Narrative, Music and Low-Budget Filmmaking: An Analysis of ‘The Voice Within My Silence’

by Massimiliano Folgheraiter

As argued by Jeanine Basinger, ‘low-budget musicals can be made to work because the audience has been taught that music, not plot, matters’ (2019, p. 301). The case of low-budget short musicals, however, is entirely different, since the importance of the narrative and the balance between all the elements are essential to achieve a good outcome.

The purpose of this essay is to contextualise the short musical film The Voice Within My Silence (Massimiliano Folgheraiter 2020) within the low budget filmmaking framework. It will present an analysis of the artistic influences that inspired the film, a comparison with other works dealing with similar themes, and an account of the filmmaking process, stylistic intent and aesthetic choices.

The story of The Voice Within My Silence (2020) revolves around a 22-years-old aspiring singer named Alice Plate, portrayed by Eleonora Matrisciano, who loses her voice as a result of a vocal cord surgery. Since Alice is no longer able to communicate as she used to, she seeks the help of a sign language teacher, Alexandra Nikolaou, portrayed by Elena Vrasida. Despite struggling with her new condition at first, Alice discovers that sing language offers her a way to sing and express her feelings again. This realisation allows her to gain the confidence she needs to audition for the annual Arts Showcase organised by the university.

According to film producer Elliot Grove, ‘the first task in filmmaking is choosing a budget’ (2013, p. 21). In his book Raindance Producers' Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking (2013), Grove distinguishes the types of low-budget into three subcategories: low-budget, micro-budget and no-budget (p. 23). Since The Voice Within My Silence (2020) was produced with a budget close to zero, it can be categorised as a no budget film. However, the musical genre makes it difficult to contextualise the film in the category of no-budget films. A study conducted on Indie films by Stephen Follows and Bruce Nash for the American Film Market shows that ‘music-based films [seem to work] at the higher mid-budget range’ (2017) due to the high cost of music production that ‘must take up a larger proportion of the overall budget’ (Vasco Hexel 2019, p. 173). For this reason, the amount of known low-budget musicals is limited. One notable piece is Colma: The Musical (Richard Wong 2006). This Asian-American musical revolves around three friends, Rodel, portrayed by H.P. Mendoza, Billy, portrayed by Jake Moreno, and Maribel, portrayed by L.A. Renigen. The protagonists have just graduated from high school and want to follow their dreams. However, the town of Colma is small and their dreams appear impossible to achieve. This initial lack of opportunity that is present in Colma: The Musical (2017) can be compared with Alice's condition in The Voice Within My Silence (2020) and what seems to be her unsuitability to become a singer. The protagonists of both films struggle to succeed and, while the main obstacle of Colma: The Musical (2006) is the isolated community, in Alice's story is her muteness.

A strong narrative is fundamental in the production of a no-budget short musical, because it helps differentiate short musical films from music videos clearly. According to Patrick Chamberlain, ‘a big trend has come about in the way music videos have become more like short films; both in the way they look and the storytelling department’ (2012). Although music is crucial for both types of production, short musicals rely on music as a way to move the narrative forward balancing the prominence between story and musical pieces, while the narrative of music videos is often limited to the duration of the song. In the case of The Voice Within My Silence (2020), the two musical performances take place in the opening and closing sequences, lasting approximately half of the the total length of the film. This allocation allows the narrative to develop evenly during the main body of the film, so the songs function as a frame around the story.

In The Voice Within My Silence (2020), a significant part of the narrative is devoted to disability. Alice’s character development revolves around the acceptance process of her new condition and the overcoming of the obstacle, which is represented by the learning of sign language as an effective method of communication. A similar story development can be found in many other musical films. In an article for the Disability Studies Quarterly, musician Alex Lubet highlights a tendency of disability-themed musicals to portray “invisible” impairments, such as deafness and blindness (2006). This is the case of Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier 2000), which is a musical drama set in 1964 that follows the life of immigrant Selma Jezkova, portrayed by Björk. Selma and her son are affected by a degenerative disease that will lead them to complete blindness and only the mother's love for Hollywood musicals and dance can give her the energy to confront her downward spiral. Dancer in the Dark (2000) confirms the trend analysed by Lubet (2006) due to its association between blindness and dancing. Despite having a completely different conclusion, Von Trier’s film shares the disability theme and the struggles related to self-acceptance of The Voice Within My Silence (2020). However, the narrative of the latter can be considered dissimilar to any previous disability-themed musicals due to the type of impairment portrayed, i.e. muteness. Although there are examples of musicals in which the deafness impairment is overcome by singing with sign language, such as the performances of the Haverbrook School Choir in the tv series Glee (Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan 2009-2015), no evidence of the application of this narrative to the muteness disability can be found in other films.

