DESCRIPTION

Fields that Speak.

“The Somerset Levels and Moors are a quiet and distinctive landscape valued by those who visit as a place
to relax and unwind.”
enjoyengland.com

Daniel Hopkins grew up in and around the Somerset Levels, surrounded by the gentle and quiet landscapes of the area. As a child he spent most of his time exploring the fields that surrounded him.
Hopkins says: The landscape that makes up the ‘fields that speak’ haven’t changed in all the years I have known them. This film is the first document I have made about the place I grew up in. Fields that speak is a series of static shots of the landscape that is on the fringes of the Somerset Levels. Within these static shots are natural movements of the land. The clouds moving overhead, the trees blowing in the wind, the flutter of the grass. The soundtrack to the film is a response to the images within the film Hopkins creates subtle drones and unnerving textures, some from actual field recordings of the landscape.

Fields That Speak’ is a short film about the landscape of a small area of Somerset in the South West of England. The film tries to create a sense of place, a sense of what it is like to experience and observe the landscape within the frame. Formed from a series of static shots the movements within the frame are of a subtle nature, the wind blowing the trees, the clouds moving above. Fields That Speak encourages you to do the movement to observe what’s within the frame. The soundtrack is a shifting textured piece of ambient music created in a similar vein to Hopkins music as HL.
This film represents collaboration with the two elements of Hopkins work his music as HL and his work as a filmmaker.