As a geologist I can help with some field tips if needed ;). Good boots, protection to the knees for insects and snakes. Always mark your route and send to two people before leaving alone. Always take a physical compass and printed maps. For wild animals, firecrackers seems to work any time. Stay safe and bring us more of these fantastic videos.
If you don't have blood sucking leeches in your area, quick drying(polyester) thermal long johns and quick drying capris(synthetic) with a pair of barefoot shoes(I used cheap mifawa from Amazon) is really good for bush whacking compared to the traditional hiking boot and waterproof long pants. I use this set up in BC and wade through rivers and swamps and logging trails from Feb to October with my dog, Never overheats nor get steamy and dries within 20 mins, no sweaty socks because of the barefoot shoes, wade across water without care because my pants and long johns dries fast, not worried about thorns or branches at the ankle because capris and long johns have enough length, it's so nice to feel the soft earth and mud with the barefoot shoes without sand and pebbles getting in your shoe Been out in 3c with snow and wasn't worried about frost bite, although note that blood circulation is different for everyone Also cotton Ts soak up sweat and get sticky when you're active, synthetic really makes the difference and they're much cheaper compared to when they first came out in the early 2000s, Much easier to enjoy nature when you're comfortable, Love the videos
Shit Ben, you need to come to Australia and do this. There are a lot of places you can do this. You might not make it out alive but it’s certainly devoid of introduced sounds.
Much like the soundscapes you want to preserve, I like that this video conveys your experiences in an unfiltered way. When you said you were panicking to the point where you forgot the controls and then showed the footage of that, I was really surprised. I don't think many people would share these moments of vulnerability with so many people. Most would've probably edited it to look like they were 100% sure of what they were doing and in full control at any given moment, or overblown it (I almost DIED getting LOST in a SWAMP!!1) to get views. Genuine, real content is hard to find these days.
A more accurate title would be "I Almost DIED Getting LOST in a SWAMP!!! | *not clickbait* | [REAL] | *Scary!* | *I CRIED* |・LAW Enforcement Got Involved・ **free givaway in description**" . Gotta get all the good clickbait elements in there... And the givaway... But I wonder what the thumbnail would look like though?
Isn't it funny how creative people can throw themselves so easily into vulnerable situation? Soo good to see you fine sir! You are a fkn go-getter man i love your enthusiasm for adventure!
Thanks for sharing your vulnerable moments with us. This was actually a pretty uncomfortable viewing experience because I spent a lot of it thinking "what the hell is he doing!?" but, as per usual, you always have something educational to take away from it. Keep up the good work but please be safe whilst doing it. ;)
Hey glad you’re alright! I had a canoeing experience that really shook me like this too and it gave me a lot more respect for nature’s force. Thanks for sharing your vulnerability.
Pausing @2:13. I now live as rural as you can get south of the Arctic Circle (it's 7 miles to the nearest road, and the nearest "city" of 50K is an hour-twenty drive) . But I also spent 30+ years in an urban city of 3 million. I often wonder which is actually 'louder' .. car horns and sirens - or spring peepers (loud frogs). Of course the latter far more pleasing .. I don't have the kit to measure .. but I think it's actually louder here with all the bush critters. Not that I'm complaining.
First off, you're in my back yard. For a few people I know, quite literally, as the Apalachicola National Forest is literally just past my friend's back yard, and I work with people from Apalachicola. For those not familiar with the area and think he's joking, at 1:05: one of the two places in America where the Blue Angels, the US Navy's air demonstration squadron, fly out of is Pensacola, on the west side of Apalachicola (the other is in California). So yes, the pilots literally are learning trick flying there. Finally watching you get lost at sea strongly reminded me of Smarter Every Day's video on how the Coast Guard would have tracked you, had you fully gotten lost, which was filmed in the same area. I'm glad you made it back safely, I'm glad you got some awesome sound samples, and I'm glad you're willing to take a guide in the future if you're going somewhere dangerous.
This could've been an hour long and I wouldn't have noticed, it's amazing seeing and hearing things I never otherwise would, and the editing is top notch. Love the drone shots too!
