Critical Analysis

This is a critical analysis of my final documentary and the production process. I will discuss both what I am pleased with as well as aspects that could have been improved or changed.

Starting from the beginning, I took a long time to decide on the topic of the documentary and after considering many different options, settled on the history of saffron cultivation in my hometown. I decided on this theme, not only because I am passionate about nature and history, but because it is an unusual history that people are unaware of and don’t expect. As well as this,

Nicholas Crane had made a documentary about this many years ago in 2011 in his "Town" docu-series which I could use as some sort of inspiration.

After deciding on my topic, research began. Initially, I had tried to get in contact with the Saffron Walden museum to try to arrange for a historian to be willing to feature in my documentary to discuss what we know about the introduction of saffron in the town, however I was met with no response. I then decided to visit the museum to speak to them in person. Despite no one being willing to take time to feature on my documentary, Saffron Walden museum did allow me access to some articles containing recovered archive documents from the time period when the town's saffron cultivation was prevalent, some of which I have added into the documentary. This aided my research as well as providing some visuals for the actual documentary. As well as this, Saffron Walden tourist information had an abundance of leaflets and books all about the town's history and saffron cultivation. I bought some of these to bring back to Leeds and continue my research.

Growing up in Saffron Walden, I was always aware of the town's history, however I had only a basic knowledge. After researching, I was able to find out many things, such as where the saffron had allegedly come from, what it was used for, and where it all went. All of this research allowed me to piece together a short history of the crop within the town and write a script.

After writing and refining my script, I began to prepare for filming and editing. This is where troubles began to arise. I had chosen a difficult subject matter to film as the few Crocus Sativus flowers that still grow in the town flower in autumn whereas I was filming in spring. In addition to this, I wanted to speak about the history of the plant as well as the town. As this is something I cannot directly film, I decided to rely heavily on archive resources and photographs to act as the visual aids throughout the documentary. Using the archive work allowed me to explore the topic of my documentary and provide a visual link. I would have liked to use more archive photos and videos in my work however the time period in which the saffron cultivation was at its peak was too early to be documented on camera. Therefore, I used artwork and paintings as visual aids. Static images look very boring and jumpy when used un-edited in video so I decided to take inspiration from Ken Burns documentary style and create a pan across effect as well as a cross dissolve. This added a bit more fluidity and style to the video. One thing I was obviously able to film was Saffron Walden town in today's age. Luckily for me, the town still boasts beautiful old architecture alongside many other elements that give a hint to it’s past. I waited for a sunny day and then went out to film the historical sites of Saffron Walden along with a B-Roll of the town centre. In order to keep to the same vibe as the slow moving Ken Burns effect of the archive resources, I filmed with slow camera movements and wide angle shots. This allowed me to keep the same slow relaxing pace throughout the documentary.

Something that I would have done differently looking back, is trying to find someone else who may have been more willing to speak on camera. After the staff at Saffron Walden Museum explained that they weren't willing to be a part of my documentary, I didn't try to find anyone else as no one else would have had the knowledge on the topic. However, I could have added an opinion based section in which maybe a resident of the town could have spoken about the town's identity and what the saffron means to them.

Another thing that I may have done differently is the addition of music to the documentary. I considered adding music and tried a few songs however I felt that it made my work too theatrical. Despite this, with a bit more searching, I could have found a subtle track to add in the background just to fill the silences.

Despite having my critiques, I am overall happy with my documentary. I am incredibly passionate about showing off how beautiful my home town is and really interested in telling the story of saffron, both of which I feel that I achieved. I would have liked to have had more footage to incorporate into the documentary, especially of the actual flower and saffron, however budget and the season of filming did not allow me to add these elements in.

Overall, I feel that there are aspects of my documentary that could have been improved and elements that could have been added, however, with the restraints on what could be filmed, i feel that my final outcome achieves what I had set out.