Chapter I: the site is chosen
The three locations on offer were all found around Nottingham Trent University. Two were located in the old Arkwright Building, one in a basement and one at the dead end of a set of stairs. The final one was in a hidden section of a very public part of the newer Newton Building.
After visiting all three options, my decision was immediate.
The basement.
After visiting all three options, my decision was immediate.
The basement.
The basement possesses strong phenomenology. It is rich in atmosphere, a secluded and rarely visited part of the university. It has been all but forgotten. I use the word 'possesses' meaningfully. The whole area feels very mysterious and eerie. There are definite creepy elements to it and it genuinely does feel as though it could actually be possessed.
I returned to the site alone and took a video recording along with some sound recordings to gain a better understanding of the atmosphere. The video was very revealing as I was able to capture the site in its most eerie form, alone. The video provides the ability to focus on specific elements of the site and draw attention to factors which I would like to explore further.
It also shows the amazing difference that sound has on the atmosphere of the site. At the beginning of the video you can hear the ghostly echoes of voices coming from the top of the stairs, but the moment that the doors shut behind me, the place was silent. This is what led to the subsequent sound recordings.
I returned to the site alone and took a video recording along with some sound recordings to gain a better understanding of the atmosphere. The video was very revealing as I was able to capture the site in its most eerie form, alone. The video provides the ability to focus on specific elements of the site and draw attention to factors which I would like to explore further.
It also shows the amazing difference that sound has on the atmosphere of the site. At the beginning of the video you can hear the ghostly echoes of voices coming from the top of the stairs, but the moment that the doors shut behind me, the place was silent. This is what led to the subsequent sound recordings.
In the sound recordings below I experimented a lot with making different steps and sounds, such as shuffling, through the corridor. I also explored the noises that the site makes itself, such as the creaking of doors and sound of running water from pipes behind doors. These really helped to capture the atmosphere of the site and have given some ideas to use in future exploration of the area.
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