It was honestly really moving to see the vulnerability of that kind of sense of danger/feeling of helplessness. Adventure can be amazing, but it can make us uniquely vulnerable. And the same with the isolation of the work you're doing in this series. Thank you for sharing it - I see it as really valuable.
I once got lost in fog in a relatively small lake in a rowing boat. Even with Google Maps for help I got all kinds of nervous shivers and heat flushes; even if the lake was only about one mile in diameter, the thick fog made it feel like I'd accidentally rowed myself out from the realm of the living into some waiting hall of the gods
It's rare to see content creators show their vulnerable / weak moments because of the power of editing. I appreciate it. I just stumbled upon your channel and it's great 👍
Benn, you truly do make some of the most gripping, fascinating, and re-watchable content I've ever seen. This one is no exception. Glad you survived. I could feel the terror you went through just by watching. Keep up your journey, but stay safer, brother!
Preserving a record of things before they disappear is a noble effort, but field work can definitely go wrong very quickly. I just digitized a tape of old stories from my grandfather, and one day in the 1920s he and some friends went fishing near the area you went to. His friend was 240 lbs of muscle and decided to show off by catching a 7-foot fish with his bare hands, and he succeeded... but the fish injured him so badly he died. So... yeah. Be careful out there.
Man, you are doing such amazing work preserving these soundscapes before they are literally impossible to capture ever again. Keep it up! Its super encouraging and inspiring to see this kind of preservation being done!
I hope you get more hits on this. Saw your stream and realized I missed it and immediately jumped back to it because I love this format (I know people love the stream but personally I prefer these videos) and I think this earns upgrading my patreon tier. What you’re doing here is much appreciated and imo extremely important.
Awesome video! Wasn't uncomfortable to watch but could definitely tell you were anxious in some spots (well, and you said it in the video). I love your goal of recording naturally quiet soundscapes. I agree with you that they're going to get more and more rare over time, and possibly even gone forever :(. You're a brave man for attempting this. I like your idea of go somewhere dangerous, or go somewhere alone, but not both. I also think it's wild how you combined driving, mountain e-bike, hiking, AND boating haha.
For someone who grew up with lots of boating and wilderness, the danger you were in definitely came through. I was very nervous for you but you ended up making good decisions, especially when you decided to turn back. Great project and I hope you continue making good decisions when you are out there.
"What did not kill you just made you stronger." You've raised some self-awareness here and shared it with the world. The sincere and personal insights are what I appreciate most in your videos. Showing your vulnerabitilies is a powerful bonding mechanism, exchanging trust. Thanks for this adventure, next time I'd rather join. Oh and regarding the recordings: are you sure you aren't selling just plain white noise here? 🤔😜
Benn and Bear! Thanks for taking us on the adventure. Loved watching it and even though you’ve obviously made it back in one piece low key panicked with you! Lovely stuff!
I am consistently astounded these videos do not have more views. I can't wait to see what else you put out, and I would donate if I didn't have my first kid on the way. I wish you the best and will share your videos with my friends.
I appreciate these adventures of yours so much. While it makes for super compelling content, I would hate to read some article about you going missing or something. But thanks for getting out there and doing crazy and interesting things that I can watch from my couch.
Thanks for uploading this! I didn't realize other people had that experience of panicking so intensely they forgot how to operate a vehicle, so was good to see!
Came to your channel for synthgeek content but whoa, this was some amazing stuff. Really respect the goal of archiving natural soundscapes while you can and that was quite an adventure to watch, glad it all worked out and you're ok!
I really enjoy these types of videos. Unique content done well. There is something really unsettling about being on the water out of sight of land, or even being on land in dense fog for that matter! Light and noise pollution are ever encroaching on our natural spaces. I think it's worth the effort of getting those recordings. We don't really know what we've got till its gone.