In his article The Fundamental Template For Producing A Micro-Budget Feature Film Today (2018), filmmaker Noam Kroll suggests limiting the ‘main cast to two… [actors because] fewer people on set is almost always better, especially on a micro-budget indie’ (2018). This recommendation is followed by The Voice Within My Silence (2020), in which the main cast consists of two actresses, Matrisciano and Vrasida, with an addition of some extras during the opening and closing sequences. Furthermore, Kroll continues suggesting the use of a single or limited amount of locations in order to have ‘easier  coordination with cast/crew, and more fluidity on set as the days go on, thanks to a familiar environment’ (2018). The main location of the film is the campus of the University of Kent in Canterbury, and the Colyer-Ferguson building in particular, which made it easier for the team to get and carry the equipment and allowed the production to move  faster. The only scene which is not set at the  University is Alice's frustration that starts at minute 04.01. This specific sequence is shot in a private property, namely an off-campus student  accommodation in the city of Canterbury, that was easy to reach which was fundamental as Grover explains that a ‘near good public transportation… means the production does not need to rely on expensive private transport’ (p. 112)

Alongside the narrative, another key aspect of no-budget filmmaking is cinematography or, more precisely, camera movement. As mentioned by Grove, ‘handheld camera or low-cost tripod head will lead to a jerky movement which betrays you as a rank amateur’ (p. 54). In The  Voice Within My Silence (2020), the primary camera movements are dolly shots, obtained by installing the tripod on a wheeled trolley. One of the main reasons for choosing this type of shot is to make  the cinematography of the film look more professional when compared to other low-budget musicals which make extensive use of the aforementioned jerky camera movements, such as John Carney’s Once (2007). This musical drama is the story of an Irish musician, portrayed by Glen Hansard, who earns a living by repairing household appliances and playing in the streets of Dublin. After his meeting with the Czech mother-girl, portrayed by Markéta Irglová, their shared passion for music lead them to help each other reach their ambitions. In terms of the narrative, this film can be associated with The Voice Within My Silence (2020) since the meeting between the protagonists of both films represents the turning point in the pursuit for success. However, the aspect that most distinguishes the two projects is camera movement. The cinematography of Carney’s film is characterised by extensive use of the shaky handheld camera that, from the very first scene, immediately contextualises Once (2007) in the low-budget realm.

On the other hand, the cinematography of The Voice Within My Silence (2020) takes its inspiration from several performances of the tv series Glee (2009-2015). This influence becomes evident when comparing the opening sequence of the 2020 film with the scene in which Rachel  Berry, portrayed by Lea Michele, sings a cover of the song Cry (2009) by Kelly Clarkson in the episode Choke (2012). In both sequences, the dolly camera slowly spins around the protagonist who is singing on the stage. These shots are cross-cut with other shots, which are often moving in different  directions to convey musicality through the editing. This purpose is another reason for the use of dolly shots in the production of The Voice Within My Silence (2020). The editing of the musical pieces of the film follows the rhythm of the songs cutting to the beat and metaphorically “dancing” with the protagonist. A similar technique can be seen in the music-themed drama Whiplash (Damien Chazelle 2014). Since Andrew Neiman, portrayed by Miles Teller, is a jazz drummer, the ’editing [of the drum sessions] mirrors the music in a way that is uniquely organic and jazzy’ (Rob Hardy 2015), emphasising the rhythm of the musical numbers as well as reflecting the restlessness of the protagonist’s obsession for perfection.

As explained by Grove, low-budget films can rely on ‘available light… [to] work cheaply and quickly’ (p. 4). However, the producer also reports that poor lighting can affect the quality of the image and, consequently, give the film a recognisable low-budget look (p. 50). To avoid this eventuality, The Voice Within My Silence (2020) uses available light during the day while relies on artificial lighting for the indoor opening sequence and the demoralisation scene. The lighting setup of the latter is achieved following the three-point lighting method, namely using the window behind Alice as back light and two artificial lamps as key light and fill light. On the contrary, the opening sequence does not follow this method but relies on the use of only the artificial light generated by the spotlight that illuminates Alice leaving the extra characters in the shadows. This  choice is inspired by the closing scene at 1:46:00 of the biopic musical Judy (Rupert Goold 2019), where Judy Garland, portrayed by Renée Zellweger, is on the stage for the final performance of Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen 1939). In both scenes, the spotlight is employed to capture the spectator’s  attention and direct it to the protagonist. However, the effect is enhanced in The Voice Within My Silence (2020) by the use of the low-key lighting style that makes Alice stand out among the other characters.

