A new eight-minute video explores how the people of Royston found sanctuary at Therfield Heath during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'On the edge' was created during lockdown to record how the heath changed throughout the seasons, and the comfort and freedom it provided for residents.

Project coordinator Graham Palmer explained: "I decided to record their thoughts and try to take a photo every day of the horizon where a round barrow has withstood awful things ever since the Bronze Age."

He was joined by Royston-born multi-instrumentalist James Palmer and video editor Louis Holder - who also worked on a separate 20-minute video, 'On the heath', which focuses on the changing seasons.

Graham added: "For well over a decade I have been taking snapshots – mainly on my phone’s camera – during my morning dog walk.

"As the seasons change the tiny differences on Therfield Heath fascinate me. I’m so lucky to have this small remnant of semi-wild grassland on my doorstep."

Royston Crow: Graham Palmer created the short film about Therfield HeathGraham Palmer created the short film about Therfield Heath (Image: Courtesy of Graham Palmer)

Ian Buckley, a Royston resident who was interviewed for the project, said of the heath: "It was my home, it was my freedom.

"It was the only way I could get out of being stuck in front of a computer every minute of the day…it was the love of this place that got me through that."

To compose the score for the video, James used samples of birdsong, footsteps, wildlife and spoken word recorded by Graham on the heath.

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Using Logic Pro X, James interspersed the sounds with music to give the audience an "immersive audiovisual experience".

He said: "The music is loop-based, allowing for gradual, incremental changes and additions.

"Motifs recur in different contexts, much like the distinctive landmarks of the heath remain constant amidst the changing environment around them."

Royston Crow: The video explores how Therfield Heath benefitted residents during lockdownThe video explores how Therfield Heath benefitted residents during lockdown (Image: Graham Palmer)

Speaking about editing the video, Louis said: "DaVinci Resolve Studio (editing application) was particularly useful for working at these high resolutions and meant that Graham and I could swim through the edits at speed.

"When we brought in James’ final audio masters and married them to the pictures, we knew we were on to something special."

Both videos can be viewed at http://p-arts.co.uk/media.