I think the idea of recording as much wildness without human noise pollution is very true, it’s extremely difficult to get a clean 10 minute recording without some form of human noise pollution. what is your aim for recording length? A few thoughts and observations on the Rode mic, which I also own. The supplied dead cat/windshield. The fur is way to sort to allow the mic to be used in anything but a light breeze. I talked to Rode about it and if they produce a better and more suitable windshield but they done make a more suitable windshield for this mic. It would be great if you also approached Rode about providing a better shield. If there are any other owners of the Rode ambisonic mice please approach Rode about the issue, the more people that do, the more likely Rode will do something about it. Secondly the windshield need to cover the entire mic body as the mic picks-up the sound of the wind blowing on the exposed housing. On recording. I see you are placing the mic close to the ground. Is this to try an avoid wind noises? For effective ambisonic recordings i thinks the mic need to be at head height so as to get an tru spherical recording by having the mic so close to the ground you’re loosing a lot sound coming from below the mic plus inducing reflection from the ground. I gather to do the 32bit recording you’re not using the recorders native ambisonic formats/setting. I do the same but they are only ambisonic after post production when bounced out in an ambisonic format. That being said 32bit is the way to go. Looking forward to more of your field recording adventures.
As a birder, I absolutely hate noise pollution. It makes it harder to hear birds. And the RUclips channel “It’s Okay to be Smart” made a video on how noise pollution is actually causing bird songs to get less diverse within a species to optimize for louder and clearer songs.
Appreciate the ingenuity of birds but yeah that's sad. I wonder how bird song was back in the days when there were so many birds their morning songs were a deafening cacophony like the early white settlers on New Zealand describe!
Thank you, perfect for my covid brain. Not need to concentrate, just breath, follow the tracks and stream, sense the rhythm of nature, turn on, tune inn kind of thing.
Really love what you’re doing here. There are some great national forests here in West Virginia and Kentucky that have some very remote places that would be great to record. They are also absolutely beautiful landscapes…
I go out in the swamps in south Georgia all the time and no matter how far I get away from people and cars etc I still have to deal with airplanes. Constantly. Big planes, small planes, military planes. It's a never ending quest to find 5 minutes of airplane free field recording time.
Sometimes I browse google maps and dream of exploring places just like this. Thanks so much for this video as I no longer want to go anywhere near such a place ;-) Makes for a great RUclips adventure though. You are the Eugene Atget of sounds in the American South!
Some advice a friend and I received from some seasoned sound designers before going out to record ambiences for a film was that you need to get far away from the mic. No matter how quiet you think you're being, humans are extremely well adapted to detecting the presence of other humans and animals. This apparently extra true when it's ambisonic or surround sound, the audience will get a strange feeling that there's someone somewhere next to them. I haven't compared, because we didn't want to risk finding out it was true, but it definitely makes sense to me.
dangerous or alone..........................good takeaway.............................quite an adventure.....................glad you're back in the saddle
If I had the means, this is definitely the kind of thing that I'd do. Almost certainly, I'd find myself in similar dangerous situations because I'm too adventurous for my own good sometimes. Truly, I could empathise with you as you rode up to your car at 8:53. It's actually impossible to escape the noise pollution in Cornwall, UK, (in my experience so far), and I've tried to record the estuary birds at Malpas, the foxes and owls at night and the dawn and dusk choruses of the songbirds outside my home in the countryside without them being ruined by the sounds and smells of internal combustion engines. I envy your ability to escape from civilisation even though I'd be shitting myself if I could do the same in your neck of the woods. I hope that you took some form of bear-protection with you. I'd love to see more films like this from you. Blessed be.
Before Vietnam I had a operating certificate for practicing Chemistry and built airplanes for Douglas. Meanwhile, the factory had closed down so I went to my first love, architecture and engineering. I became a Representative in design sales for a Large House in Minneapolis. Dissatisfied, I received a degree in Agriculture Science and a practiced as a forester, Industrial Park Superintendent. Which became more educational. Putting it altogether and retired I now work with disabled and elderly. Meaning, dedication to a personal responsibility, great-full for the knowledge I’ve gained.
I grew up in Pensacola, not too far from there! Florida trails are something special, aren’t they? The Gulf can be absolutely terrifying. Rip currents there are no joke, one almost carried me out to sea as a kid while swimming off the beach. You should check out the Florida trail sometime! Starts on Pensacola Beach and goes all the way to the edge of the Everglades.
fascinating and inspiring! i'm way out in the country near the foothills of the blue ridge mtns, and im always really surprised when its silent outside - which sadly is not the norm except at night. even with no neighbors or roads nearby, there always seems to be a plane or chainsaw or cow mooing somewhere. have you seen chris watson's "the color of sound" docuemtary from about 10 years ago? its like 15 minutes and on youtube, but its extremely insightful and in the same spirit as this. cheers, and amazing content sir.
