Documentary Analysis- AMY

Analysis of AMY by Asif Kapadia

The documentary opens showing archived and real-life footage of Amy Winehouse’s childhood and young years. This gives the audience validation that the documentary is real and factual. It also will intrigue the audience into the personal life and the childhood of somebody incredibly famous which will intrigue viewers making them want to watch on. Opening with this kind of scene shows the audience that the documentary has lots of footage that will not have been seen before. This will attract viewers as they will feel some exclusivity. Her fans will especially be excited by this as it will be something they have always wanted and will feel as though they are gaining personal access to Amy’s life.

The footage used of Amy’s early years is chosen purposely to show Amy is a particular way. The footage shows her singing and having fun representing her as an innocent and care free character. The director will have done this on purpose as everybody knows what sadly happened to her later in life but would have wanted to show that she came from a happy background. As Amy unfortunately passed away from drug abuse showing her in a innocent light will make the audience empathise with her.

The non-diegetic music played over the beginning of the documentary is performed by Amy herself. This is common in music documentaries as it will remind the audience of the wide back catalogue they have and can also encourage people to watch the documentary when they hear a song they recognise. The music will also set the tone for the beginning of the documentary. If they music was to be happy and light, then it would suggest the documentary will be easy to watch. If, like this, the music is slightly more downbeat then it suggests the documentary will deal with more serious topics and could be upsetting.

Overall, in the first ten minutes, the audience will learn that the documentary is about the life and career of Amy Winehouse. The footage of Amy always singing suggests that the documentary will speak lots of her love for music and that it was her passion. However, the slow and quiet music shows that it will also focus on her harder years leading to her death.