Editing Man of Aran (section)

==Production==
Stung by criticism that British films were flaccid imitations of [[Cinema of the United States|those being produced in Hollywood]], [[Michael Balcon]] of [[Gaumont British]] hired the acclaimed writer/director [[Robert Flaherty]] and his wife Frances (''[[Nanook of the North]]'' (1922), ''[[Moana (1926 film)|Moana]]'' (1926), ''[[Elephant Boy (film)|Elephant Boy]]'' (1937), ''The Land'' (1942), ''[[Louisiana Story]]'' (1948)) to prove the British film industry's cultural excellence as well as commercial success. In 1931, Robert Flaherty set up a studio and laboratory facilities on [[Inishmore]], the largest of the three Aran Islands.<ref>Calder-Marshall</ref> Flaherty had promised Balcon he could shoot the entire film for £10,000.<ref>Croft, Thomas Andrew, Balcon's Folly, the manufacture and assessment of Man of Aran</ref> Over the next two years, he shot over 200,000 feet of film for a 74-minute documentary, oftentimes filming the same event time after time.<ref>Calder-Marshall</ref> As Flaherty says, "our films are made with film and time, I need lots of both."<ref>Leacock, Richard; On Working With Robert and Frances Flaherty 26 April 1990</ref> Balcon eventually called a halt to filming as the costs approached £40,000.<ref>O’Brien</ref>

Like most 1930s documentaries, ''Man of Aran'' was shot as a [[silent film]].<ref>Russell Patrick, Sight and Sound 21.5 (May 2011)</ref> The intermittent voices, the [[sound effects]], and music are only accompaniments to the visuals and not considered integral to the production.<ref>Barsam</ref> [[Paul Rotha]] in ''Documentary Film'' says, "''Man of Aran'' avoided all important issues raised by sound".

Flaherty continued to experiment with [[cinematography]] especially the long focal lens that he first used in ''Nanook''. He used a variety of lens sizes, even a seventeen-inch long lens, which was twice the size of the camera.<ref>Barsam</ref> He used a spring driven camera that "was simpler in operation than any I have seen and not much heavier to carry than a portable typewriter".<ref>Barsam, Richard, Nonfiction Film: A Critical History, IUP 1992</ref>