Amy

Question 1

Cinematography

Answer 1

• Drone shots are used to establish locations particularly of London. Much of the footage is shot on mobile phones, with some low-quality, washed out, and wobbly filming which gives a feeling of intimacy and creates authenticity
• Montages of still photographs are used and zooming in on photos gives a sense of scrutiny and truth-seeking

Question 2

Mise-en-scene

Answer 2

• The London setting is established, alongside various homes including Amy’s, which creates an uneasy voyeurism, especially when we see drug paraphernalia
• Streets are also key locations and inevitably the presence of the paparazzi on them as they hound Amy
• The iconic look of Amy: the beehive, the tattoos, and the increasing weight loss, examines the thin line between being in and out of control

Question 3

Editing

Answer 3

• Slow motion is often used to create an eerie sense of descent into chaos and to create tension in a story which would be very well known by most spectators
• The rapidity of change in Amy’s life is reflected by the pace of the editing

Question 4

Sound

Answer 4

• The music is at the forefront of the film. Amy’s extraordinary voice dominates and the lyrics, which appear on the screen, are a storytelling device
• As is common in documentaries, interviews form a voice-over, which also heps to construct the narrative

Question 5

Performance

Answer 5

• Close-ups in the peformance footage of Amy create intimacy and show her passion for her music and confidence as a performer. This makes it even more tragic when she can no longer perform at the final concert in Belgrade
• Kapadia chose to interview Amy’s friends and family through audio only, as he felt people behave differently in front of camera. The interviews were recorded just a year after Amy’s death - you can hear the raw emotion in Amy’s friends’ voices

Question 6

Representations

Answer 6

• Key representations are the press, men ready to exploit women, young women who are both sassy and vulnerable, drug users, and mental health issues, including eating disorders. The documentary asks us to question the toxic nature of celebrity culture and fame itself

Question 7

Aesthetics

Answer 7

• There is a sense of Amy as a very British performer but also her talent as a white jazz singer is demonstrated. This creates a rather ecletic and unique aesthetic attributable to Amy, that the film is both mourning and celebrating
• The aesthetic can be describes as intimate, personal and tragic

Question 8

Social context

Answer 8

• Amy is a study of patriarchy and the vulnerability of young women in a supposedly post-feminist era, particularly in the still, male-dominated music industry
• The film also highlights mental health issues, including eating orders such as bulimia and the relationship between poor mental health and drug use. It gently challenges the dominant ideology by bringin both marriage and the family into question

Question 9

Cultural context

Answer 9

• Draws attention to our own digital footprint and how easily our narratives can be constructed by ourselves, but more disturbingly, by others. Unseen footage and unheard tracks are used in the film, entering the culture and gratifying the needs of her fans

Question 10

Political context

Answer 10

• Issues around the ‘free press’ and the intrusive nature of the paparazzi, which can be seen as a critique of capitalism

Question 11

Institutional context

Answer 11

• Independent British film funded by Film4 and 2 small independent companies, one from US and one from Canada
• Kapadia said tha Amy forms part of a loose trilogy of his films about talented, tragic celbrity figures (Senna and Diego Maradona)

Question 12

Digital debates

Answer 12

• The film is reliant on the existene of digital technology for the footage and the editing
• The use of text on screen in different fonts creates a connection between Amy and the Viewer
• This intimacy is enticing, but the film also explores negative aspects of technology: intrusive cameras of paparazzi, and the voyeuristic nature of them in the wrong hands

Question 13

Filmmakers’ theories

Answer 13

• Process is more invisible and obsrvational, however Kapadia is pursuing an agenda

Question 14

Opening Sequence analysis

Answer 14

• Poor quality of mobile phone footage creates a sense of nostalgia for 14-year-old Amy. We feel priveleged to see Amy as her young friends see her and this stes up the rise and fall narrative. Amy is young, vibrant, talented and full of promise
• Frame is crowded as Amy and her 2 friends loom into the shot, the lollipops accentuate their youth. May feel uncomfortable as voyeurs of something not made for the public, a fact re-enforced by the childish voice of the frien
• We hear the girls singing Happy Birthday and are immediately struck by Amy’s voice, setting up the narrative of following her musical journey