Narration script

Before we started editing our piece we wrote a narration script so we knew what the narrator would say so that we had an idea of the order we were going to put our footage in. We then got got somebody to record themselves saying what we had chosen and put it on to our sequence.

Narration Script for Documentary

The tattoo business is said to be the 6th fastest growing retail business at the moment with 36% of 18-25 year olds having at least one tattoo.

But
Where did tattoos come from?
Why do people get them?
And most importantly,
What are the risks?

Narration script for radio advert

(SF) Tattoo gun
(MB) Avenged Sevenfold - Beast and the harlot
(VO) Tattoos, an art, a fad, a disease
(VP) I tattooed like his bones
Ive had paents coming in asking can their 12 year old son or daughter to be tattooed if they sign for it
I believe the oldest person we tattooed was 85
(VO) Skin deep on channel 4
Wednesday 1st December at 9pm
Is beauty relly skin deep?
(SF) Channel 4 ident

Storyboard

After, choosing our final ideas of what should be involved in the documentary we created a storyboard to show the order in which our ideas would appear. This helped us when filming and editing our piece.
This is our storyboard:

Here is some single frames from our storyboard:


This is the frame from the tattoo artist being interviewed. From the start we knew we wanted to put the artist in the tattooing chair as it was ironic and original.



Here is the frame of the boy sitting in the LRC whic is used as a vox pop. We liked the idea of having the mise en scene of the LRC as it shows that he is random, thus giving a random opinion.

Interview Questions

Before meeting with the tattoo artist and historian we prepared some questions to ask them in order to get them speaking to put in are documentary. We chose these questions as we thought that they would give good information about tattoos and create entertainment.

Tattoo Artist

1. What made you become a tattoo artist?
2. How long have you been a tattoo artist?
3. Would you consider you profession to be an art?
4. Is your job a vocation?
5. How many customers do you serve a week?
6. what is the age range of your customers?
7. what is the most unusual tattoo you have done?
8. What is the most popular tattoo?
9. What do you believe is the fascination with tattoos?
10. would you recommend tattoos to everyone?

Historian

1. Where did tattoos originate from?
2. How were they discovered?
3. How is the industry safer nowadays?
4. how does it influence different cultures?
5. Is there a time in history when they were most popular?
6. Is there a change in the way tehy are done?
7. why so you think people get tattoos?
8. Do you think celebrities influence people to get tattoos?
9. what tattoos do you have?
10. what do you think the fascintaion with tattoos is?

30 minute running order

Title 'skin deep' show at the start of the documentary being drawn with a tattoo gun for 10 seconds
Pictures of celebrity tattoos, shocking tattoos, tattoos from the past and fashionable tattoos for 15 seconds
Tattoo being done for one minute 5 seconds
Interviews of tattooist for 1 minute 30 seconds
Interview of historian for 1 minute
Reaction of people for 40 seconds
Archive footage for 15 seconds
Then image of a quotation for 5 seconds
Then image of clip saying ‘end of part one’ 5 seconds
Clip of interview with businessman for 10 seconds
Over voice with cutaways in relation to subject 30 seconds
Interview with businessman on subject of how tattoos effect what job you get for 1 minute 15 seconds.
Cutaways of different work places 10 seconds
Interview with person that got fired due to tattoos that they had for 30 seconds
Recreation playing during this interview 30 seconds
Image of quotation for 5 seconds
Then image of ‘end of part 2’ for 5 seconds
Clip of pope saying disagree with tattoos for 30 seconds
Cutaways of religious buildings, with particular focus on hell related statues. Over voice in background. 10 seconds
Interview with priest that disagrees with tattoos 1 minute
Reactions of people on street who disagree with tattoos 40 seconds
Interview with vicar that agrees with tattoos 1 minute
Reactions of people on street that agree with tattoos 40 seconds
Then image of quotation for 5 seconds
Then image saying ‘end of part 3’ 5 seconds
Recreation of tattoo being done in past, example from each generation for 1 minute
Interview with sailor from war for 1 minute
Archive footage of sailor tattoos 20 seconds
Interview with person from Auschwitz for 1 minute
Archive footage of Auschwitz tattoos 20 seconds
Image of quotation for 5 seconds
Image saying ‘end of part 4’ 5 seconds
Interview with man that has a whole body of tattoos for 2 minutes
Reaction of him in street 20 seconds
Reaction he has to images of extreme tattoos 20 seconds
Image of quotation for 5 seconds
Image saying ‘end of part 5’ 5 seconds
Cutaways of school related subject 15 seconds
Examples of different age groups of children’s ideas about tattoos – 2 minute
Teacher’s ideas about tattoos- 1 minute
Interview with head teacher about punishments for tattoos and his ideas about them- 1 minute
Interview with parent who disagrees with tattoos- 1 minute
Interview with parent that agrees with tattoos- 1 minute
Image of quotation for 5 seconds
Image of ‘end of part 6’ for 5 seconds
Interview with different tattooists about when tattoos go wrong- 3 minutes
Images of tattoos when they go wrong 30 seconds
Over voice talking about how it effect the Media accompanied by images 10 seconds
School children singing songs about tattoos 1 minute 30 seconds
Over voice with images for 20 seconds
Image of quotation for 5 seconds

