“This week we’re exploring the City of Leominster. What makes this former large industrial center this big even after many of its factories have closed? Is it a new economy or just the effects of urban sprawl?“
This being the fifth episode of the series, I started production a bit slowly to concentrate on my new job and the holidays. Production started after December and continued until almost the end of March. A lot of the time was spent researching and creating the map. The map is the most dense created to this point, covering Leominster and part of the Fitchburg core. Researching Leominster was time-intensive, as it contains a lot of history much more than I was able to cover. With ties to the Plymouth Colony, it created a rabbit hole of information and was initially difficult to cross-reference and verify sources. But as the history of the late 19th century continued it became much clearer at what direction I should take. Recording of Leominster came with its own issues, its distance was one, the other was the weather and flight restriction due to an airport. The weather was nice one day, while the other two were rainy and snowy. Which hindered production and with a limited budget a heavier emphasis on images was necessary. While the flight restrictions limited flight above Leominster and besides one location, most were taken at the outskirts of the city center.
Leominster, being the last place we’ll cover this season was an ideal choice. Its history is part of the larger tapestry of the History of Massachusetts. I think it was a nice last treat of this 5-course meal that is Season 1 of Along the Way.
Production Notes
- Production time of 3 months
- On-location recording took 3 days.
- Due to Flight Restrictions and Infrastructure, Drone Footage was limited.