Documentary : Amy Winehouse-The Girl Done Good

Why i chose this documentary?
I chose this documentary because i thought Amy winehouse was an amazing singer and this documentary captures that and i felt it had the conventions of a documentary.

Textual Analysis
The establishing shot of this documentary is of 'archive footage' from 2007 in london when amy winehouse did a show. Archive footage is the term given to a clip of footage thats used in new documentarys but was filmed years prior to it. Therefore it was 'pulled out of the archive'.

There is also archive footage of amy singing in 2007.

Archive footage is a key convention to making a documentary as it shows the documentary maker has taken a  keen interest in their topic and done some background research to allow its audience to develop a better understanding. 

In the first 30 seconds of this documentary the makers have already used another key convention of a documentary which is Vox Pops. These are quick snappy interviews with just one or two questions with people about the documentary topic. 

This documentary also has a superimpose which is where a layer of photos have been put together and fade into one another to combine various images. In the picture below you can see the top picture fading into the picture behind.

At 2.28 music starts to play which initiates the introduction to the documentary is over and the title is shown which means the documentary is beginning its flow. This incidental music is an important part of most documentaries as it alerts the audience.

Another sound we hear in this documentary is 'narration'. This has been apparent in all the documentaries i have analysed on my blog which reassures me that it is a widely used convention for any type of documentary and is an important factor. 

The editor of this documentary has also used many fades to show the passing of time through the journey of amy's life.

Genre

This documentary has been placed under the Music genre. This is fitting because it is about a musician. However i would also place it under an autobiography type documentary because it looks at other aspects of amy's life aswell as just her musical career.

Audience

As this documentary is about amy winehouse its safe to say you would probably have to be a fan of hers to watch this documentary however the fact that it covers wider issues about amys life other than just music means it opens up to a number of different people i.e those who feel they can relate to her.