Digital Debates

Question 1

What is the purpose of the Director of Photography ?

Answer 1

helps the director achieve the look of the film

Question 2

What is meant by the term dailies?

Answer 2

unedited footage of what was filmed that day

Question 3

What does resolution depend on?

Answer 3

the number of pixels - the more pixels, the higher the quality

Question 4

How many pixels does a typical SD camera typically have?

Answer 4

720x480 pixels

Question 5

How many pixels does a typical HD camera typically have?

Answer 5

1920 pixels across

Question 6

What is the job of the colourist/colour timer?

Answer 6

makes adjustments to the look of the film; they work with the director and the DoP to fit their desired visuals

Question 7

What is dynamic range?

Answer 7

the ability to capture darkness (key criticism)

Question 8

How far has streaming impacted on the way we consume film?

Answer 8

Films are more accessible: allows an individual to watch a film on their own

Question 9

What is the benefit of celluloid when compared to digital archiving?

Answer 9

you can keep physical copies of celluloid, whereas archiving will result in a loss of footage in a century or so

Question 10

Summary of Digital Technology in Amy

Answer 10

• little original footage shot: consists of captioned establishing shots of London with either a helicopter/drone. offer a brief counterpoint to the rest of the films style
• ‘Amy’ is clearly the work of a number of filmmakers - Kapadia has amassed a lot of archive footage from media sources and placed these alongside more personal insights into Amy’s life
• combination of analogue and some early digital recordings of Amy from her friends and family; offer a revealing perspective on her life
• controversial aspects of her life eg her bulimia, addictions and relationship with Blake
• we only hear the interviewees and never see them
• manipulation and montage effect of using footage alongside the interviews is what gives the film its power
• exposes how even before her fame, Amy’s existence was being documented through the use of digital technology

Question 11

How might Kapadia have told Amy’s story differently?

Answer 11

• include footage of interviewees; would have places less focus on Amy
• could have included re-enactments
• could have included himself; more interactive so more bias
• could have been non-chronological

Question 12

Objectivity in Amy

Answer 12

• editing is influenced by Kapadia’s personal feelings; the story he wants to tell
• subjective; portrayed Blake and Mitch in a negative light, misses context

Question 13

Non-fiction in Amy

Answer 13

• archive footage used
• raw footage taken out of context: Kapadia did edit and place clips in a particular order and way, cut snippets out of real interviews
• Key scene of Amy’s death; a real event

Question 14

Construction in Amy

Answer 14

• adding lyrics and names onto the screen: allows key events and people to be introduced
• construction of sound during Back to Black scene: technology is used to add studio recording to enhance the scene
• archival footage: without technology, this would not exist
• voiceovers
• linear: follows Amy’s life chronologically from a montage of found footage from her childhood to her death

Question 15

Truth in Amy

Answer 15

• based on real events
• chronological: life and career through to death
• interpreted by spectator
• still images: closing montage with credits
• puts certain people in a negative light
• interviews of people close to her: first hand account
• archive footage
• no bias, Kapadia doesn’t give his opinion

Question 16

Reality in Amy

Answer 16

• news footage portrayed of Amy shows the reality of how she was seen and treated
• Amy’s phone footage is raw and recorded solely for capturing the memory: shows the reality of her personality
• interviews show the reality of her fame and the real negative effect it had on her
• paparazzi pictures used to show her real and vulnerable moments ie when under the influence
• after her death the paparazzi sound the house: shows the poor treatment of her

Question 17

Manipulation in Amy

Answer 17

• can manipulate footage to align the spectator with/against a certain person/narrative
• it is easier to manipulate images with a digital camera eg limited colour manipulation available photochemically on celluloid

Question 18

Fiction in Amy

Answer 18

• Kapadia has stricter home videos and chose to cut them at specific points; creates narrative
• recreations are less fictional
• characters fit archetype eg Blake as the villain
• reality doesn’t have a specific narrative. but a film on narrative is quite useful

Question 19

Spectator positioning in Amy

Answer 19

• the media is demonised due to use of digital effects, showing newspaper pictures in chronological order and the cruel portrayal of her deterioration
• the spectator is positioned against Mitch and Blake; we have sympathy for Amy

Question 20

Key points for wider reading

Answer 20

• Kapadia: “I know when someone’s telling me something true and when they’re making it up. I know when they’re putting themselves in her life.”
• 100 people interviewed and 20 months of editing: took 3 years to make
• Mitch: “the film is trying to portray me in the worst possible light”
• Mitch also says the interviews he gave for the film were edited and the film-makers were “a disgrace”
• Kapadia: Amy was born at the wrong time, caught on the cusp of an analogue and digital world where notions of privacy were changing rapidly