Val’s voice was a key component of her character development in the film. According to McKee, vibrato is “how trembling [the voice] sounds (with more vibrato equated with being emotional)” (p. 340). As Val gives her presentation at the conference and makes note of the chances of death due to drug dealing, she employs vibrato in her voice. This is to accentuate the fact that she and T.J. have become close over the year they have spent together, and she worries for his life as a drug dealer. Employing these vocal characteristics is crucial to the success of an emotional appeal in a documentary-drama film.

Vocal qualities and music were not the only factors that played into the audio element of our film. McKee also notes that sounds effects have the ability to “help in mood creation” and to “act as an emotional stimulus” (McKee, p. 340). Furthermore, sound effects work to subconsciously to “heighten tension [and] manipulate the mood” (Mckee, p. 346). Our team aimed to use sound effects as a reinforcement of the visual and vocal experience. For example, in the scene where Val is tapping onto the coffee mug with her hard nails, the sound effect demonstrates her uneasiness and uncertainty in trying to effectively reach the gang. Additionally, McKee notes that certain sound effects can act as a “cue reference” (McKee, p. 346) for a particular action. In our film, the police radio chatter acts as a cue reference for an individual getting arrested. The radio chatter helps to immerse the audience into what is being displayed onscreen, allowing them to connect their own inferences with what is being shown visually. These elements work to create a holistic experience for the viewer of the film. Music, vocal qualities, and sound effects work in tandem to incite emotion in the viewer, which ultimately reinforces the message the film conveys.

The total combination of visuals, music, vocal qualities, and sound effects helps to create a convincing documentary. By employing techniques and theories we have learned in class, our team was able to craft a convincing documentary-drama about the War on Drugs. These theories helped us better understand and craft our rationale for documentary production, and reinforce the message the film conveys.