'Fluistervloed' is a short film in pre-production
Arjan (42) is a sound engineer. In his free time, he has a hobby of recording bird sounds. He collects these sounds obsessively with the ultimate goal of capturing every bird species out there. For the first time, he takes his son Finn (12) into the forest to search for bird sounds together. Gradually, they discover that there's much more to record than just birds. When they reach the edge of the forest and see a busy road, they decide to listen to sounds outside of nature as well.
Why this film?
A few years ago, when I first borrowed a microphone from someone and recorded sounds in the forest, I discovered how unique the experience of attentive listening truly is. You learn to really listen and perceive sounds in a new way. Sounds close to the microphone are clear, while those further away are muffled. This gave me a calming experience, because when you listen in this way, you are truly present in that moment. This experience stayed with me even when I didn't have a microphone with me. I felt the meditative power of sounds to anchor the listener in the present moment.
A few years ago, when I first borrowed a microphone from someone and recorded sounds in the forest, I discovered how unique the experience of attentive listening truly is. You learn to really listen and perceive sounds in a new way. Sounds close to the microphone are clear, while those further away are muffled. This gave me a calming experience, because when you listen in this way, you are truly present in that moment. This experience stayed with me even when I didn't have a microphone with me. I felt the meditative power of sounds to anchor the listener in the present moment.
I want to use the calming, meditative power of sound in my film to create an introspective experience for the viewer. I want to depict that moment I experienced by following a child who, for the first time, puts on their father's headphones and suddenly hears all sounds very clearly, leading them to perceive the world (and listen) in a different way.
Additionally, I experience strong sensory overload in the city where I've lived for the past few years. I want to highlight the absurdity of traffic jams in the city, the large number of cars, and noisy motorcycles. Our sound environment is becoming polluted. People are talking louder, and we have vehicles on the road that are so loud you have to raise your voice to hear each other.
I want to take an open-minded view of the world we have built. In cities where we have to raise our voices not only brings noise pollution but also beautiful human moments—people enjoying themselves at a café, greeting, and hugging each other. My goal with this film is to give the viewer a calming, meditative experience and convey the power of truly listening.