This was a great video in its own way, I could see myself having done this kind of reckless stuff too in the right (wrong?) circumstances... I'm glad you're OK and back home in one piece. This kinda reminds me of one occasion as a kid when I got trapped in a very old abandoned house (the rural kind, full of hay, where you'd get fleas) in its basement, which somehow also was very high up on one side. It lacked any stairs or ladders, but I found a weird metal bar from construction scaffolding, and somehow I used it to climb back up. That was fun. Also 420th like, nice.
God, that made me anxious, so yeah, it came across. Such mixed emotions, i was thinking "you, nutter" and also, "i'd love to do this" and as a mountain biker i was thinking, "don't ride that trail, it looks terrible and your wheels will get caked in too much mud" and also, "i'd totally would have done the same and rode that trail" :)
well that's odd, it seems my comment has been removed. Maybe because I put a link in it? Anyway it was to ask if you were familiar with the work of Bernie Krause. He was one half of the 60s synth duo, Beaver & Krause. He now spends his time recording natural soundscapes around the world, talks about the rise of man made noise, how those soundscapes have changed and much more. I think there are books and videos out there talking about it. Nearest I came to that approach was recording the dawn chorus in the the early 80s. I'm sure it's different from how it sounds now. Less House Sparrows and Starlings for a start. Probably no Song Thrushes. Almost impossible in the south of England to find somewhere where there is no man made noise.
Some really beautiful moments in this. Living in Denmark sucks. You're rarely more than 500 meters from an Aldi (or whatever), wherever you go. I hope you appreciate the fuck out of your amazing nation, Americans ;)
As a geologist I can help with some field tips if needed ;). Good boots, protection to the knees for insects and snakes. Always mark your route and send to two people before leaving alone. Always take a physical compass and printed maps. For wild animals, firecrackers seems to work any time. Stay safe and bring us more of these fantastic videos.
A compass saved my life and it can save yours too.
If you don't have blood sucking leeches in your area, quick drying(polyester) thermal long johns and quick drying capris(synthetic) with a pair of barefoot shoes(I used cheap mifawa from Amazon) is really good for bush whacking compared to the traditional hiking boot and waterproof long pants.
I use this set up in BC and wade through rivers and swamps and logging trails from Feb to October with my dog,
Never overheats nor get steamy and dries within 20 mins, no sweaty socks because of the barefoot shoes, wade across water without care because my pants and long johns dries fast, not worried about thorns or branches at the ankle because capris and long johns have enough length,
it's so nice to feel the soft earth and mud with the barefoot shoes without sand and pebbles getting in your shoe
Been out in 3c with snow and wasn't worried about frost bite, although note that blood circulation is different for everyone
Also cotton Ts soak up sweat and get sticky when you're active, synthetic really makes the difference and they're much cheaper compared to when they first came out in the early 2000s,
Much easier to enjoy nature when you're comfortable,
Love the videos
Shit Ben, you need to come to Australia and do this. There are a lot of places you can do this. You might not make it out alive but it’s certainly devoid of introduced sounds.
I was thinking the same. So much of that landscape felt familiar too.
Gonna get the best sound of buzzing flies you can imagine
Much like the soundscapes you want to preserve, I like that this video conveys your experiences in an unfiltered way.
When you said you were panicking to the point where you forgot the controls and then showed the footage of that, I was really surprised.
I don't think many people would share these moments of vulnerability with so many people.
Most would've probably edited it to look like they were 100% sure of what they were doing and in full control at any given moment, or overblown it (I almost DIED getting LOST in a SWAMP!!1) to get views.
Genuine, real content is hard to find these days.
A more accurate title would be "I Almost DIED Getting LOST in a SWAMP!!! | *not clickbait* | [REAL] | *Scary!* | *I CRIED* |・LAW Enforcement Got Involved・ **free givaway in description**" . Gotta get all the good clickbait elements in there... And the givaway... But I wonder what the thumbnail would look like though?