Formal Proposal

Formal Proposal for Documentary: Skin Deep

Our documentary will be based around the topic of tattoos; we will look at the public’s obsession with getting them and the reasons why we are fascinated by them. It will be an objective documentary, and will give an un-biased view of tattoos. A voice over will be put in to the documentary, in order to fully explain the subject. It will show both the positives and negatives of tattoos. This will be an investigative documentary; it will both inform the audience about tattoos as well as hopefully entertaining them. We would aim for this documentary to be filmed on channel 4; at about 8pm.This will attract a wide range of ages as the audience, so it would therefore reach out to more people. We felt that channel 4 would be an appropriate channel to broadcast on, as their audience is usually of a younger age. Tattoos are widely popular in the younger generation, so channel 4 would have the perfect audience. Our scheduled time was 8pm, as this is a time that students tend to relax after college or university. We would aim for the documentary to be shown on a week night, as this is the time that most students will be watching. Our target audience is the younger generation, perhaps those between the ages of 15 to 25 as we believe these are the people who are more interested in the subject of tattoos. Our primary research consisted of us trying to find a place to film our documentary, it took a lot of effort and we had to phone 5 tattoo parlours, finally someone said yes. We had to ask the tattooist if we could film someone getting a tattoo, in order to do this we had to follow certain procedures. The tattooist had to phone her clients and ask if we would be allowed to film them, we also had to discuss a date and time that we would film. We also created 30 questionnaires to give out to people in our local area. These questionnaires asked them questions on what they thought should be in the documentary and what interested them. This was extremely valuable to our final decision, and it gave the audience a chance to give their own ideas. Our secondary research consisted of us finding research to include in our documentary, such as statistics and the history of tattoos. The structure of our documentary will follow a linear narrative, as we will first look at the history of tattoos and then look at tattoos today. Our main focus will be on tattoos in the 21st century, as we feel this effects and interests more people.
The documentary will start with a flash of images related to the subject of tattoos, with music in the background. We will then proceed to the title, which in this case is ‘Skin Deep’. We felt this was an appropriate title for a documentary about tattoos, as it implies what it is about without giving to much information. This gives a sense of mystery, which will hopefully attract the audience. A voiceover will then start and will explain the history of tattoos, perhaps with archive images or an interview with a professional. We will then see interviews with people who have had tattoos or plan on getting them. After this visual stimulus occurs, a video of a tattoo being done will come on screen. Perhaps with a voiceover explaining the process. The interview with the tattoo artist will then be put on, with her name and profession put underneath. It will then proceed to showing a bit of the tattoo being done, with particular focus on the subjects face when in pain. The needle noise will play in the background. The interview with the man who got a tattoo with then progress. There will then be music and blackness. The title of the documentary will then come up and underneath the title it will say end of part one. It will then fade to black.
The resource requirements for our project are:
• Camera to film the documentary
• Microphone for the speech and voiceover
• Tripod to hold camera
• Internet for secondary research
• Computers for editing and for initial research

Research

Primary research

For our documentary we knew we would need to talk to a professional in the tattoo business. We rang around and decided to talk to a tattoo artist . The owner of the shop was happy for us to interview her. We also asked if she would see if any clients would be happy with us interviewing them, she found somebody and they also allowed us to film them getting a tattoo done, this provided us with the main body for our documentary.

