Similar Product Research, Jamie Ellis, Candidate number 9150

This is the first of my specialized topic documentary reviews

Marked – Death of the Yakuza

A documentary revealing stories and lore behind the tattoos that are used by the Japanese equivalent of the Italian mafia, the deadly, yet honourable, Yakuza. The history and meaning behind these artistic and symbolic tattoos is revealed, as well as an individuals experience behind them. 

This documentary is in an expository mode, with the voice over depicting and translating the actions on screen. This type of documentary is the one I would most like to do, because to me, they are the original type of documentary and I think it would suit our documentary very well after my similar product research into other tattoo documentaries.

Rayner is a great theorist for these kinds of documentaries. “The process by which media presents the real world”, as they present the world behind the ink, the world that these tattoos create for these people. From tales of taking over the family business, to taking back the reigns of power over your life from an abusive boyfriend, each tattoo has a meaning. 

We’re looking to shed light on modern tattoos, the iconography behind them, as well as people’s personal opinions on them too. And this theory supports our way of working. 

Another strong theorist is Perkins. The idea of “stereotypes are not simple” suits tattoos greatly. Each tattoo has a special meaning to the individual. In my eyes, this makes it impossible to stereotype someone with a tattoo because to have a stereotype, you have to have a majority. However, with tattoos, there is no way to have a majority, because it’s very difficult to find somebody with a similar tattoo with a similar meaning. 

The Mise en Scene

The costumes in the documentary aren’t chosen, there are what the subjects chose to wear. They appear to be stereotypical costumes, such as traditional kimonos. They do this to simply reinforce that these people are part of, or were part of the Japanese Yakuza organisation. This contrasts with the costumes that the normal people wear, to show the distinction between these people.

Our costumes would be, well, I'd like the interviewer in some sort of smart attire, to show off professionalism and the interviewees to just look natural. We'd be there to interview them in their natural environment, rather than making it look like a staged interview. 

The lighting is ambient. It’s not blinding and it’s not natural, it’s just soft lighting. This could be relating to the “shady” business of the Yakuza, so the lighting could relate the interviewees pasts.

Our lighting will more than likely be natural. we wouldn't be bringing any sort of additional light source with us, mainly because I simply don't think we'll need it. 

 Below is the dojo location

                                                          Below is the empty bar location

The locations and sets where the documentary is filmed are stereotypical once again. The first is set in a dojo, whereby the first interviewee depicts his tale into the world of the Yakuza. His tale is more of a respectable and honourable one, which relates to the dojo even more through its ties and themes of honour. Another location is what appears to be an empty bar. This relates to what the interviewee’s story is behind his early Yakuza life, but could also be a typical Yakuza hangout. This person’s tale into his yakuza decent is a seedier one, as he just wants the girls and the money that come with the typical Yakuza image. These locations have been chosen for more than just their aesthetics; at least, that’s why I think they were chosen.


Our locations for filming will have some connotational link to the subject that our interviewer/presenter will be talking about.                          

                                                                                                Below is a traditional tattooing technique

There are little props used in the documentary. The ones that are used in the documentary just enforce what the interviewees are telling us about themselves, such as traditional tattooing kits and the tattoos themselves. This is a good close up shot of the tattoing process, which is a type of shot i'd like to get during filming if we're allowed into a parlour.


Our props are going to be limited too, for the simple reason that there are no real props that relate to tattoos that we can get hold off. It would be great if we could get inside a tattoo parlour and take images of the equipment, but it's too early to predict that far.

The way this interview has been filmed is pretty simple. It's been filmed as an over the shoulder mid-shot. this is the style we'll be trying to use as it looks quite professional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=070akNz4DPM