Isn't it funny how creative people can throw themselves so easily into vulnerable situation?
Soo good to see you fine sir!
You are a fkn go-getter man i love your enthusiasm for adventure!
Dear Ben, I absolutely love your videos. Every single one of them gives me inspiration and strength to move forward. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your vulnerable moments with us. This was actually a pretty uncomfortable viewing experience because I spent a lot of it thinking "what the hell is he doing!?" but, as per usual, you always have something educational to take away from it.
Keep up the good work but please be safe whilst doing it. ;)
Hey glad you’re alright! I had a canoeing experience that really shook me like this too and it gave me a lot more respect for nature’s force. Thanks for sharing your vulnerability.
Pausing @2:13. I now live as rural as you can get south of the Arctic Circle (it's 7 miles to the nearest road, and the nearest "city" of 50K is an hour-twenty drive) . But I also spent 30+ years in an urban city of 3 million. I often wonder which is actually 'louder' .. car horns and sirens - or spring peepers (loud frogs). Of course the latter far more pleasing .. I don't have the kit to measure .. but I think it's actually louder here with all the bush critters. Not that I'm complaining.
First off, you're in my back yard. For a few people I know, quite literally, as the Apalachicola National Forest is literally just past my friend's back yard, and I work with people from Apalachicola.
For those not familiar with the area and think he's joking, at 1:05: one of the two places in America where the Blue Angels, the US Navy's air demonstration squadron, fly out of is Pensacola, on the west side of Apalachicola (the other is in California). So yes, the pilots literally are learning trick flying there.
Finally watching you get lost at sea strongly reminded me of Smarter Every Day's video on how the Coast Guard would have tracked you, had you fully gotten lost, which was filmed in the same area.
I'm glad you made it back safely, I'm glad you got some awesome sound samples, and I'm glad you're willing to take a guide in the future if you're going somewhere dangerous.
This could've been an hour long and I wouldn't have noticed, it's amazing seeing and hearing things I never otherwise would, and the editing is top notch. Love the drone shots too!
It was honestly really moving to see the vulnerability of that kind of sense of danger/feeling of helplessness. Adventure can be amazing, but it can make us uniquely vulnerable. And the same with the isolation of the work you're doing in this series.
Thank you for sharing it - I see it as really valuable.
I once got lost in fog in a relatively small lake in a rowing boat. Even with Google Maps for help I got all kinds of nervous shivers and heat flushes; even if the lake was only about one mile in diameter, the thick fog made it feel like I'd accidentally rowed myself out from the realm of the living into some waiting hall of the gods
It's rare to see content creators show their vulnerable / weak moments because of the power of editing. I appreciate it. I just stumbled upon your channel and it's great 👍
Benn, you truly do make some of the most gripping, fascinating, and re-watchable content I've ever seen. This one is no exception. Glad you survived. I could feel the terror you went through just by watching. Keep up your journey, but stay safer, brother!
Preserving a record of things before they disappear is a noble effort, but field work can definitely go wrong very quickly. I just digitized a tape of old stories from my grandfather, and one day in the 1920s he and some friends went fishing near the area you went to. His friend was 240 lbs of muscle and decided to show off by catching a 7-foot fish with his bare hands, and he succeeded... but the fish injured him so badly he died.
So... yeah. Be careful out there.
I’ve said it before and will say it now. This channel is god tier.
Man, you are doing such amazing work preserving these soundscapes before they are literally impossible to capture ever again. Keep it up! Its super encouraging and inspiring to see this kind of preservation being done!
I hope you get more hits on this. Saw your stream and realized I missed it and immediately jumped back to it because I love this format (I know people love the stream but personally I prefer these videos) and I think this earns upgrading my patreon tier.
What you’re doing here is much appreciated and imo extremely important.
Glad you're ok! Can't wait to see this!
Awesome video! Wasn't uncomfortable to watch but could definitely tell you were anxious in some spots (well, and you said it in the video). I love your goal of recording naturally quiet soundscapes. I agree with you that they're going to get more and more rare over time, and possibly even gone forever :(.
