SUMMER 2022 : Topics and Key text

 Section B – Documentary film 

 KEY TEXT :   Amy   ( Kapadia  2015 ))

AREAS OF FOCUS : 

• The key elements of film form 

• Filmmakers’ theories

INTRODUCTION

WHAT  IS DOCUMENTARY ?

Documentary – document –‘Something that furnishes evidence or information on any subject’ Oxford English Dictionary

‘documentary is the presentation of actual facts that makes them credible and telling to people at the same time’ William Stoff

‘something that documents life around us. It’s difficult to define, as documentaries these days are so diverse’ Paul Hamann, Former head of BBC documentaries and history

‘documentary is the creative treatment of actuality’ John Grierson

Defining documentary

Contemporary documentary has become increasing fluid and difficult to define. There exists today an expansive set of differing continuum of documentary styles that film makers draw upon.

Traditional definitions that focus on either capturing real events or recreating real events, purporting to factual accuracy without the inclusion of any fictional elements may seem limiting today.

Also in the digital age notions that adhere to photographic ‘literalism’ (a belief that the camera can give us truth, that we can see truth through the camera’s representations) is itself problematic. Partially because the act of observation as we’ve seen from our other studies is subjective and secondly that with modern digital technologies the camera is a fallible object, that digital images can 

be manipulated, the camera in affect can lie.

LINKS

Different modes and styles  of documentary   
  
90 minute documentary   ( The Art of  Documentary Filmmaking)

STYLES AND MODES OF DOCUMENTARY

Film theorist Bill Nichols  identified six modes ( or styles ) of documentary that documentary makers used as ways of storytelling and addressing "the truth and the "reality " of their topics.


Expository

Documentaries often feature an authoritative voice-over and convey a clear point of view. e.g March of the Penguins  

Participatory

Direct engagement between the filmmaker and the subject. Frequently you see the filmmaker in shots asking questions and expressing their perspective. e.g  Bowling for Columbine

Poetic

Often non-linear with not clear narrative but a juxtaposition of images and sound to create mood and ultimately convey the filmmaker’s message in an abstract way.  e.g Our Daily Bread

Observational 

Changes in digital technology and the rise of smaller cameras and crews have allowed this mode to develop, where the aim is to record subjects and people without the filmmaker directly or excessively  intervening or intruding   e.g Divorce : Iranian Style  


Performative

A documentary that is very personal and often focuses upon a subjective truth significant to the filmmaker themselves. e.g Tongues Untied 

Reflexive

Arriving in the ‘80s the reflexive or postmodern documentary drew attention to its own construction and often the narrative structure included its own creation, or the concept of a film within a film. e.g  the work of Louis Thereoux

Some filmmakers use a combination of these modes and these categories are not fixed or rigid but a starting point for looking at their work.

LINK TO ARTICLE ABOUT MODES OF DOCUMENTARY

Key Text : AMY (Asif Kapadia 2015)

LINK ?


Production History 

Gay-Rees was first approached about making a documentary about Amy Winehouse by Winehouse’s record company Universal Records in 2012. In 2013 a press release from Universal announced that there was to be a film about Winehouse to be realised in 2015 and that the team responsible for Senna (2010) will be involved in its production. For Kapadia this meant he was able to work with the same producer (James Gay-Rees) and editor (Chris King) as he had previously worked with on Senna.

Gay-Rees and Kapadia were able to get access to several of Winehouse’s family members, friends, producers and musicians who had worked with the singer. These were combined with both amateur and professional videos and photographs to give a in-depth and candid account of all aspects of Winehouse’s life.

According to Chris King 90% of all the footage used on the film is digital with a considerable amount of that amateur recording in a variety of differing file types. In order to create a unified image King and Kapadia manipulated the digital images by adding layers of effects in order to create something “that felt like a single film, rather than a collection of random clips.” (King BFI online 14^th of July 2015)

                                                           Interview with the director


                                                             

On using found footage

Guardian interview with director

REPRESENTATIONS

The primary representation is of course Amy Winehouse herself. Unlike other investigative documentaries there are no direct commentaries from the director but this is not to suggest that our reading of Amy is not being directed. When looking at representations of Amy in the film try to be aware of any particular direction you feel your reading is being steered in and how.

Blake Fielder-Civil (Amy’s ex-husband) is presented to us almost entirely in a negative light. He is presented very much as the catalyst of Amy’s destruction. Look at the way this individual is presented to us, look at the mechanisms that are used to construct for us his personality. Do you think there is space to form an alternative reading of him?

Other representations in the film feature; past band members, friends, managers, minders all are worthy of note. Also represented in the text is the media itself in particular the music industry (remember the film was partly funded by Universal music so unlikely to present them in a poor light)

The Aesthetics of Amy

As with Asif Kapadia’s only other feature length documentary Senna the film is composed almost entirely from secondary footage. The interviews with the witnesses are played over carefully selected images with text appearing on screen to introduce them and their relationship to Amy.

