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When London-based writer and photographer Kari Herbert decided to make a documentary in the remote, Greenland Inuit settlement where she first lived as a child, a rugged and dependable portable audio recorder came high on the list of priorities.
Encountering temperatures as low as -25°C, Kari and film-maker Laurence Blyth chose the HHB PORTADISC MDP500 Professional Portable MiniDisc Recorder to capture a unique soundscape, layering the haunting strains of Eskimo singers and storytellers with the evocative sounds of the Arctic itself.
"The PORTADISC proved ideal for use in the High Arctic", reports Laurence. "One of the main problems with using the traditional DAT machine in freezing conditions is that the tape can become brittle and snap; using MiniDisc was a much more reliable option in such extreme conditions. The sound quality of the PORTADISC is excellent, it's simple to use (another vital quality when you are working in -25°C) and it performed faultlessly. The PORTADISC is a great replacement for DAT."
With more filming planned early next year, The Cry Of The Hunter will combine new footage with 16mm film and still photos originally taken by Kari's father, the pioneering polar explorer Sir Wally Herbert, when the family first lived in the same community some 30 years ago. Kari's close relationship with the Inuit promises an intimate portrait of a remote community and a way of life facing inevitable change in the current of modernisation.
As HHB Sales Director Steve Angel explains, the PORTADISC is built to withstand the challenging conditions prevalent in some of the world's most remote locations. "We've had reports of PORTADISC's being used on projects in jungles, up mountains, and now in the far North West of Greenland. The ability to deliver consistently high quality recordings in extremes of temperature and humidity is central to the design of the PORTADISC, so we're naturally delighted to hear that it performed so successfully on The Cry Of The Hunter."