The previous three drafts of the planning portfolio can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
EYES Planning Portfolio
As part of the Creative Enterprise Project module, I was required to produce a document that would detail your vision, research and planning for your project. This is my planning portfolio document which is a synthesis of a the Planning Portfolio document I produced before Christmas and the updated one I completed just before the final submission in May. In addition to the Appendix Materials, this document is an expression of the administrative elements of the project.
The previous three drafts of the planning portfolio can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.
The previous three drafts of the planning portfolio can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.
Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle
A seven month research project that operated alongside the orchestration of EYES and which culminated in my undergraduate theoretical dissertation: Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle.
The paper was praised for its originality, progressive thinking and received the highest mark that has ever been awarded to a Film and Screen Studies dissertation at Bath Spa University; as well as being awarded the Media Futures Research Award!
As my guiding tutor and primary marker, Dr Suman Ghosh, commented: "The mark of 85 is an exceptional mark, rarely awarded, and only to work of exceptional quality. I am pleased to say that both examiners agreed that this was the case with your work."Additionally, the Head of the Film and Media Department, Dr Terence Rodgers, commented that: "This is certainly one of the best FL dissertations I have read for many a year".
The paper is a consideration of the epistemological, ontological and metaphysical downfalls of film theory’s understandings of the spectator and the spectacle; with particular emphasis directed towards the neurobiological implications of the spectator’s body.
The thesis argues that these shortcomings are representative of wider ranging issues of complacency engulfing the film industry and film exhibition as a whole. Furthermore, the fundamental disruptions of the digital upgrade of cinema, and the expanding means through which film content can be experienced, are explored in relation to the pressing need for film theory to reassess itself.
Drawing on a plethora of empirical and non-empirical research, the dissertation is a highly progressive expression of how film experience has always been about transcendence and, as a result of its digital re-birth and diversifications, it is now becoming even more so.
Other materials pertaining to the project can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.
As a result of my enthusiasm for the project, I unearthed so much data that the first draft I wrote warranted a request for a larger word count submission. As such, the primary content I eventually submitted totalled just fewer than 15,000 words, with the Appendix and other supplementary material bringing the overall word count to 30,000 words! Furthermore, I still had additional ideas and data that would have allowed me to write more!
This research project had a huge influence on EYES and vice versa; in fact, I refer to EYES as being the practical expression of what I explored in Ways of Being. I believe the high marks both projects were awarded are testament to their mutually beneficial relationship to one another.
As of June 2013, the research started in this project is ongoing and I am building a website to host it: www.ways2interface.com. I have been very fortunate to stumble into an area that is not receiving much research interest and I am very keen to build up a network of interested parties to change this. Therefore, please contact me if this is an area of interest.
The paper was praised for its originality, progressive thinking and received the highest mark that has ever been awarded to a Film and Screen Studies dissertation at Bath Spa University; as well as being awarded the Media Futures Research Award!
As my guiding tutor and primary marker, Dr Suman Ghosh, commented: "The mark of 85 is an exceptional mark, rarely awarded, and only to work of exceptional quality. I am pleased to say that both examiners agreed that this was the case with your work."Additionally, the Head of the Film and Media Department, Dr Terence Rodgers, commented that: "This is certainly one of the best FL dissertations I have read for many a year".
The thesis argues that these shortcomings are representative of wider ranging issues of complacency engulfing the film industry and film exhibition as a whole. Furthermore, the fundamental disruptions of the digital upgrade of cinema, and the expanding means through which film content can be experienced, are explored in relation to the pressing need for film theory to reassess itself.
Drawing on a plethora of empirical and non-empirical research, the dissertation is a highly progressive expression of how film experience has always been about transcendence and, as a result of its digital re-birth and diversifications, it is now becoming even more so.
Other materials pertaining to the project can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.
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| On top of EYES and my other final year projects, getting Ways of Being up to the standard I wanted was a tall and exhausting order! |
As a result of my enthusiasm for the project, I unearthed so much data that the first draft I wrote warranted a request for a larger word count submission. As such, the primary content I eventually submitted totalled just fewer than 15,000 words, with the Appendix and other supplementary material bringing the overall word count to 30,000 words! Furthermore, I still had additional ideas and data that would have allowed me to write more!
This research project had a huge influence on EYES and vice versa; in fact, I refer to EYES as being the practical expression of what I explored in Ways of Being. I believe the high marks both projects were awarded are testament to their mutually beneficial relationship to one another.
As of June 2013, the research started in this project is ongoing and I am building a website to host it: www.ways2interface.com. I have been very fortunate to stumble into an area that is not receiving much research interest and I am very keen to build up a network of interested parties to change this. Therefore, please contact me if this is an area of interest.
