I have seen a few documentary shorts recently which are similar to this one in that they focus on a particular person whose life, job, or experiences are outside of those most of the rest of us would have. With the most recent examples there were some that put a lot of effort into beautiful glossy shots, almost to the point where the person was lost within them. With David Beazley's film we have a much better mix because, although it is well shot and has good images of the craft of forensic photography, the best thing it does is to just let Nick Marsh talk, and for us to regularly see him talking too – not just hear him in a narration.
Marsh works for (or with) the Metropolitan Police and, at time of filming, has worked with them in the field of forensic imaging for almost 30 years, so he probably knows a thing or two. The potential for this to be a dry procedural documentary is right there, but the film avoids this because Marsh is very good at talking about this subject (Google shows he has books and does talks), but also Beazley's editing does well to bring out the key points and have a flow to the film that makes sense. I found it very interesting to hear about the creative aspect of the job, the precision, the techniques, and generally the craft to the work. Also appreciated was that the film did not go out of its way to debunk the way this job is shown in CSI and other crime shows, but rather it just focuses on itself and lets us worry about what other images we may have in our heads.
In the end it is a fascinating little film; it doesn't have the time to go deep into the subject, but it is well edited to interest and inform at a certain level, with an engaging focal point in Nick Marsh.
