Glen Finglas sits within the Trossachs and Loch Lomond National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty and the wider area is one of the largest outdoor recreation areas within Scotland. The Glen is between Callander and Brig O’ Turk and is sometimes referred to as the hidden glen due to it’s secluded location and draw for visitors to escape from the bustle of daily life. Glen Finglas was popular in Victorian Britain and was visited by the art critic John Rushkin and the Scottish painters The Glasgow Boys,all of whom drew inspiration from the glen and the surrounding area.
Project Brief: To create 16 audio compositions for the Glen Finglas site. I am interested in combining natural sounds from location recordings on site with elements of spoken word collected from creative writing exercises inspired by Glen Finglas and personal experiences of the area. I hope to involve the current Glen Finglas Volunteers to create written texts that will then be recorded through spoken word.
My first day as the Glen Finglas Audio Interpretation Intern included an induction from the site’s full time ranger. I was introduced to the area, geographical features, key moments in history that have shaped the glen and a run down of the Woodland Trust’s main activities and objectives for the site. We also discussed our aims aspirations for the audio project which are briefly outlined below:
- Audio to reach a broad audience including both adults and children.
- Audio to be less literal – more creative, abstract interpretation.
- Can contain both abstract interpretations from the landscape and also field recording and inspiration from historic events.
- 16 audio stories to be created with a length limit of 2 minutes (120 seconds).