Monday, 26 August 2013
Useful Resources
While I was orchestrating the EYES project, the following resources were invulable in helping me achieve the project's success. I would highly recommend each of them!
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
It's Made of Wood: Cardiff, The TARDIS and all of Time and Space
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| Behind those doors are all of time and space. Do you want to come with me? |
In addition to the tour of the TARDIS set, we also received a location tour of the Cardiff Bay area and were shown various locations used in the show and its spin-off Torchwood, locations ranging from New York in the 1930s to the Boeshane Paninsula of the 51st Century. While in the Bay area we were also fortunate enough to see the BBC filming some of episode 3 of the third series of Sherlock - two for the price of one!
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| Lestrade walks into an off licence - spoiler alert! |
We were also admitted into the Doctor Who Experience exhibition, but this was less of a surprise for me as I had already been to the Experience when it was first established in London in 2010.
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| The Doctor and the Master. I tried dying my hair blond... it didn't work. |
Three years ago, such a long time ago.
That said, they have added a few new items to the exhibition since then and it was pretty cool to be able to see these up close; of particular note was the Doctor's crib from A Good Man Goes to War!
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| When I was little I dreamt of the stars. |
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| An Ice Warrior a.k.a. a Martian. |
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| Even Timelords need to shave. |
The Doctor and the monsters: you can not have one without the other.
The biggest revelation for me was discovering that the current TARDIS set and console are made from wood! This came as a huge surprise because the show is filmed in full High Definition and I had always assumed that in order to maintain the illusion that it was constructed from metal the set was in fact made from fibreglass.
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| Looks can be deceiving... but this is the genuine article! |
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| A replica of the first (wooden) TARDIS set. |
However, the revelation that it was made of wood was by now means a let down; rather, it only strengthened my perceptions of the shows legacy. Like the TARDIS sets of the 20th century, even the 21st century ones can be made from wood; inside the show it also has a nice connection to the exterior police box as that is made from wood and much is made of that fact!
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| The exterior of the TARDIS set. Clearly, the chameleon circuit was having a bit of a glitch. |
It actually feels and looks a lot smaller on the inside.
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| While in the TARDIS the tour guide was telling us how much power the set used... I wasn't really listening. |
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| John and Amie (far right), two friends who invited me to see the TARDIS with them. |
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| Everywhere and anywhere at just the touch of a button. |
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| Under those panels are more of the TARDIS! |
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| It turns out the TARDIS also has its own BBC sound stage! |
I did not want to say goodbye and the time I had with the old girl was very brief, but it was fantastic, absolutely fantastic! One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back...
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Sunday, 19 May 2013
The End User: Rough Cut 2 Feedback
The second rough cut and its Survey Monkey questionnaire I sent to 30 people in Facebook network. I was very selective towards the people I sent it to and I made sure that those people fell into the primary target audience for EYES: the mostly young adult demographic (mid teenager - pushing into the 30s). I made a point of sending the items to Facebook friends with different backgrounds and to friends who did not know me that well. This I felt would generate fair and vaired responses from my intended target audience.
Ultimately, I have only received 14 replies, but the results of those replies are very positive and back up my original intentions for the web series. Below are the results of the completed questionnaires.
Ultimately, I have only received 14 replies, but the results of those replies are very positive and back up my original intentions for the web series. Below are the results of the completed questionnaires.
Question 1
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| 70% - what I intended. |
Question 2
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| This is promising - there is a strong likelihood of viewers returning to watch more. |
Question 3
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| It is interesting to note that same response was recieved for Lianne. But, again, this is promising! The viewer has enough investment in the character to return to the show to see how that character is getting on. As with Boris, audience connection would increase with Lianne as more episodes were screened and the character developed further. |
Question 4
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| The viewers have a good feel for the complexities of the show. This shows that the subtextual layering is having an impact. |
Question 5
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| People seem to be split on this one, but that is okay - the viewer is not supposed to get it the first time around. |
Question 6
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| Spot on! |
Question 7
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| Spot on! |
Question 8
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| While 1 minute is slightly worrying, it is nothing that a bit of trimming can't cure and not the end of the world! It's also interesting to note the peak around 15 seconds - in the Pilot this is where a shift of realm takes place, where the subtext winks at the viewer. |
Question 9
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| It's good to see that people are drawing multiple interpretations from the Pilot. Most of the these were intentionally imbedded in the Pilot, but I wanted the subjext matter to encourage new meanings. Validation of an intelligent web series concept! |
Question 10
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| For a rough cut, I couldn't ask for better results! |
Following on from what I have said elsewhere, these result are validation that I have been moving in the right direction with EYES and my vision of it being an entertaining and unigue web series. To understand just how promising these results are please view the rough cut 2 reflective commentary, as I explain my intention for the show and the type of responses I wanted from the audience.
