Nothing Happens Everywhere
Tom Hicks - aka Black Country Type - has made the leap from still to (gently) moving image with typical aplomb. Below he reflects on the process behind his new short Nothing Happens Everywhere.
At its heart, my art practice centres on landscape photography and I have produced a body of work which explores the urban and post-industrial landscape of the region.
My working methods are informed by psychogeography and the idea of ‘the drift’. I typically take my photographs on freeform walks and bike rides through the area.
In recent years, my practice has expanded into graphic design and sculpture. I’ve had a long-term aim in mind to explore the possibilities of translating the aesthetics of my Black Country Type photographs into film.
I began some exploratory work on Nothing Happens Everywhere in 2022. This saw me film short clips on location using my iphone. I was keen to work within the established aesthetic of Black Country Type – the focus would be on landscape, structures, objects and architecture across the region.
I had key elements in mind to include in the film, including some work around field recordings for the soundtrack. I also liked the idea of including the spoken word in the film somehow.
In 2024 I was fortunate to receive support from Black Country Digital Firsts. This is a partnership between Creative Black Country and The Space. This support scheme was fantastic and I had the opportunity to work with Sarah Butcher, an experienced producer who was instrumental in helping me shape the planning of the film.
Working with Black Country Digital Firsts also allowed me the opportunity create a small team to help bring my ideas together.
I approached Sedgley-based Rob Glover, whom I worked with on the sound for the film. My aim for the sound design was to create a soundscape for the film that would be recorded across the region. Rob was a perfect collaborator – he is a musician with an interest in field recordings, film, landscape and psychogeography.
For the recordings, I met with Rob at several locations across the Black Country (including Brierley Hill Market, Brockmoor and Molineux) and we chatted through ideas for the approach to sound. Rob also made independent recordings which expanded as my footage began to appear. The whole approach was meant to be as organic as my approach to filming and I see it as part of the collaborative nature of the film as a whole.
In recent years, I’ve worked on several books with the poet Liz Berry, including on two publications (ISBN and The Dereliction) that saw her write poems that were inspired by my photographs. Like me, Liz draws upon the Black Country for inspiration and it made sense to approach her to become involved. In addition to being a wonderful writer, Liz gives beautiful readings of her poetry – I just knew that her voice would work against my moving images.
For the film, Liz created an entirely new poem using the same working method that we developed for our photo-poetry collaboration. She worked from several versions of the film as it developed and made detailed notes as she went along.
Liz also collaborated with me in terms of suggestions for pacing the film with her audio recording. She made some wonderful suggestions in terms of the visual imagery that came to her mind while writing. In some cases, this prompted me to re-examine my footage or to go out and record new sequences.
Finally, to help me bring film, sound and spoken word together, I worked closely with the filmmaker and academic, Alex Crowton. Birmingham-born Crowton has a track record of making independent films, including the documentary This Is Sparklehorse (2022). Alex has recently produced a series of short psychogeographical films and I felt he would be a fantastic person to help shape the overall feel of the film.
I see Nothing Happens Everywhere as an extension of the Black Country Type project. It may be that it forms part of series of short films - each with a different feel or focus.