As you can clearly see…

Sound and vision

2008

(published in Photosnouvelles)


The first shadow of a doubt of a suspicion of betrayal appeared on the occasion of your first evening enjoying your new home cinema with friends. Until then, the first axiom of High Definition was self-evident: a higher fidelity image obviously implies a more satisfying cinematic experience. You don’t doubt your selection of hardware, you thoroughly investigated the models, manufacturers, and technologies on the internet: your HD home cinema is flawless. However, you still have the impression, perhaps subliminally, that you are not appreciating this technology at its fullest potential.

The realization came upon returning home from the Hi-Fi dealer, having borrowed a demonstration disc – a spectacular nature documentary by the BBC. The promise was kept: the show was as amazing as it appeared in the showroom – your home installation is in no way defective – but you realized that you cannot simultaneously fix your attention on the film and on the screen.

So now you only watch nature documentaries (with the exception of the surprisingly unfulfilling series by Sir David Attenborough, whose narration is far too compelling for your taste.) Your favorite by far is a 5-season series entitled “The Secret Life of Ducks”.

Your televisual experience is now a sort of meditation, a concentration on the signal rather than the message.