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Primarily Speaking

1981 · 20 min

A hypnotic, cerebral experiment where spoken syllables drive the cuts, splitting your attention between mirrored screens and stereo voices.

Overview
This work is the single-channel version of a multi-channel installation of the same name. The picture plane is divided into a left and a right half. A changing background is formed by colorful, highly graphic patterns reminiscent of TV test signals and various monochrome surfaces. Two smaller rectangles appear on the surface, in which video sequences are running. The two image strands show landscapes, interiors, objects, graphical images and text that are sometimes used in contrast, and on other occasions the same image can be seen mirrored in each rectangle. They are accompanied by Hill’s recitation of a long text, whose syllabic sequence determines the rhythm of the images (the screen changes with each uttered syllable). His voice comes alternately out of the left and right stereo channels functioning like a dialogue. This is broken into sections by a singing, but electronically altered, voice.

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 1 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • identity
  • technology
  • media
  • art
  • memory
Places
None
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action0
Horror1
Humour2
Realism2
Romance0
Tension3
Darkness3
Complexity9
Emotional weight4

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
animation
Directed by
Gary Hill
Runtime
20 min
Country
United States of America

TMDB