We filmed at:
Well Inked
8 Bruche Heath Gardens
Padgate, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 3TP
01925 479 071




We also asked to have an interview with an expert from Warrington Museum. We emailed him and asked if we could meet up to speak about the history of tattoos including; where they came from, the influence on different cultures and the dangers of tattoos. He emailed us back.








Secondary research
Statistics

• 17% of those with tattoos have considered having it removed



• 36% of 18-25 year olds have at least one tattoo



• 61% of people say that the reputation of a tattoo artist and tattoo studio is the most important factor when selecting who will tattoo them and where they will get tattooed



• 36% of those with tattoos are between 25-29 years old



• Tattooing is the united state's 6th fastest growing retail business



• In 1936 10 million Americans (about 6%) have at least one tattoo

Celebrity influence

Most celebrities nowadays have tattoos, this is considered as one of the main reasons why tattoos are now so popular.

History

Tattoos date back 5000 years, when they were thought to be a form of healing as their position and shape resembled acupuncture.
3000 years ago, japanese figures were found that resembled the dead and had tattoos, mainly of religious significance.
2400 years ago they represented status.
After captain cook returned from his voyage to polynesia tattooing became a tradition in the British navy. By the middle of the 18th century most british ports had
at least one professional tattoo artist in residence.in 1862, the prince of wales, later to become king Edward VII, received his first tattoo - a Jerusalem cross - on his arm. he started a tattoo fad among the aristocracy when he was tattooed before ascending to the throne. In 1882, his sons, the duke of Clarence and the duke of york were tattooed by the Japanese master tattooist, hori chiyo.

Magazines
Skin Deep Tattoo Magazine has been available on the high street for over sixteen years now and as they approach their 200th issue, it remains the UK’s best selling tattoo magazine with a huge international reach.

You can buy single issues, back copies or subscribe online using their ordering system, chat with the Tattoo Community in their forum, or find out what's going on in the Tattoo Conventions Calendar.

Purposes

Decorative and spiritual uses

• Memorial tattoos for deceased family members and friends
• Christian Symbols to show somebody's religion
• Extensive decorative tattooing is common among members of traditional freak shows and by performance artists

Identification

• A Nazi concentration camp used tattoos as a identification system
• Animals can be tattooed for ownership

Cosmetic

• Permanent make up
• Eyebrows
• Moles

Medical

• To make sure instruments are repeatedly located

Health risks

Because it requires breaking the skin barrier, tattooing may carry health risks, including infection and allergic reactions. Infections that can theoretically be transmitted by the use of unsterilized tattoo equipment or contaminated ink include surface infections of the skin, herpes simplex virus, tetanus, staph, fungal infections, some forms of hepatitis, tuberculosis, and HIV.

Types of tattoos

• Traumatic tattoos - the result from injuries
• Amateur tattoos
• Professional tattoos
• Medical tattoos
• Cosmetic tattoos

Tattoo conventions

Tatto conventions are held every year across the country where people can go to; compare tattoos, watch people get tattoos and get tattoos themselves. They are largely successful and attract many people each year.

Questionnaire

Instead of giving everybody our questionnaire to fill in we filmed some responses :

Here is our questionnaire:

Questionnaire
Do you have a tattoo?
If no, would you consider one, and what would it be if yes?
If yes, how many and of what?

Here we can see that it is mostly Females between the ages of 16 and 25 that have a tattoo.

Do you prefer:
Big, Small, don’t like any tattoos
Do you prefer:
Colour, Just black, don’t like tattoos
Where would you get one on your body/ where have you got one?

Most people prefer just black tattoos with no colour on and the others mostly prefer no tattoo.

Where would you get a tattoo done in Warrington?

Most people wouldn't chose to get a tattoo from some of the more well known places in Warrington, they would prefer to go to a parlour outside of Warrington.

Are you influenced by the tattoos that celebrities have?

The majority of people are not influenced by celebrities with tattoos.

Who is your favourite celebrity with a tattoo?

The celebrity that most people admire with a tattoo is Cheryl Cole.

Would you be interested in watching a documentary about tattoos?

