We are interested in the paradox of silence. Silence as an objective phenomenon seems all but impossible in the presence of constant activity. Rain patters on the roof; the highway flows uncongested; someone is shoveling away the snowfall of the mid-spring. The phone rings. The contemporary urban world never sleeps.
Perhaps the only recourse for silence is in subjective experience. However, it does not present itself where one might expect to find it. Even as our voices remain silent, our minds speak. Even as we navigate the quotidian rituals of our commutes on autopilot, we are never truly absent-minded.
The American writer Paul Goodman describes nine types of silence, among them, “the silence of listening to another speak, catching the drift and helping him be clear.” This is a silence which does not exist in isolation, but rather, in juxtaposition with sound. More importantly, it can only exist in dialogue; never alone. It is here that the paradoxical quality of silence arrays itself.
What we are looking to do in the video is make the viewer think about the relationship between silence and the act of listening, particularly within the context of urban experience. The video focuses less on specific bouts of conversational listening, and more on a diluted perception of the world around us. The video is comprised of scenes and sounds from a homewards trip, interspersed with a kettle boiling — moments of silent listening. Reference is made to Baudelaire’s conception of the flaneur: one who strolls about the modern city and sees.
Secondary themes are that of waiting and watching. Implicit in all scenes is the presence of the camera and a person behind the camera. This is emphasized with the slight camera shake from hand-held shooting. A tertiary consideration is the viewing audience of the video, who, likewise, are watching silently and waiting for the video to end.
Within the frame of editing, we amplified the sound of each clip to gradually add a tension and build up that would augment the subconscious effect of the video. As the listener grows more aware of the silence, the noise increases. Throughout the entirety of the clip, a white-noise intensifies as it fills the silence of the scenes — only to reveal, once gone, yet another layer of silence, one constantly filled with noise from our own inner world. Like the cessation of a droning appliance filtered out by our brain, the silence gained is liberating but merely reveals more noise.
Ultimately, we wanted the video to express the subjectivity of silence. Silence is a phenomenon of perception, not one which exists on its own. The experience of silence in its many forms yields a fuller awareness of our environment and a fuller appreciation of our world.