You're a brave man for attempting this. I like your idea of go somewhere dangerous, or go somewhere alone, but not both. I also think it's wild how you combined driving, mountain e-bike, hiking, AND boating haha.
You are one super determined human being. You work and videos are simply amazing.
For someone who grew up with lots of boating and wilderness, the danger you were in definitely came through. I was very nervous for you but you ended up making good decisions, especially when you decided to turn back. Great project and I hope you continue making good decisions when you are out there.
"What did not kill you just made you stronger." You've raised some self-awareness here and shared it with the world. The sincere and personal insights are what I appreciate most in your videos. Showing your vulnerabitilies is a powerful bonding mechanism, exchanging trust. Thanks for this adventure, next time I'd rather join. Oh and regarding the recordings: are you sure you aren't selling just plain white noise here? 🤔😜
Benn and Bear! Thanks for taking us on the adventure. Loved watching it and even though you’ve obviously made it back in one piece low key panicked with you! Lovely stuff!
Please release those archives as ambiant sounds. The desire for those as study and concentration noises are huge
I am consistently astounded these videos do not have more views. I can't wait to see what else you put out, and I would donate if I didn't have my first kid on the way. I wish you the best and will share your videos with my friends.
I appreciate these adventures of yours so much. While it makes for super compelling content, I would hate to read some article about you going missing or something. But thanks for getting out there and doing crazy and interesting things that I can watch from my couch.
I am so glad you documented this experience. It is truly a beautiful journey. You continue to amaze and inspire, thanks for all you do!
Thanks for uploading this! I didn't realize other people had that experience of panicking so intensely they forgot how to operate a vehicle, so was good to see!
Came to your channel for synthgeek content but whoa, this was some amazing stuff. Really respect the goal of archiving natural soundscapes while you can and that was quite an adventure to watch, glad it all worked out and you're ok!
I really liked your honesty when you were feeling anxious in the boat, that was good.
The drone footage you got is absolutely jaw dropping!! You really went all out in this video and it shows
Appreciate all that u did and u do:)
As a fan of Chris Watson's work, I really appreciate what you're doing here, Benn, for the benefit of us all.
Insanely, insanely sick video. Well done. So cool.
the ocean part was honestly scary, just imagine being lost and not knowing wich direction you should go
New to the channel, but these nature ambience recording videos hit just the right spot for me. Spectacular work.
Dude gracias for everything.
Loved these videos! Glad you’re safe
I’m often out in nature myself so I know the anxious feeling !
How I love those pine flatwoods. Thank you for documenting these sounds.
This was exciting! Thanks!
This is my new favorite show on Travel Channel
Amazing! Thanks so much
Benn, that was terrifying 😳 exhilarating, but _terrifying_
Awesome wackumentary 😁😆 seriously really enjoyed this start to finish ... Heading to your Patreon now
I really enjoy these types of videos. Unique content done well. There is something really unsettling about being on the water out of sight of land, or even being on land in dense fog for that matter! Light and noise pollution are ever encroaching on our natural spaces. I think it's worth the effort of getting those recordings. We don't really know what we've got till its gone.
this is such a cool premise for a series. Thanks for the upload
One of my favorite series! So glad to see another installment! Glad you got back safe!
I think the idea of recording as much wildness without human noise pollution is very true, it’s extremely difficult to get a clean 10 minute recording without some form of human noise pollution. what is your aim for recording length?
A few thoughts and observations on the Rode mic, which I also own. The supplied dead cat/windshield. The fur is way to sort to allow the mic to be used in anything but a light breeze. I talked to Rode about it and if they produce a better and more suitable windshield but they done make a more suitable windshield for this mic. It would be great if you also approached Rode about providing a better shield. If there are any other owners of the Rode ambisonic mice please approach Rode about the issue, the more people that do, the more likely Rode will do something about it. Secondly the windshield need to cover the entire mic body as the mic picks-up the sound of the wind blowing on the exposed housing.
On recording. I see you are placing the mic close to the ground. Is this to try an avoid wind noises? For effective ambisonic recordings i thinks the mic need to be at head height so as to get an tru spherical recording by having the mic so close to the ground you’re loosing a lot sound coming from below the mic plus inducing reflection from the ground.