The documentary does resemble a compilation documentary (a film edited from previously released or archive footage, but compiled in a new order of appearance.) The main difference between Kapadia’s films and traditional compilation documentaries is the absence of a singular authorial voice, an expert narration that contextualises the film.

The film is a composite of different types of footage both professional and non-professional with moving and still images interspersed. We know from interviews with Chris King that the images were altered in post-production to give the film a more unified feel so that sudden changes in image quality did not create a disorientating effect causing the film to feel disjointed. This works to a certain extent particularly in the concert scenes where we often move easily between professional and fan footage.

These different techniques could be seen as attempts at juxtapositioning. Moving us in and out of subjective and objectives relationships with the individuals depicted, with some of the scenes that feature drugs use  taking on an almost voyeuristic quality.

Not surprisingly in a film about a musician that music should feature so strongly in the text. The films musical soundtrack is a combination of Winehouse’s music and Antonio Pinto’s film score. What is interesting in terms of how it contributes to the overall aesthetic of the film is it relationship to the way the film is edited and the films use of graphics. The combination of these elements (having specific song performed at certain points in the narrative coupled with the use of script depicting  the song lyrics) adds to our sense of identification and pathos. 

REACTIONS

The film was released simultaneously in New York, Los Angles and London on the 03/07/2015 and worldwide on the 10/07/2015. The film was a phenomenal success for a documentary taking over $24 Million in box office sales.

Critically the film was also well received. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film five out of five, describing it as "a tragic masterpiece" The New York Times described it as “an Intimate Diary of Amy Winehouse’s rise and destruction” Manohla Dargis NYT 02/07/2015

The film was nominated for fifty nine different wards and collected thirty of these including the Academy ward and BFTA for best documentary.

Mitch Winehouse who became familiar with Kapadia’s work through his film Senna was initially supportive of the project. Kapadia and Gay-Rees asked permission from the Winehouse’s before they approached Amy’s Ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil and everything seemed to start off well.

But later the family distanced themselves from the film claiming that it “is both misleading and contains some basic untruths”. After the family saw a first cut of the film they involved solicitors and demanded certain scenes be changed which the producers agreed to do.

The main objections the family have with the final film is that through a process of selective editing the film misrepresents Amy’s father Mitch.  The family were also disappointed that as a post script no mention of any of the charitable work carried out by the Winehouse foundation was mentioned.

This dispute does raise questions about the nature of editing, the ethics of documentary and whole process of audience positioning.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

Amy’s early career and childhood : how is this period in Amy’s life presented to us?

What techniques are used to make us align ourselves with Amy?

What elements of Amy’s psyche / personal history are focused on and why do you think this is ? 

What would you say is the plot of Amy?

 How is the narrative of the film structured?

 What is the overall effect of the film’s structure?

 What are the key sequences/scenes that stand out for you? Give reasons for your choices?


 How far do you feel that Kapadia’s description of his filmmaking style as ‘true fiction’ compares with what you have seen in Amy?

EXAM QUESTIONS SUMMER 2022

TYPICAL EXAM QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY GET

Q   Apply at least one filmmaker's theory of documentary film you have studied to your chosen documentary.       How far does this increase your understanding of the film?

Q  How does one filmmaker's use of cinematography and editing compare with how these elements of film form are used in your chosen film ?

Q  How does one filmmaker's attitude to truth and objectivity compare with how they  are used in your chosen film ?

FILMMAKERS' THEORIES : Kim Longinotto

Kim Longinotto (born 1952) is a British documentary filmmaker, well known for making films that highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination. 

Longinotto studied camera and directing at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England, where she now tutors occasionally. Longinotto was born to an Italian father and a Welsh mother; her father was a photographer who later went bankrupt. At the age of 10 she was sent to a draconian all-girls boarding school, where she found it hard to make friends due to the mistress forbidding anyone to talk to her for a term after she became lost during a school trip. 

After a period of homelessness, Longinotto went on to Essex University to study English and European literature and later followed friend and future filmmaker, Nick Broomfield to the National Film and Television School. While studying, she made a documentary about her boarding school that was shown at the London Film Festival, since when she has continued to be a prolific documentary filmmaker. 

Longinotto is an observational filmmaker. Observational cinema, also known as direct cinema, free cinema or cinema verite, usually excludes certain documentary techniques such as advanced planning, scripting, staging, narration, lighting, re-enactment and interviewing. 

Longinotto’s unobtrusiveness, which is an important part of observational documentary, gives the women on camera a certain voice and presence that may not have emerged with another documentary genre. 

(from Women Make Movies http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm44.shtml) 

a. Watch these short films where Longinotto discusses her filmmaking style. 

1

2 

3

What are the main features of how she makes films? 

b. Look at the opening five minutes of Longinotto’s film Divorce Iranian Style (1999) and clips from Rough Aunties (1998)  

How far are her ideas about filmmaking  reflected here?

