The Film

Searching for the last quiet places.

Gordon Hempton in his VW, scanning maps for new places to record.
Gordon in his VW, scanning maps for new places to record. Photo: Martin DiCicco.

Synopsis

There are very few places of quiet left in the United States. For the past thirty years, Emmy Award-winning nature sound recordist Gordon Hempton has made it his life’s mission to find and record these places before they are gone completely.

Soundtracker follows Gordon on the road and into the wilderness as he travels throughout America’s West in search of these quiet places. Unwilling to give up when the noise of civilization intrudes upon his every recording, his quest takes on new dimensions as he begins to search for a different kind of sound that captures his imagination and the spirit of America.

Shot throughout the Pacific Northwest and sound-mixed to incorporate Gordon’s own pristine binaural recordings, Soundtracker explores the sounds and the soul of an uncompromising artist.

Web exclusive

Amazon, twenty years later.

Twenty years ago, Gordon Hempton traveled to Brazil’s Amazon to record the sounds of the jungle. This is what it sounded like when he went back in November 2010.

Technical information

For programmers and broadcasters.

Title
SOUNDTRACKER: A Portrait of Gordon Hempton
Running time
82 minutes (hour-long television version available)
Year
2010
Country
USA
Language
English
Subtitles
English, Spanish
Picture
16×9, color
Sound
Stereo
Formats
HDCam (NTSC and PAL), Digi-Beta (NTSC), digital file (NTSC and PAL), DVD
Tagline
Silence is not the absence of something, but the presence of everything.

Credits

Fou Films presents a Nicholas Sherman film.

Director, Producer, Writer
Nicholas Sherman
Director of Photography
Martin DiCicco
Editor
J. Davis
Original Score
David Wingo
Binaural Audio Recordings
Gordon Hempton
Associate Producers
Jean Sherman
John Sherman
Frederick Marx
J. Davis
Post Production Sound Mixing
Adam Wade
Titles and Graphic Design
Graham Wilson
Production Sound
Nicholas Sherman
Still Photos
Kari Wilton
Gordon Hempton
Julie Hempton
Michael Francisco
Colorists
Martin DiCicco
Nicholas Sherman
Legal Services
Christopher J. Keene, Keene Law Office
Music Supervisors
J. Davis
Nicholas Sherman
Additional Music
“Untitled 2” and “Untitled 5” written and performed by Abel Russ
“Tranquillo Bolero” and “Cienfuegos” composed by Tim Kobza, ASCAP; performed by The Tim Kobza Band; publisher Kobzamuzic, ASCAP
Additional Editing
Nicholas Sherman

Special thanks

The Hempton Family, Kari Wilton, Molly Rysman, Solen Kiratli, Sara Hutchison, Brad Petrigala, David Karp, Jay Duplass, Juan Carlos Blancas Avilés, Jason Tyrrell, Krysanne Katsoolis, John and Liz Barnhardt, Granny’s Café, Chris Baier, Anna Sheldon, James Monegan, Emily Cummins Kwong, Henry Lee, Michael Picton, Daniel McCoy, Mark Hosack, Kevin Stalls