Amy

• Name some representations in Amy (4) - The Press - Men - Vulnerable young women - Drug Users
• How does the use of found footage apply to the contexts of the film - Draws attention to our own digital footprint and how our narrative could be created by somebody else in the future
• What other contextual issues does Amy raise The free press and intrusivity of the paparazzi, criticising capitalism as they do anything for a 'valuable' photograph
• Opening Sequence: Cinematography (4) - Poor mobile phone quality footage - spectator feels priveliged to be able to see amy as her close friends would have - Handheld camera and crowded fram make the spectator uncomfortable as we feel like voyeurs of something not made to be shown commercially - Low angle close up of Amy singing promoting her as powerful and confident - Still shot of Amy singing with National youth jazz ochestra with purple lens flare effect presenting her vibrancy and talent
• Opening Sequence: what was the footage filmed on Hi8 Cam corder
• Opening Sequence: How does the the cinematography create an eerie atmosphere - Lip synch to Amy singing happy birthday is slightly out of synch, foreshadowing the consequence of music on her downfall
• Opening Sequence: Editing (2) - Digitally imposed silent intertitle text used to contextualise the scene - Use of non-linear digital editing
• Opening Sequence: Sound - We hear the girls singing happy birthday which is overpowered by Amy's voice which is actually focussed with the gradual fade out of the other singers, sets the scene for her downfall
• Back to Black: Cinematography - Amy is shown through two angles, from the recording booth and the studio gallery with mark ronson, demonstrates Kapadias manipulation of archival footage to make this scene appear to be the breaking point in her life
• Back to Black: Sound (3) - Crossfade between the raw diagetic vocals and the studio track - Encourages the spectator to connect with their own experience of the song and understand the catastrophic consequences this had on her - Also demonstrates how the audio has been manipulated and combined with the interview from mark ronson
• Back to Black: Describe editing in this sequence (2) - Slowing the pace of the footage creates a dramatic villainous foreshadowing effect on the sequence - as this is the moment that led to the paparazzi chaos - Accompanying motion graphic lyrics, illustrates an example of true fiction as kapadia ensures become visually significant, emphasising the significance of the song on her downfall
• Describe 3 nick broomfields films (3) - The leader, his driver and the drivers wife - Kurt and Courtney - Tracking down maggie
• Describe Nick Broomfield as a filmmaker (2) - Films are political and have a recurring theme of death, culture and fame - He is attracted to interesting and difficult people and creating challenging material
• Describe Nick Broomfields style (3) - He appears in his own films, we often see items like the sound boom in frame, hence the audience is very aware of camera positioning - He plays a disorganised character around interviewees called the clouseau element, he makes himself seem relatable so they divulge more information - Adopts a performative/participatory style, which often makes his films seem quite amateurish
• Describe 4 Michael Moore films - Roger and Me (his first film about the close of general motors factory) - Bowling for Columbine - Farenheit 911 - Sicko
• Describe Michael Moores style (5) - He is the voice of the American Left villainising the media relentlessly - Uses dark satire and comedy to attack institutions he is targetted, he manipulates the film so he always gets what he wants out of an interview (like marilyn manson interview in bowling for columbine) - He plays a key role in his own films - Uses expositional devices to employ comedy, his wokr is polemical and can be seen as subjective - Concentrates on a particular agenda and expands on a set of arguments throughout the film
• How does michael moore play a key role in his films in terms of michael moores style (2) - Wears casual clothes and is overweight contributing to his laidback persona, shocking people when he pursues a sharp line of argument - He attempts to be the centre of attention through his political charge, wanting the audience to acknowledge and act on the worlds problems
• Describe moores 13 Documentary rules (3) - 'Dont make a documentary, make a movie' - suggesting his prerogative is to entertain, kapadia and broomfields approaches are very different - Make your film personal - kapadia takes a similar approach as they both add personal opinions - Point your cameras at the cameras - similar to kapadia as he includes footage of the press harrassing amy
• What is true fiction in terms of kapadia as a documentarian - A film heavily storyled, but completely true - it is not a recreation but a dramatic compilation of found footage
• Describe kapadia comparatively to moore in terms of Asif Kapadia's filmmakers theory (3) - Kapadia does make amy personal in a similar way to moore, as he spent hours researching and developing a narrative in accordance to his beliefs - Kapadia uses archival footage, he doesnt really point the cameras at the cameras - Kapadia and broomfields sole intention isnt to enterain, despite making an entertaining documentary, it has initial informative intentions
• Describe Kapadia comparatively to broomfield in terms of Asif Kapadia's filmmakers theory (2) - Both broomfield and kapadia achieve the same result through different methods - kapadia doesnt include himself in the documentary, interviews drive the plot with broomfield, but are more of an addition in Amy - Kapadia is more fact based, broomfields documentaries are more spontaneous and reliant on interviews and how they turn out
