3. But first…Context
• What do you know about Amy Winehouse?
• Activity – In your groups produce a poster in
your different side of Amy and present to the
class.
4. Discussion
• Does your opinion of Amy change from what
you have found out about her compared to
the documentary?
5. Technique and effect
• Asif Kapadia’s documentary is distinctive in many
ways
• It follows the same format as his film Senna to a
similar effect
• Director labels as ‘true fiction’
• All archival footage and lacks guiding voiceover
• Number of interviews
• Captions and the use of Amy’s music as well as a
developed score
• All work to position the spectator in a particular
way
6. Scene analysis
• Analyse the opening sequence for techniques
(film form) and effects (meaning and
responses)
• How do you think the director wants us to
feel?
7. Let’s start at the beginning
• ACTIVITY: After looking at all the contextual
information, what problems issues would the
director have to contend with when making a
film about Amy Winehouse?
• Think about:
– Narrative structure
– Selection of information- in terms of footage and
interviewees
– Positioning the spectator
9. Narrative
• What is the plot of Amy?
• What is the narrative structure
– Draw a timeline of the film
What is the overall effect of the film structure?
10. Alignment
• To what extent are you aligned to a particular
POV in Amy because of the narrative
construction?
• Mark changes on your timeline
– Central protagonist by interviewing people who
admired her talent
– Tragedy that over marks the second half of film
– May align with friends as they are unable to help her
12. Sequence analysis 1: Recording the
song Back to Black
1. What do you think the original footage was
used for in the first place?
2. To what extent has Kapadia manipulated this
footage to create a different set of meanings
and responses?
3. What function does this sequence have in
the narrative as a whole?
4. How might contextual factors impact on the
way that you read this scene?
13. What do you think the original footage
was used for in the first place?
• Used for selling an album – ‘unseen footage’
• However different…
• Foregrounds it with part of an interview and
outlines the connection of the songs to Blake-
Fielder
• Cinematography, editing, sound, performance
and mise-en-scene
What does the last statement mean?