Half of the people we spoke to would be interested by tattoos and half wouldn't.

If yes, what aspects would you like to see concerning tattoos?
If no, why not?

most people we spoke to would be most ineterested in seeing how tatoos are done.

Initial Research

Initial Ideas

• Fusion at the workplace

This wouldnt work as we would be unable to film in a science lab.

• Toyland

This wouldnt work as it would be difficult to get to a toy factory to see how they are made.

• Do you believe in ghosts?

This possibly wouldnt work as when interviewing members of the public they might not admit to believing in ghosts.

• Best films of all time

It would be difficult to get inside a studio to see how films are made.

• Fashion

This might not work as it is such a wide subject and it would be hard to figure out where to start.

• RSPCA

This wouldnt work as some images of abandoned animals could be upsetting

• Hospital

It would be hard to be able to film inside a hospital.

• Make-up

This wouldnt work as it would be difficult to get into somewhere that makes make up.

• Hair dye

It would be difficult to see how hair dye is made.

Preliminary ideas

Tattoos:

• Title - Skin Deep


• Channel - Channel 4


• Time - 8pm

RSPCA:

• Title - Raining cats and dogs


• Channel - Channel 5


• Time - 7pm

Toys:

• Title - Toyland


• Channel - BBC 2


• Time - 4 pm

Final idea

Tattoos

Here is our ideas of what we could of included in our documentary. It included the things that we thought were typical of a documentary like the title and interviews with experts. From this we created our timeline as we then knew what we would like to include.

Production schedule

Programme Title: Skin deep
Director: Sophie Edgar, Katharine Bann
Producer: Sophie Edgar, Katharine Bann

Date Production started: 27th September
Treatment started for final idea: 27th Septembe
Target research and researvh started: 28th September
Timeline started:30th September
Storybooard started: 30th September
Formal Proposal started: 1st October
Filming started: 8th October
Editing started: 22nd October

Location Equipment required: Camera, Tripod, Microphone, Headphones
Transport requirements: Bus, Taxi
Crewing Requirements: Sophie Edgar, Katharine Bann
Camera person: Sophie Edgar, Katharine Bann
Interviewer: Sophie Edgar, Katharine Bann

Actors/interviwee: Claire Jonesberry, Michael Roberts, Students from Priestley college
Props: Tattoo chair, tattoo gun, cleaning materials, book shelves

Codes and Conventions of a Documentary

In all documenatries certian codes and conventions are used in order to allow the audience to see that the genre of the piece is a documentary. These conventions are suitable and particular to the genre.

• Interview with an expert - this adds facts into the documentary and makes it more informative, which documentaries should be
• Graphics - The name and occupation appears at the bottom of the screen to introduce the expert. This is only seen when the expert first comes on screen
• Rule of thirds - This positions the interviewee on eye level with the camera and allows the interviewee to connect with the audience better.
• The expert looks at the interviewer rather than straight at the camera - this makes the interview look professional
• Talking heads - this puts emphasis on what the interviwee is saying and allows the audience to focus on just the expert rather than lots of different images
• Cutaways - these are insertes when the expert is speaking so that the audience doesnt get bored by just looking at the expert, also, the audience have visual stimulus.
• Montage - a montage is normally seen in a documentary in order to show the audience different ideas
• A variety of camera angles - this is so the audience can see the chosen topic from different angles
• Voiceover - these are used to say what just images on there own cant.
• Music - the music suits the topic of the documentary.
• Sound effects relating to the documentary - sound effects relating to what is being spoken about is used
• Reconstruction- are used to illustrate what is being spoken about
• Mise en scene - the mise en scene is is relevant to the documentary
• Title - the title suits the documentary and an opening title sequence is seen
• Vox pops - vos pops of the general public are used in order to add opinions to the documentary.
• Simple open questions when interviewing - so the interviewee cant just answer yes and no
• Archive footage - to show different view points

Documentaries

The Devil Made Me Do It

The documentary "the devil made me do it" is an investigative and a reflective documentary meaning the documentary goes in depth about the subject. It is also a circular narrative as it starts at the end, then goes to the beginning and then goes through to the end. This is done in order to get the audience's attention at the beginning and then when they want to watch more they explain why the end result happened.

