A large number of original audio-visual materials of the city are used in How High the City Gate is, and these historical materials are rearranged by modern means. For example, in the first episode of Chaotianmen, the opening scene was a "black field" recorded by a German diplomat with a wax disc recorder more than 100 years ago, with a "boatman's horn". Following this piece of music, there is also a set of historical photos of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River from far to near.
The arrangement of this group of photos adopts the sequence of the opening shots commonly used in movies from distant view to close view, forming a static montage effect, which leads the audience's attention to the boatmen wearing bows and arrows on both sides of the Xiajiang River. In this film, a large number of historical images are used to tell stories. These old photos of Chongqing from the National Archives of the United States, the Library of Congress, the British Library, university websites and some private collections "pulse" through digital technology, making the distant history alive.
This image presentation technique not only makes the picture language richer and more impactful, but also builds a path for the audience to connect the original historical features with the original reality.
Sound is an important part of documentary, and it is also an important means to reflect the realism of the scene. How many feet high the city gate is, the use of sound is original. In sound design, the director pays attention to the ingenious combination of richness, unity and regionality of music, making it an important part of film aesthetics.
Except for the two songs "Song of Chongqing" and "Ballad of City Gate" at the beginning and end of the film, all the other 17 pieces of music in the film were tailored by professional musicians, which became an important symbol and means of expressing the theme of the whole film. The richness and unity of film music has become the outstanding point of aesthetic characteristics, which not only realizes the theme expression of the documentary, but also helps the audience to identify and deepen the theme of the city gate memory, and also becomes an indispensable auditory logo of the film. The name of this documentary also comes from the lyrics in the widely sung "The Ballad of the City Gate".
At the same time, sound effects are added to many still pictures to enhance the appeal and communication effect. For example, in Chaotianmen, the English translator Ma Jiali shot and killed the indigenous people, adding the sound of pistol shooting; In the dragon gate array, the nail sound of Chongqing residents when repairing houses; And the shutter sound of the camera when the photos in each sub-focus are switched. In the reproduction of the picture and the echo of the sound, the audience is immersed in time.
At the same time, the film quotes a large number of diaries and essays of British businessman Li Dele, famous writer Mao Dun and national government official Chen as auxiliary "explanations" of historical images. The application of this dual intertextual documentary historical data provides a three-dimensional expression space for the real dimension, speculative thickness and humanistic height of the city gate.