FILMMAKERS THEORIES – NOTES

COMPARISON:
STYLE/ CONTENT/ Nick Broomfield w/ Kurt Asif Kapadia w/ Amy (2015)
TECHNIQUES and Courtney
Interview - Direct interviews – - Highly mediated
long shots, interviews (soundbites/
provocative Frankenbiting – clearly
conflict edited)
- Visually/aurally - Not present at all
present

Editing style - Small stills - Lots of stills montages,

montages juxtaposing images =
- Long takes & hard selective, lots cut out
cuts – lacks - Shows cause & effect,
narrative fluidity Amy’s life is narrative -
- No captions chronological
- Captions
Role of filmmaker - ACTIVE & - SEEMINGLY PASSIVE &
SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE (yet massive
- Performative, he’s influence over portrayal,
the main character Amy as victim)
– agenda, audience - Conventional doc style –
on his side subtle, implicit voice
Use of sound - Carson’s score - - No VO – lack of explicit
TRADITIONAL influence of audience
- Voice of God VO
- Distorted sound –
(from Broomfield –
ominuous – decline of
authority) &
Amy’s health
ambient sound
- Highlights - Gained rights to Amy’s
Broomfield’s music – INSIDER – SENSE
controversy – can’t THAT KAPADIA HAS
use Cobain or INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE
Love’s music – OF AMY & HER LIFE
OUTSIDER ON
JOURNEY TO FIND
TRUTH
Narrative/scene - NO REAL - STRUCTURED – linear,
structure STRUCTURE biographical exploration
- Investigative, of Amy’s life - IMMERSIVE
spontaneous (see as we grow up with her
pre, during and - Carefully constructed
post interview) – narrative – logical and fits
IMMERSIVE as we conventional story beats
 follow along for
process, doesn’t
reach CONCLUSION
- Remains somewhat
conventional (VO,
archive footage,
interview)
Camera - REALISM - TRUE FICTION
- Aware of camera’s - Unaware of camera’s
presence – active presence – passive – using
- Lack of stylistic what he has (no influence
decision over framing, lighting –
visual style manifests
- REFLEXIVE + more
itself)
ACTUALITY
FOOTAGE (from - Rostrum camera,
one source) less montage, DV camera –
archive multiple sources
Employment of Realism - Honesty regarding - Selective editing – don’t
problems w/ see full picture
production – - YET use of archival
budget, interviews, footage – real, organic,
rights to music unprompted – filmed at
- Direct interviews – different time with
no sense of different intentions
discretion or
manipulation
Objectivity - STRONGLY - SUBTELY SUBJECTIVE
SUBJECTIVE
- Selectivity of footage and
- Starts w/ agenda
sound – crafting own
and adapts
narrative of historical
throughout
event – e.g Mitch and
- Film changes
Blake as villains (partially
halfway through
true)

KEY NOTES:
NICK BROOMFIELD

 Films in performative mode – has a CONSTRUCTED PERSONA

 Process is self-evident
 Controversial subject matters – conflict
 Employs VO and montage to aid exposition and development
ASIF KAPADIA

 Never outwardly present in filmmaking process – comfortably behind scenes – ‘you

have to look invisible’
 ‘Her bawdiness and flirtiness, and her being funny’ – wanted to show real Amy – not
tampered with
 Film ‘precedes the camera phone/iPhone era’ – ‘all MiniDV and home video
cameras, DVD-recordables, stuff like that’

KEY SCENES:
Amy –
Back to Black
Blake, drugs and Eden Project performance
Death and funeral
Kurt and Courtney –
Final interview with Hank Harrison