The quietest place #theartassignment
This video was taken while walking with my girlfriend through Hebden Bridge: every time there was a choice of directions to walk in, she chose the quietest path. The quietest place we reached was the hillside where I took the panning shot, but in the video they all sound equally quiet, which is interesting to me. I suspect that this is because the microphone in my phone was automatically recalibrating to create a consistent level of sound.
It reminds me of a rant my Dad has about how music today has no dynamic range - everything is the same volume, because that’s conventionally thought to be the best way to balance a recording. He sort of argues that a whole aspect of human expression has been lost to this. Watching this video, I’m inclined to agree, but there’s also something pleasant about the feeling that everything is slightly buzzing with activity, while also being completely still.
I think the panning shot was a mistake: the still shots are much more tranquil, and concluding with a load of camera movement really doesn’t do any favours to the sense that we went somewhere more quiet than where we started.
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This assignment comes from Sarah Urist Green and PBS Digital’s The Art Assignment - a series that began in 2014, and has now given 60 assignments for people to try out and publish on social media. Each assignment is created by a different featured artist - this one was by musician and writer Jace Clayton, who talks in the video about how silence can disorient people.