I gather to do the 32bit recording you’re not using the recorders native ambisonic formats/setting. I do the same but they are only ambisonic after post production when bounced out in an ambisonic format. That being said 32bit is the way to go.
Looking forward to more of your field recording adventures.
I miss living in Alaska for this reason. Especially with a good snow cover- Hear the blood in your ears level silence.
have been hoping you'd come out with one of these again, and yesss, we all lived with you amidst the bears and riptides!
As a birder, I absolutely hate noise pollution. It makes it harder to hear birds. And the RUclips channel “It’s Okay to be Smart” made a video on how noise pollution is actually causing bird songs to get less diverse within a species to optimize for louder and clearer songs.
Appreciate the ingenuity of birds but yeah that's sad. I wonder how bird song was back in the days when there were so many birds their morning songs were a deafening cacophony like the early white settlers on New Zealand describe!
Man, I have to watch your videos twice since I get distracted by the awesome music the first watch.
Thank you, perfect for my covid brain. Not need to concentrate, just breath, follow the tracks and stream, sense the rhythm of nature, turn on, tune inn kind of thing.
Phew! Glad you made it back ok. Excellent work and beautiful recordings
Really love what you’re doing here. There are some great national forests here in West Virginia and Kentucky that have some very remote places that would be great to record. They are also absolutely beautiful landscapes…
Hey Benn, thanks for doing these kind of things. You are one of the good ones on this earth.
Glad you made it back. Thank you for letting me hear white blanket.
I go out in the swamps in south Georgia all the time and no matter how far I get away from people and cars etc I still have to deal with airplanes. Constantly. Big planes, small planes, military planes. It's a never ending quest to find 5 minutes of airplane free field recording time.
everything in this video was absolutely beautiful, i'd LOVE to go on a trip like that! awesome stufflov
Fucking great ideas! Conceptual genius, and naturalist, creative approach to art
This channel is going to blow up soon. Great content brother. Keep it up.
Your channel is great man!
Sometimes I browse google maps and dream of exploring places just like this. Thanks so much for this video as I no longer want to go anywhere near such a place ;-) Makes for a great RUclips adventure though. You are the Eugene Atget of sounds in the American South!
Thanks for sharing!!!
What a wonderful adventure
Some advice a friend and I received from some seasoned sound designers before going out to record ambiences for a film was that you need to get far away from the mic. No matter how quiet you think you're being, humans are extremely well adapted to detecting the presence of other humans and animals. This apparently extra true when it's ambisonic or surround sound, the audience will get a strange feeling that there's someone somewhere next to them. I haven't compared, because we didn't want to risk finding out it was true, but it definitely makes sense to me.
You should have gone to some of those remote roads in the everglades. That woulda been a helluva drive tho
Oh wow! I did not know your studio was near Atlanta!
I live in South Dekalb county, near the South River!
dangerous or alone..........................good takeaway.............................quite an adventure.....................glad you're back in the saddle
I find this video informative, inspiring, useful and enjoyable.
Incredible video.
If I had the means, this is definitely the kind of thing that I'd do. Almost certainly, I'd find myself in similar dangerous situations because I'm too adventurous for my own good sometimes. Truly, I could empathise with you as you rode up to your car at 8:53. It's actually impossible to escape the noise pollution in Cornwall, UK, (in my experience so far), and I've tried to record the estuary birds at Malpas, the foxes and owls at night and the dawn and dusk choruses of the songbirds outside my home in the countryside without them being ruined by the sounds and smells of internal combustion engines. I envy your ability to escape from civilisation even though I'd be shitting myself if I could do the same in your neck of the woods. I hope that you took some form of bear-protection with you. I'd love to see more films like this from you.
Blessed be.
New sub to your channel and love your cadence and what it is you’re doing man!
It looked like a lot of fun. Really enjoyed this video.
Wrecked my himiway last October, this video definitely reminded me how much i miss my steed :(
Everything about this is so beautiful.
But dude you had me scared traveling alone over water.
Either way I love your work so much.