Hand-held cameras are used in order to show a point of view shot, this is to reenact the situation which is being spoken about and also to add some urgency when it comes to talking about the court scenes. Talking head shots and cutaways are also used, which is typical of a documentary. Talking head shots are used when interviewing a person, this is to put the focus on the person speaking. Cutaways are used in order to keep the audiences attention by showing images that are related to the topics the person is talking about, in this case; concerts and crime scenes. The archive material used is that of the trial and the concerts.

Throughout the documentary there are two main people that are being spoken about: the nun and Marilyn Manson. When talking about Marilyn Manson the editing is fast paced to show his fast lifestyle. Whereas when they are speaking about the nun the editing is slow paced to create sympathy.

Throughout the documentary the mise-en-scene is more or less the same, with religious affects and concerts commonly scene throughout. There is also an emphasis on costumes in order to show the extremities of the people they are talking about, e.g, Marilyn Manson.

As the documentary is about Marilyn Manson his music can be heard in the background when he is on the screen and when the girls are being spoken about, but in contrast to this when the nun is being spoken about the music is religious, operatic music. sound effects like heartbeats are also used.




Themes

• Culture
• Religion
• Music
• Power
• Rebellion
• Satan
• Influence
• Youth
• Crime

The Meth Epidemic

The documentary "The Meth Epidemic" is an investigative police documentary which is narrated in a linear style, meaning it goes from beginning of the story to the end of the story and thus reaches a conclusion.

Like all documentaries, talking head shots are used in order to put the attention on the interviewee. Images of drug traffickers and extreme close ups of meth addicts adds to the emphasis on drugs. Hand held cameras and aerial shots are used on order to show the urgency that the police have in catching the traffickers. The archive footage used are images of people affected by the drug, websites and pictures of victims. cutaways are also used in order to keep the audiences attention.

The mise-en-scene throughout the whole documentary is dark and night vision is used as it is such as dark subject. Sudafed props are used commonly in the documentary to show how easy it is to get your hands on drugs. The setting is in Portland's police station and therefore actors are used for policemen.

Serious music is used when there is images of the raid or explaining about the sudafed, whereas emotive music is used in order create sympathy when the victims are shown. A voice over is used in order to explain to the audience the problems with meth.

In editing, cutaways of the props, sudafed, are used in order to aid the interviewee's words. Also, the name and job title of the interviewee is seen underneath the person.

Archive material such as; websites, pictures of users and pictures of victims are used to put emphasis on the affects the drug has.



Themes:

• Crime
• Drugs
• Sociological
• Victims

Loose Change

The documentary "loose change" is an; informative, historical and reflective documentary. It is told in a linear narrative meaning it goes from beginning to end.

The documentary is completely archive material like; websites, news reports, other documentaries, newspapers, government reports and recordings. This is because the documentary is an historical one meaning the makers would not have necessarily have been there meaning they would not have the resources or the budget to gain primary research. The camera work is either hand held or off a news report as it is all archive. Computer generated images are also used in order to strengthen the narrators arguments.

A voice over is used throughout as it is all narrated and a repetitive non diegetic drum loop is heard behind the narrator in order to create tension and momentum. Also, the foley sound of an aeroplane engine is used in order to create atmosphere.

In editing, cross fades and fades in and outs are used in order for the documentary to run smoothly. this also makes it easier to watch.

Themes

• Government corruption
• Terrorism

Comparative Documentary Analysis

Every documentary has been written with a different purpose, audience and genre.These can be determined by the key themes seen, the channel it was shown on and the different technical aspects that are used. "The most hated family in America" was aired on BBC2 meaning this documentary was aimed for an older audience. Whereas "Super botox me" was aired on channel 4, thus aiming for a younger audience.

"The most hated family in America" starts with a slow montage of clips with slow paced music and a voice over that tells the audience what he is going to do in the documentary. This is to show that the documentary is less of an entertaining one but more informative. "Super botox me" is different from this as it starts with fast, contemporary music and a montage of archive images in the form of covers of fashion magazines. This relates to the intended audience as it is fast paced and easy to watch which gets the audiences attention. There is also a voice over stating statistics, again, to catch their attention.

The Documentary "The most hated family in America" is an informative and investigative documentary with a linear narrative.