SUMMARY

 A British director who works in observational documentary 

 Her subject matter has a primary focus on women’s lives 

 She favours long takes and she tries to capture the extraordinary in the lives of the subjects that she observes 

 The stories that she brings to the screen are often uniquely personal, mainly focusing on society’s outsiders 

 Her films shot in a calm, unobtrusive style, often centre on victims of discrimination and oppression and tell the stories of strong female characters fighting for change and justice 

 She has worked in a number of different countries around the world for example Iran, Cameroon, Japan and the US 

 Her key films Dreamcatcher (2015), Rough Aunties (2008) and Divorce Iranian Style (1998) all expose the raw immediacy in her films 

 It could be argued that her perspective on the range of different cultures she encounters in her films gives a real sense of herself as an ‘outsider’ filmmaker

FILMMAKERS' THEORIES : Michael Moore

Michael Moore, American filmmaker, author, and political activist, who was best known for a series of documentaries—often controversial—that addressed major political and social issues in the United States. 

Following his graduation from high school, Moore, as an 18-year-old member of the Flint school board, began his populist assault on what he viewed as the injustices of American capitalism. In 1976, after having attended but not graduated from the University of Michigan at Flint, Moore started a radical weekly newspaper, the Flint Voice (later Michigan Voice), which he edited for 10 years. He was later hired to edit the San Francisco-based left-wing magazine Mother Jones but was fired after a few months (he later accepted an out-of-court settlement for a wrongful-dismissal suit). 

Returning to Flint, Moore filmed his first documentary, Roger & Me (1989), which chronicles the effects of unemployment in Flint due to the closing of two General Motors (GM) factories and the company’s longer-term policy of downsizing. At the centre of the film were Moore’s “in-your-face” efforts to gain an audience with GM’s chairman, Roger Smith. Mixing humour and poignancy with indignation, Roger & Me was a hit with critics and at the box office. Moore subsequently moved to New York City and established Dog Eat Dog Films. He also created an organization to finance social-action groups and other filmmakers. 

After producing three television series and other limited-release films—including the comedy Canadian Bacon (1995), in which a U.S. president starts a cold war with Canada in order to boost his approval ratings—Moore achieved major success with Bowling for Columbine (2002). The film, which profiles gun violence in the United States, won the Academy Award for best documentary. In his next documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Moore criticized U.S. Pres. George W. Bush’s handling of the September 11 attacks and the administration’s decision to start the Iraq War. Although highly controversial, it won the Golden Palm at the Cannes film festival and earned more than $222 million worldwide to become the highest-grossing documentary. 

In 2007 Moore released Sicko, an examination of the health care industry in the United States. For his next documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story (2009), Moore took a critical look at the U.S. economy, including the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–08 and the subsequent bailout of banks. Where to Invade Next (2015) unfavourably compared various aspects of daily life in other countries—such as educational practices and the balance between work and leisure—with those in the United States. 

(from Britannica.com) 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Moore

 Looking at these two short interviews with Michael Moore, identify the key aspects of his work from what he says here. 

An NPR interview on propaganda in Michael Moore’s work focusing largely on Sicko (2007) 

This is a German interview on Moore’s film Bowling for Columbine (2002) 

 These are the trailers for three of Michael Moore’s films; 

Bowling for Columbine (2002) 

Fahrenheit 9//11 (2004) 

Where to Invade Next (2016) 

What are the common traits that these films share in terms of both style and subject matter?

SUMMARY

 His first film Roger and Me (1989) dealt with the closure of the General Motors factories in his hometown of Flint in Michigan with a huge lay-off involving over 30000 workers. The film was driven by his own personal anger about how and why this was done. 

 That said at the core of Moore’s work is the use of comedy and dark satire which he uses to attack the institutions that he has targeted. He is also central to the films in terms of seeing him interviewing people and his everyman persona disarms and encourages a range of interesting responses. This is also underscored by his physical appearance. 

 He wears casual clothes, a baseball cap and is overweight. However this seemingly, laidback persona does hide a sharp and incisive line of questioning which he uses to good effect. 

 Although his work is polemical and can be seen as rather subjective, the way that comedy is employed whether by using clever expositional devices or by Moore’s interviews themselves. 

 A key part of Moore’s approach is to concentrate on a particular agenda whether it be for example gun control (Bowling for Columbine (2002), the invasion of Iraq (Fahrenheit 911, 2004) or the American health care system (Sicko, 2007) and expand on a set of arguments around his perspective on these issues. 

 Certainly he can be considered to be a voice of sorts for the American left and some of his films – especially Columbine and Fahrenheit 911 were surprising successes at the global box office as well as winning major awards. 

 His most recent work Where to Invade Next (2016) directly compares the US to a range of other countries across the world in terms of issues like equality, health and education provision.