"The Root of the Tree" / "Η ρίζα του δεντρού"

Refined my project from the minfulness, observational documentary exercise.

After our session with Callum Rice, where we viewed our short documentaries and received feedback, I wanted to fix several aspects of my film that I was unhappy with. The voice over sound that underlied clips of my grandfather tending his field had a very intrusive mechanical sound in the background that I didn't notice when listening to the video through laptop speakers. I went back in the edit to adjust the volume but after realising the mechanical noise couldn't be removed I decided to re-record my voiceover in a quieter environment. This was a huge improvement to the video. I also wanted to add a title as my film felt slightly incomplete without one, whereby I decided on "The root of the tree" (Η ρίζα του δεντρού) due to the heavy presence of trees, leaves, and oranges in the film. The word "root" provides a literal and metaphorical meaning in this case, since it can also evoke one's ethnic and cultural roots. Cyprus is home to countless fields that house orange, lemon, and most importantly olive trees, whose thick and winding roots are evocative of their resilience and how they have witnessed multiple generations.