There is a lot of tracking shots and point of view shots as the documentary is following one man who is trying to find out about the family. not much archive footage is needed as the audience can see what the family is like from the footage. Religious objects are used throughout to show the religious influence the family has, also, posters are seen showing the family's hatred.

A voice over is used throughout to narrate the man's feelings. Also, contemporary music is used to keep an audiences attention. Fades are used to show the transition of one day to another.

The documentary "super botox me" is an investigative documentary with a linear narrative as it shows her journey from London to the USA.

Typical of a documentary talking head shots are used in order for interviews to be shown and in editing the words "before" and "after" have been inserted. Close ups and tracking shots are used to show the progression of different pictures that have been changed. Also, as the documentary is set in two different countries so establishing shots are used. Studios, cameras and photographs are seen to show the fashion scene. Adding to this, archive footage of magazine covers have been used.

A voice over is used throughout to narrate what is happening and fast modern music is heard behind to keep the audience's attention. Slow music is heard when decisions are being made

Even though you can tell that both texts are in fact documentaries because of their narration, they many differences in the presentation of information.

In all documentaries certain codes and conventions are used in order for the documenatry to fit its genre. talking heads are normally used with the rule of thirds when interviewing a person. vox pops are used in order to give different ideas and opinions. Interviews with experts are used in order to add facts and opinions.

Types of documentaries

Poetic documentaries

Which first appeared in the 1920’s, were a sort of reaction against both the content and the rapidly crystallizing grammar of the early fiction film. The poetic mode moved away from continuity editing and instead organized images of the material world by means of associations and patterns, both in terms of time and space. Well-rounded characters—’life-like people’—were absent; instead, people appeared in these films as entities, just like any other, that are found in the material world. The films were fragmentary, impressionistic, lyrical. Their disruption of the coherence of time and space—a coherence favored by the fiction films of the day—can also be seen as an element of the modernist counter-model of cinematic narrative. The ‘real world’—Nichols calls it the “historical world”—was broken up into fragments and aesthetically reconstituted using film form.

Expositary documentaries

Speak directly to the viewer, often in the form of an authoritative commentary employing voiceover or titles, proposing a strong argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. (They may use a rich and sonorous male voice.) The (voice-of-God) commentary often sounds ‘objective’ and omniscient. Images are often not paramount; they exist to advance the argument. The rhetoric insistently presses upon us to read the images in a certain fashion. Historical documentaries in this mode deliver an unproblematic and ‘objective’ account and interpretation of past events.

Observational documentaries

Attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked in this sub-genre often saw the poetic mode as too abstract and the expository mode as too didactic. The first observational docs date back to the 1960’s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lighweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. Often, this mode of film eschewed voice-over commentary, post-synchronized dialogue and music, or re-enactments. The films aimed for immediacy, intimacy, and revelation of individual human character in ordinary life situations.

Participatory documentaries

Believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is emulate the approach of the anthropologist: participant-observation. Not only is the filmmaker part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by her presence. Nichols: “The filmmaker steps out from behind the cloak of voice-over commentary, steps away from poetic meditation, steps down from a fly-on-the-wall perch, and becomes a social actor (almost) like any other. (Almost like any other because the filmmaker retains the camera, and with it, a certain degree of potential power and control over events.)” The encounter between filmmaker and subject becomes a critical element of the film. Rouch and Morin named the approach cinéma vérité, translating Dziga Vertov’s kinopravda into French; the “truth” refers to the truth of the encounter rather than some absolute truth.

Reflexive documentaries

Don’t see themselves as a transparent window on the world; instead they draw attention to their own constructedness, and the fact that they are representations. How does the world get represented by documentary films? This question is central to this sub-genre of films. They prompt us to “question the authenticity of documentary in general.” It is the most self-conscious of all the modes, and is highly skeptical of ‘realism.’ It may use Brechtian alienation strategies to jar us, in order to ‘defamiliarize’ what we are seeing and how we are seeing it.

Performative documentaries

Stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own, e.g. that of black, gay men in Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989) or Jenny Livingston’s Paris Is Burning (1991). This sub-genre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, etc) to ‘speak about themselves.’ Often, a battery of techniques, many borrowed from fiction or avant-garde films, are used. Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities.