Scene Analysis: Addiction to Crack Cocaine and Blake

Question 1

Mise en scene:
1. Amy is messy and unkempt, not putting a lot of work into her appearance
2. Messy flat
3. Wearing clothes that don’t fit her during her Eden Project concert
4. Curlers in her hair during an interview
5. Effect on spectator?

Answer 1

2. Shows how it’s only a place to do drugs
3. Contrasts the band who are wearing tuxedos. Shows she doesn’t care about her appearance
4. She is trying to look normal
5. There is concern for her but also anger because she is taking what she has for granted?

Question 2

Performance:
1. Archive footage of her in the flat show a less glamorous side
2. Slaps herself at the Eden Project and has slurred singing
3. Slow reaction and delayed response when being interviewed
4. Fidgets a lot during her interview

Answer 2

1. Intimate and provides a first hand look into her home life
2. Shows she is under the influence and it is taking a toll on her career. Ruining what she loves to do

Question 3

Cinematography:
1. Zoom in to Amy’s eyes
2. Messy and small house
3. Shaky camera and flashing lights of paparazzi
4. Ken Burns technique
5. ECU of Amy interview while she’s high
6. Still photograph of Amy: high angle and exaggerates the size of her eyes

Answer 3

1. Shows addiction and creates a sinister feeling
2. Ironic as she’s so famous and (presumably) wealthy
3. Gives an insight into her life
4. Allows the audience to analyse the photo
5. Details of her unfocused eyes
6. Makes her look childlike and vulnerable

Question 4

Editing:
1. Little cuts during the flat scenes
2. Image montage related to her drug use
3. Cut from static images to paparazzi

Answer 4

1. Creates a fly on the wall effect
2. Jarring and overwhelming

Question 5

Sound:
1. Voiceover of Blake explaining how he introduced her to drugs
2. Emotional voiceover of Juliette
3: diegetic sound of camera clicks of paparazzi
4. Silence during still pictures of drugs
5. Minimal voiceovers with very little non diegetic music

Answer 5

1. Flat tone and lacks emotion
2. Shows who truly cares about Amy
3. Shows how the media constantly harasses
4. Unnerving. Allows the spectator to have ‘breathing space’ and reflect on this cataclysmic spell in Amy’s life and devastating impact
5. Creates an eerie, foreboding atmosphere

Question 6

What techniques are used by the director to indicate Amy’s battle with drug addiction?

Answer 6

• different clips of performances and interviews where she’s visibly under the influence
• close up of her eyes: used with Ken Burns technique
• intimate photos of substances in the house
• still photography makes it feel like a crime scene

Question 7

Evaluate why you feel Kapadia used these particular techniques

Answer 7

• different clips of interview and performances etc
• still photography; portrays Blake as the villain - the photo of him conveys him as the convict

Question 8

What is the overall effect of the sequence?

Answer 8

Uncomfortable to watch because we know how she dies; foreshadowing, watching her fall into substance abuse