Moore, S., 2012.

Making the real: the process of animating and authenticating non-fiction film

This paper will look at the ways in which the process of making non-fiction animation can be approached, using practice as a tool for research. What are the markers used to convey authenticity and how elastic are they when filtered through the process of animation? The paper will use the author's work about prosopagnosia and phantom limb syndrome as case studies which use a collaboratively ethnographic methodology. These case studies raise key questions to be interrogated and explored; what was the process of collecting, collating, translating and authenticating the material? Where does the line lie between making and making up? Why does it matter and to whom does it matter? This paper will engage with current debate about documentary boundaries and definitions. The work screened and discussed will use the process of animating human perception beyond the boundaries of direct observation to raise issues about making, making up and authenticity in non-fiction animation.