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Amy (Kapadia, 2015) - Coggle Diagram
Amy (Kapadia, 2015)
Digital technologies
Archival footage
- News footage, archives, personal footage etc
- Not usually director's footage - Kapadia relies heavily on footage from Amy's friends and family
Still images
- Photographs of relevant subject matter to construct meaning or support points made by the filmmaker
- Kapadia frequently uses paparazzi images of Amy
Graphics
- Titles or other written information displayed on the screen
- Kapadia digitally edits lyrics from Amy's songs onto the screen
Use of sound
- Winehouse's back catalogue is featured heavily throughout the film
- Amplifying, fading and mixing songs over images and archival footage
- This could not be done without the use of digital editing software
Edited interviews
- Selected and edited interviews so we only hear specific things which suit Kapadia's agenda
- Kapadia directly interviewed Nick Shymanksy and Mitch Winehouse, however most other interviews are digitally sourced
- Other key documentary techniques include montage, actuality footage (director's own footage), establishing shots and contrasting characters (eg Blake and Mitch)
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Representation
Interview with Tim Kash
- Presents the media as intrusive and foreshadows Amy's downfall to the media early on in the film
- Introduces Amy as being uncomfortable with fame and celebrity
Primrose Hill scene
- Ken Burns effect highlights Amy as a sexual object - lingering over Amy's body (perhaps Blake's perspective), also highlighting her thin physical appearance - referencing her eating disorder and her health, and possibly Blake's influence on her body
- Blake's comments about Amy - describing as man-like in sex - are followed by romantic lyrics showing Amy's vulnerability - highlighting Blake's cruel behaviour towards Amy (presenting him as an antagonist)
- Frankenbiting of Mitch's interview - "She doesn't need to go to rehab, she's fine" - represents him as unwilling to help Amy and as contributor to her downfall
Key scenes
Back to Black sequence
- Shaky handheld camera creates a more personal sense, rather than someone who is a distanced, polished celebrity
- Use of graphics for the lyrics conveys an intimate message between Amy and the spectator - the font is comparable to handwriting to emphasise the fact this is Amy talking, and heightens the connection and sympathy felt by the audience towards Amy
- Start and end of the recording is just Amy's voice - evoking a sense of loneliness/isolation/vulnerability, compared to the studio version of Back to Black we are used to
- Voiceover of Mark Ronson provides a contrast to the media frenzy around Amy and gives us a reliable narrator for this key emotional moment
- At the end of the clip, Kapadia slows the footage down almost to the point of a freeze frame - this could represent a shift in Amy's life and her troubles
- The sequence immediately following this scene is one of Amy's grandmother, who was a key influence in her life - the use of an emotional musical score, paired with the archival footage and its nostalgic tone, is slowed down by Kapadia to the point of freeze frame to linger on the suffering Amy is feeling, without a strong female role model in her life any longer
Media sequence
- Sense of intrusion/lack of privacy created through slo-mo shot of Amy through a window - edited with Amy's voiceover talking about the troubles of being famous
- Slo mo shot of Amy drinking alcohol with voiceover with her friend discussing her concerns for Amy and how she 'doesn't like who Amy has become'
- Quick cut from Mitch talking about Amy being contractually obliged to to perform at a run of shows, to Amy performing clearly intoxicated - positions audience against Mitch (example of frankenbiting
- Paparazzi footage creates a disorientating effect for the viewer - mirrors Amy's experience and creates sympathy (allegiance)
- Predominantly close up shots and canted angles which creates sense of claustrophobia
- Initial shot of Amy hiding behind the curtain and being trapped behind bars implies sense that Amy is trapped or imprisoned within her own 'home'
- Frankenbiting in Graham Norton interview - cut to give the impression all the media are against Amy
- Contrasting characters - cut from Mitch's interview to Amy's festival performance presents him as an antagonist of the film and Amy's life
- Freeze frames allow for the spectator to emotionally connect to Amy, as she is looking into the camera - however the audience are watching through the 'eyes of the perpetrators' - creates a feeling of guilt for the audience
Filmmakers theories
Michael Moore
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- Mainstream documentary and celebrity filmmaker
- Often comedic style which is accessible to a wider audience
- Subjective, political agenda focusing on USA - issues of capitalism, gun culture, healthcare and terrorism (agitprop director)
- Films include Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Where to Invade Next (2015)