This section previews my written response of the brief, as well as documentation of my attempt to explore catalogue a set of BBC Shipping Forecast recordings.
Written Response
About the Project – The BBC Shipping Forecast
The BBC Shipping Forecast on Radio 4 is a weather forecast for people out and about in the sea surrounding the British isles. My exploration starts from its historical context, and how it’s used today.
It started out after a disastrous day in the sea in the mid 19th century where hundreds of people and boats perished because of a big storm. Ever since, the forecast has been created as a lifeline for vessels to venture safely out in the sea around the British Isles.
Its soothing and meditative, and almost poetic, qualities of the forecast creates a niche where common people use it to go to sleep. The BBC Radio app even has a sleep timer, accommodating this sub-culture.
Based on Foucault’s discussion in the preface of his book, “The Order of Things”, he demonstrates that the act of classification, or in this case, cataloguing, is based on the cultural context that governs the language used to neatly create connections and differences in things. Using this premise, I attempted to catalogue the forecast recordings based on the sleeper culture. How will the recordings be categorized if categorized by casual listeners wanting to go to sleep quicker?
The human qualities of the forecast readings is key to the soothing effect overlaying the almost robotic and rhythmical codified language of the Shipping forecast. So I focused on highlighting these usually marginalized and ignored little human moments, from as little as each breath, to stutters and coughs. To contrast it, I created glyphs representing each weather symbols into a modified Interstate typeface.
The transcripts of each forecasts takes shape in form of long thin strips of paper, hailing back to the telegram times. I felt it fit the theme of the forecasts as if you were listening to it out in the ocean.
As you sleep like a baby in bed, whilst listening to the recordings, the words hover above you like those hanging toys above cribs, lulling you to sleep, giving you a sense of comfort and protection.
Reflecting on this, the Shipping Forecasts demonstrate how when governments, and people come together to do something together, and do it right, it creates a sense of security and achievement above all else, even saving lives.
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