Soundtracker (2010)
A Film by Nicholas Sherman
Documentary on nature-sound recordist Gordon Hempton
Studio: Indiepix IP4193
Video: 1.78:1 for 16:9 color
Audio: English PCM stereo & binaural
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: Interview with director, One Square Inch interactive feature, Theatrical trailer, “World of Sound” – 72-min. binaural sonic tour of over 50 Hempton recordings made around the world, more
Length: 82 minutes
Rating: *****
Also Book: One Square Inch of Silence – One Man’s Quest to Preserve Quiet – Gordon Hempton & John Grossmann – Simon and Schuster.com
Gordon Hempton, whom I interviewed many years ago on my syndicated radio series (with the same title as this website), has been following for over 30 years with solitary devotion a life of traveling around making perfectionist recordings of nature sounds which he has documented on a long series of CDs and sound projects for various organizations. His previous video was a PBS special some years ago titled Vanishing Dawn Chorus, in which he traveled around the globe recording the bird song that occurred just as the sun was coming up in various locations. He has won many awards and is recognized as The Soundtracker – the leading recordist of natural sounds of nature in secluded locales.
There have been many video and audio presentations on the loss of many of the natural features of our planet, but few have paid any attention to the sound landscape while they may be concerned about the visual landscape. Gordon has found on his many trips into the wilderness each year to record his sounds that the number of truly quiet places in the country have decreased to the point where there are almost none. His book One Square Inch of Silence describes a road trip across the U.S. in his 1964 VW bus from his home in Port Angeles, Washington to Washington D.C. to meet with federal officials to press his case for the preservation of natural silence. He also traveled with a sound level meter, discovering that there is almost no spot left in the country where some level of man-made noise is not interfering. He has also been instrumental in the creation of an actual spot deep in Washington’s Olympic National Park – near where he lives – that is away from all the flight paths and noises of civilization and represents the One Square Inch of Silence.
The beautifully-videotaped documentary follows Gordon on his quest for making pristine recordings of the subtle sounds of nature. The night recording of the growling sound of a leopard at the same spot where Gordon had just been sitting is a dramatic highlight of the film. His nemesis are the constantly intruding noises that more and more ruin his recordings with the sounds of planes, trains, gas engines of various sorts, hum from AC transformers, etc. They interrupt his sonic records of insects, birds, wind, water, animals, plants – all the natural voices of the American wilderness. Hempton’s frustration over the changes in the wilderness world due to encroaching civilization is well portrayed in the film, as well as his absolute devotion to getting exactly the sounds he wants. The final portion of the film concerns his struggle to combine natural recordings of a secluded area with a meadowlark singing plus a train passing and whistling, but the first passes of a train fail to follow the “W” signs at the location indicating that the engineer should blow his whistle there. He will stay at a spot as long as it takes to secure the sound he wants, even it means days of waiting – similar to dedicated wildlife photographers. There are also scenes of Hempton at home with his two grown children, and working on editing his field recordings. He is obviously passionate about his pursuit of the sounds of nature, and his story should stimulate the viewer to pay more attention to the sounds of nature all around us, even in urban areas. Much of the soundtrack is a voice-over by Gordon talking about his solitary on-the-road adventures, and his philosophy about sound, health and the natural environment.
There are many shots of Gordon working with his Neumann binaural microphone head, Fritz, but I was surprised there was nothing in either the film or the extras explaining what binaural was and how it differs from stereo. The 72-minute sampler of some of Gordon’s many recordings is true binaural and will provide an amazing aural experience on headphones – the better quality the headphones the better the experience. Basically, the binaural process records sound with a dummy head that replicates the human head, with two omnidirectional mikes where the ear canals would be and rubber pinnae (the outer ears) to filter the directionality of sounds. When listened to on headphones full 360-degree spatial imaging can be created (although subject to some perceptual confusion depending on an individual’s hearing and headphones used). The effect can be far superior to the best surround sound via speakers, yet only requires two channels just as stereo. The stereo recordings everyone listens to via headphones were never designed for headphones – only for loudspeaker playback. For more details check Wikipedia.
— John Sunier