Before Vietnam I had a operating certificate for practicing Chemistry and built airplanes for Douglas. Meanwhile, the factory had closed down so I went to my first love, architecture and engineering. I became a Representative in design sales for a Large House in Minneapolis. Dissatisfied, I received a degree in Agriculture Science and a practiced as a forester, Industrial Park Superintendent. Which became more educational. Putting it altogether and retired I now work with disabled and elderly. Meaning, dedication to a personal responsibility, great-full for the knowledge I’ve gained.
His bike & boating adventures…😆
..can’t wait for the 2023 video
I grew up in Pensacola, not too far from there! Florida trails are something special, aren’t they? The Gulf can be absolutely terrifying. Rip currents there are no joke, one almost carried me out to sea as a kid while swimming off the beach.
You should check out the Florida trail sometime! Starts on Pensacola Beach and goes all the way to the edge of the Everglades.
Wow I rarely feel anxiety, but these videos of yours make my heart race
Thank you (and sorry 😅)
We've vacationed on St. George Island and that whole region is very interesting and cool to explore. Be careful out there.
Talks about escaping noise, adds music xD
Jokes aside, there is a video of a nordic lady who recorded the sounds of ice.. it's amazing...
this is such great content :) i can't wait to sample those sounds!
Great video, Benn! But please don't get yourself killed making these.
fascinating and inspiring! i'm way out in the country near the foothills of the blue ridge mtns, and im always really surprised when its silent outside - which sadly is not the norm except at night. even with no neighbors or roads nearby, there always seems to be a plane or chainsaw or cow mooing somewhere. have you seen chris watson's "the color of sound" docuemtary from about 10 years ago? its like 15 minutes and on youtube, but its extremely insightful and in the same spirit as this. cheers, and amazing content sir.
Damn, realitycheck..! Never gave it a thought but unspoiled soundscapes WILL get very rare in the long run. Clever. And fucking depressing
This was a great video in its own way, I could see myself having done this kind of reckless stuff too in the right (wrong?) circumstances... I'm glad you're OK and back home in one piece.
This kinda reminds me of one occasion as a kid when I got trapped in a very old abandoned house (the rural kind, full of hay, where you'd get fleas) in its basement, which somehow also was very high up on one side. It lacked any stairs or ladders, but I found a weird metal bar from construction scaffolding, and somehow I used it to climb back up. That was fun.
Also 420th like, nice.
God, that made me anxious, so yeah, it came across. Such mixed emotions, i was thinking "you, nutter" and also, "i'd love to do this" and as a mountain biker i was thinking, "don't ride that trail, it looks terrible and your wheels will get caked in too much mud" and also, "i'd totally would have done the same and rode that trail" :)
are occlusions like trees and stuff audible in ambisonic recordings? or if you stand near them and walk around
Was there cellphome signal in that forest? Imagine the sound difference if with a Sound devices mixPre and a Sennheiser Ambeo.
you've really outdown yourself this time benn. amazing video
You would love New Mexico for this; I've spent time in the North of NM where it is absolutely quiet. I'd take Bear spray, and lots of water. ;)
That huge Nissan could have traversed that puddle easily! But I respect your caution. Lots of idiots have got themselves stuck in deep waters.
Holy shit this is both harrowing and incredibly beautiful, this series is incredible
Very cool
well that's odd, it seems my comment has been removed. Maybe because I put a link in it? Anyway it was to ask if you were familiar with the work of Bernie Krause. He was one half of the 60s synth duo, Beaver & Krause. He now spends his time recording natural soundscapes around the world, talks about the rise of man made noise, how those soundscapes have changed and much more. I think there are books and videos out there talking about it. Nearest I came to that approach was recording the dawn chorus in the the early 80s. I'm sure it's different from how it sounds now. Less House Sparrows and Starlings for a start. Probably no Song Thrushes. Almost impossible in the south of England to find somewhere where there is no man made noise.
Giant hat tip to you for all of your endeavors, Benn. Stay well.
4:40 : And isn't it ironic, having high-quality, low-noise equipment just to capture noise? But yeah, I get it, just couldn't resist :)
Some really beautiful moments in this. Living in Denmark sucks. You're rarely more than 500 meters from an Aldi (or whatever), wherever you go. I hope you appreciate the fuck out of your amazing nation, Americans ;)