Case study material after watching the documentary 'Amy'

1. G324: Advanced Portfolioin Media Studies
‘AMY’ documentary –Into Filmfestival
Director:Asif Kapadia
(2015) (Cert:15)
Overview:Afterwatchingthe ‘Amy’documentaryyouare toproduce a case studyon ‘Amy’filed
underresearchfor your A2 blog. You will needtocompletethistaskwhetheryouenjoyedthe
documentaryornot or are a fan of her music.I thinkwe can agree that,despite onlyrecordingtwo
albums(plusone releasedposthumously)she canbe seenasa significantartistforanumberof
reasons.Howyoupresentthisisup to youbut try and make itinteractive withlinkstothe film
website,hermusic,articlesandanythingelseyouthinkisrelevant.
Things to consider/include inyour analysis (these are a guide – you do not have to include
everything)
 What didyou thinkof the documentary?Why?Whatdid youlearnaboutAmyWinehouse?
Pickout one sequence thatyoufeltwaseffective.
 How isthe documentaryinterestingtofansof AmyWinehouse or those whomaynot know
hermusic sowell?
 What isthe impactof usingarchive footage frombefore she wasfamousalongsidebetter
knownfootage?
 What was youroverall feelingaboutherlife?
 Readthe mediaknowall.compage about‘DeadPopStars’ – whatdoesAmyWinehouse’s
continuedpopularitysuggestaboutaudiences,artistsandinstitutions?Canyoulinkitto
RichardDyer’s‘Star Theory’inthat we as an audience seekto‘completethe image of the
star’? Clickonthe linkto AlexisPetridisarticle too. Remembertoreference yoursources.
 Althoughshe wasa soul singer,whycoulditbe arguedthat AmyWinehouse defiesgenre or
categorisation?
 What do youthinkof Mitch Winehouse’s responsetothe documentary?What
responsibilitiesdoyouthinkdocumentarymakers have totheirsubjects?
 How muchdo you thinkthe massmediacontributedtoAmyWinehouse’sproblems? Doyou
thinktheycoverfemale popstarsina differentway?Whataboutthe way inwhichthey
coverthe seriousissue of addiction?
 Do youthinkthat her songsandlyricsseemmore meaningfulnow youknow more abouther
life?Whyisthis?Do youthinkthiswasconsciouson the part of the artistor is itmeaningwe
attach to the lyrics/songsetc?
 Watch some of hermusicvideos.Afterwatchingthe documentary,doesitimpactonhow
she isrepresentedinthem?
 What was the impactof watchingthe documentaryinthe cinemaratherthanon YouTube
for example?
 Withpopularprogrammessuchas X-Factorsellingthe ‘dream’ of beingapopstar, what
doesAmyWinehouse’sstorysuggesttoyouaboutthe pressures,realityandpsyche of
fame?

2.  Watch the BBC mini-documentary ‘AmyinherOwnWords’ – doesit give adifferent
perspective?
 Thinkingof RichWelch’s5 thingsa good documentaryshouldhave –isthis,in your view,a
gooddocumentary?Wouldyouwatchotherfilmsbythe film-maker?
 Lastly,thinkingof yourproject – how mightan image of your artistor groupbe cultivated?
What representationare youaimingtocreate?How doesanartist’svideos,albumcovers
and websitescreate animage thatwe buyinto?How is ita versionof the truth?
 LINKS
AmyFilmwebsite http://www.amyfilm.co.uk/
AmyIMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2870648/
BBC ‘AmyIn Her OwnWords’ https://youtu.be/78q7sfqibHg
Mediaknowall.com –lookfor‘Music Industry’
AlexisPetridisarticle http://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/nov/01/artsfeatures.popandrock
Mitch Winehouse response http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/01/mitch-winehouse-
interview-amy-documentary-film
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RICH WELCH (Festival Director/DocumentaryMaker– Antenna FilmFestival)
http://antennafestival.org/
6 TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT DOCUMENTARIES!
1. Make a film about something they are passionate about. If you don't care no-one else will.
2. Know every rule that existswithin documentary. Then decide if your filmshould break them.
3. Score. USE SPARINGLY. A score should accompany the film.Nothing more.
4. SILENCE. It's golden. When an interviewee stops talking shut up. Listen. Film. And keep
filming.These will be the golden scenes in your film.
5. Watch films. You have to know what has been made, what is being made and what hasn't
been made. Go to festivals. Meet filmmakers.Attend Q&A's. Watch Storyville (BBC). Listen.
Watch. Learn.
6. When you have finishedyour film.Send it out into the world. Don't hold on to it. It's no longer
yours. And most importantly Go again. You just need one filmthat cuts through. Keep going.