• Fictional elements of amy (3) - Manipulation and editing of footage to construct amy as saintly - Sound editing - Manipulation and representations of characters
• Both fictional and non fictional elements in amy (2) - Manipulated interviews - changes to characters overall representation
• Non fictional elements in amy - characters themselves are real
• Describe Performative Mode in terms of Bill Nichols modes of documentary (2) - Emphasises filmmakers subjective experience and personal perspective - Commonly usedin autobiographical documentaries or those who explore personal history
• Describe expository mode in terms of Bill Nichols modes of documentary (2) - Relies on narrator or voiceover to provide information to the viewer - often presents facts, statistics and historical contexts and strong rhetorical argeuments
• Describe Participatory mode in terms of Bill Nichols modes of documentary - Directors active participation in the documentary emphasised as an on screen presence or narrator
• Describe reflexive mode in terms of Bill Nichols modes of documentary (2) - Emphasises dilmmakers awareness of their own role in creating the documentary - includes self reflexive techniques even addressing the audience directly to reveal the whole process of the filmmaking
• What modes of documentary does nick broomfield align with - Reflexive (filmmakers awareness of their own role in creating documentary - self reflexive techniqies include addressing audience directly and revealing process of filmmaking)
• What modes of documentary does Michael Moore align with (2) - Expository mode - Participatory mode - active participation in the documentary as an on screen presence
• What modes of documentary does Asif Kapadia align with - Performative - emphasising filmmakers subjective experience commonly used in autobiographical documentaries
• Describe how amy is reliant on the existence of digital technology (4) - Modern technology has allowed he whole life to be displayed on camera, some of which unseen captured on video or by DV by people close to her - Kapadia estimates 90% of all the footage was archival digital footage - Use of non linear digital editing allows kapadia to create a digital narrative by reordering events despite the documentary appearing superficially chronological, there are a number of montage sequences using amateur archival footage lending power to the narrative - Motion graphic text on the screen ising info...
• Describe kapadias approach to digital debates (2) - Director who shot little original footage for the film, only minimal drone shots, telling the story through the form of archival footage - He recored the interviews using audio only, hence he can manipulate his intended emotional response, moreover people tend to react differently in front of a camera
• What are the cons of the digital technology debate - Image isnt as clear and dynamic and appears crisper, removes the sense of watching a film as an artform - Relationship between viewer and the screen in disposable - The paparazzi and the voyeuristic nature of technology in the wrong hands
• What are the pros of the digital technology debate (4) - Makes the filmmaking process more democratic, cheaper and easier to film, demonstrates how everyone now has the potential to become a filmmaker and produce footage using everyday technology like phones - Small size of new technology allows for easier access to remote locations and expands idea of caputring true to life reality - Digital technology has expanded the archival footage available to a documentary filmmaker - Non linear digital editing has enabled the filmmaker to expand how they are able to manipulate footage
• What is asif kapadia's style in terms of Asif Kapadia's filmmakers theory - True fiction
• Describe the idea of true fiction in terms of Asif Kapadia's filmmakers theory (3) - A film that is heavily storyled but completley true, kapadia has a role and bias throughout the film, presenting mitch winehouse negatively and representing amy as a tortured soul - This approach adopts a middle ground between moore, longinotto and broomfield by rupturing traditional documentary constraints and forming an unconventional but emotive narrative response - True fiction adopts the use of archival footage and frankenbiting, kapadia constructs his point of view through non linear digital editing, whi...
• Describe kim longinottos style in terms of Kim longinottos filmmakers theory (3) - Use of handheld camera, voiceover narration and rejecting the use of advanced planning, emphasising how documentary should be spontaneous - while kapadia spends hundreds of hours selecting clips - Only shoots a limited amount of footage, normally using long takes from one angle, and rarely demonstrates her own opinion focussing on marginalised women referencing her iranian culture - Allows for subjects to be aware of the cameras presence, optimising an observational form of documentary filmmaking - she rarely ap...
• Addiction to crack cocaine sequence: Cinematography - Use of stills and superimposed movement to develop and emotional response to the film as the stills are captured by the paparazzi (in the rehab intervention), making the audience question their role in viewing and encouraging aggressive media sensationalism
• Addiction to crack cocaine sequence: Sound - Use of voice over, blakes interview is manipulated by kapadia using frankenbiting, combining multiple clips of audio into what seems to be a single clip, this is overlain by stills of the effect of amys crack addiction, placing the blame on blake - Overlayed non-diagetic sound of paparazzi camera flashing as amy is in the rehab climic as kapdia cuts between stills, draws blame to how the paparazzi influenced her downfall