As mentioned before, the role of the soundtrack is crucial for the progression of the narrative. However, it is important to distinguish two different types of music that generally occur in musicals. According to Stephen Banfield, songs in musicals are not always diegetic, i.e. ‘sung by a character who knows that she is singing… [implying] the other characters on stage know it too’ (1993, p. 184). The scholar continues by defining “integrated” musicals, which use non-diegetic songs to express a character’s state of mind or emotion. The Voice Within My Silence (2020) is an example of diegetic hybridity since it uses both diegetic and non-diegetic songs. On one hand, the first song of the film, namely Within My Silence (Massimiliano Folgheraiter 2020), appears as diegetic as Alice is singing it in front of three judges during an audition. However, since the scene is revealed to be a dream, the song can also reflect Alice’s mind and be, therefore, non-diegetic. On the other hand, the last musical piece called Raise My Voice (Massimiliano Folgheraiter 2020), starts as a non-diegetic score at minute 04:32 and maintains this condition until minute 06:57. Indeed, the first part of the song is performed by a personification of Alice’s conscience that cannot be heard by the other characters on screen, while the second part, in which Alice auditions in front of the judges and later performs in the theatre, becomes diegetic. 

It is worth analysing the first part of the Raise My Voice (2020) performance also from an editing perspective. In his book Filming on a Microbudget (2004), Paul Hardy mentions how film look can be achieved by manipulating depth of field, also in post-production through the use of effects and and plug-ins (p. 79). This artifice can be useful for no-budget filmmaking like in the  case of the scene mentioned above, where Alice and Alexandra are slightly blurred in post-production to give depth to the scene and make the viewer focus on  the personification of Alice’s conscience which is singing the piece.

It is interesting to note how also the manipulation of the aspect ratio can have a distinctive role in no-budget filmmaking. Although the original footage of The Voice Within My Silence (2020) has an aspect ratio of 16:9, the latter has been changed in post-production to 2.39.1 through the implementation of a letterbox. This ploy can be useful to give a more cinematic look to the film and, above all, can cover little mise-en-scène  mistakes, as in the case of the shot at minute 04:00. The letterbox is used to conceal the presence of unwanted props and equipment that enters the frame.

In conclusion, The Voice Within My Silence (2020) is a short film that applies the canons of the musical genre to a disability-themed narrative, conveying the idea that, even with impairments like muteness, one can always find a musical way to express himself. The soundtrack of the film and the implementation of sign language are crucial in order to support this message, and the combination of these two elements successfully conveys the emotions of the protagonist.

Although the film attempts to conceal its no-budget status through the implementation of several ploys such as the dolly camera movements, and simple lighting and post-production techniques, The Voice Within My Silence (2020) can be clearly positioned in the low-budget framework due to the presence of its distinguishing marks such as the zero budget, the limited number of actors and crew, and the restricted use of equipment and locations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banfield, S. (1993). Sondheim's Broadway Musicals. New York: The University of Michigan Press.

Basinger, J. (2019). The Movie Musical!. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Chamberlain, P. (2012). 10 Music Video/Short Films. [Online]. Raindance. Available from: https://www.raindance.org/10-music-videoshort-films/ [Accessed 18 April 2020].

Follows, S. and Nash, B. (2017). What Types of $3M – $10M Films Break Out? [Online]. American Film Market. Available from: https://americanfilmmarket.com/types-3m-10m-films-break/ [Accessed 20 April 2020].

Grove, E. (2013). Raindance Producers' Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking. Burlington: Focal Press.

Hardy, P. (2004). Filming on a Microbudget. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials.

Hardy, R. (2015). Breaking Down the Oscar-Winning Editing of ‘Whiplash' [Online]. No Film School. Available from: https://nofilmschool.com/2015/04/breaking-down-oscar-winning-editing-whiplash [Accessed 20 April 2020].

Hexel, V. (2019). The Film and Media Creators' Guide to Music. New York: Routledge.

Kroll, N. (2018). The Fundamental Template For Producing A Micro-Budget Feature Film Today [Online]. Available from: https://noamkroll.com/the-fundamental-template-for-producing-a-micro-budget-feature-film-today/ [Accessed 19 April 2020].

Lubet, A. (2006). Classical Music, Disability, & Film: A Pedagogical Script. Disability Studies Quarterly [Online], 26(1). Available from: https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/657/834 [Accessed 18 April 2020].

FILMOGRAPHY

Carney, J. (2007). Once. [Film]. Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Chazelle, D. (2014). Whiplash. [Film]. Stage 6 Films.

Choke. (2012). Glee. Series 3, episode 18. [DVD]. Directed by Michael Uppendahl, written by Marti Noxon. 20th Television.

Folgheraiter, M. (2020). The Voice Within My Silence. [Film].

Goold, R. (2019). Judy. [Film]. 20th Century Fox.

Murphy, R., Falchuk, B. and Brennan, I. (2009-2015). Glee. [Tv Series]. 20th Television.

Von Trier, L. (2000). Dancer in the Dark. [Film]. Fine Line Features.

Wong, R. (2006). Colma: The Musical. [Film]. Roadside Attractions.

DISCOGRAPHY

Arlen, H. (1939). Over the Rainbow. [Song]. Leo Feist, Inc.

Clarkson, K. (2009). Cry. [Song]. RCA.

Folgheraiter, M. (2020). Raise My Voice. [Song].

Folgheraiter, M. (2020). Within My Silence. [Song].