The Springpad Notebooks
Springpad is something that I have been using a for about two years now, as I read a lot of online articles I find it to be a very good tool for storing the articles I would like to reference later on. Therefore, I have used it to store resources on all of my University work and I have been using it to keep track of all the resources and research I have done for the EYES project and the Creative Enterprise Project module. To this end, I consider the Springpad notebooks to form a part of my project's appendix and they should be reviewed as such!
The notebooks and their items can be viewed in the following embedded windows. Alternatively, you can view my Springpad homepage.
Below I have also embedded the notebooks for my two other final year modules: Documentary Making and Film Dissertation, as the research I did for these has had a very direct impact on the work I have done as part of the Creative Enterprise Module, and vice versa.
The notebooks and their items can be viewed in the following embedded windows. Alternatively, you can view my Springpad homepage.
Below I have also embedded the notebooks for my two other final year modules: Documentary Making and Film Dissertation, as the research I did for these has had a very direct impact on the work I have done as part of the Creative Enterprise Module, and vice versa.
Mock-up: A Trailer to Sell the Idea
The EYES mock-up trailer was a component I was very keen to implement into the project, as I felt it would help to strenghten the overal presentation of EYES being a web series proposal package.
The purpose of a mock-up trailer is akin to Kickstarter campaign video - to get funding!
Black Dynamite is a comedy homage to the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s, the film was released in 2009. Below is the original mock-up trailer followed by the trailer made from the finished film.
Prototype is a film currently in production thanks to the funding its mock-up trailer managed to secure.
Below is the initial vision I had for the EYES trailer material:
EYES Season 1 Trailer - This will be produced and exhibited online and two versions will be produced: a standalone one (2 mins), that would feature footage from the Pilot, and one to fit on the end of the Pilot (30 secs). I'm keen to do this because it would allow me to hint at what happens in the rest of the first season and would demonstrate that EYES has a story that can continue beyond the Pilot. Producing a mock-up trailer is also a very current concept and demonstrates an understanding of advertising and a completely different style of editing. My plan is to write a trailer script based upon the treatments of the other season 1 episodes and then film this footage alongside the Pilot. Likewise, the two edits of the trailer will be edited during the same period of the Pilot.
Overall, the development of the trailer really just suffered from lack of time and my inability to invest any real attention into it, as I said in the vlog it became apparent to me that it would require an equal amount of time as the Pilot.
I had many Ideas for the trailer, its contents would have been comprised of snipet-scenes of significant turning points in the first season. However, this plethora of material was part of the problem - I just didn't have the time to sit down to work my way through these ideas and structure them into a form that was aesthetically pleasing. You can read all that exists of the script here.
More time would also have been required to insure that everything that was in the trailer synced up with what was in the Pilot episode. This is was even more problematic when you consider that I was rewriting the Pilot at the same time. Therefore, on top of the Fencing documentary and my dissertation, I think I made the right choice in disbanding the trailer.
However, after we completed production, Daniel (EYES' sound designer) put the following video together to showcase some sound design he had done and to demonstrate a possible idea for a teaser trailer.
While a trailer created from the Pilot's footage did interest me, it was something I felt I wouldn't have time to do and I have been proved right. Ultimately, a trailer was an embellishment too far and something that will have to be tried another time.
The purpose of a mock-up trailer is akin to Kickstarter campaign video - to get funding!
Black Dynamite is a comedy homage to the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s, the film was released in 2009. Below is the original mock-up trailer followed by the trailer made from the finished film.
Prototype is a film currently in production thanks to the funding its mock-up trailer managed to secure.
Below is the initial vision I had for the EYES trailer material:
EYES Season 1 Trailer - This will be produced and exhibited online and two versions will be produced: a standalone one (2 mins), that would feature footage from the Pilot, and one to fit on the end of the Pilot (30 secs). I'm keen to do this because it would allow me to hint at what happens in the rest of the first season and would demonstrate that EYES has a story that can continue beyond the Pilot. Producing a mock-up trailer is also a very current concept and demonstrates an understanding of advertising and a completely different style of editing. My plan is to write a trailer script based upon the treatments of the other season 1 episodes and then film this footage alongside the Pilot. Likewise, the two edits of the trailer will be edited during the same period of the Pilot.
Overall, the development of the trailer really just suffered from lack of time and my inability to invest any real attention into it, as I said in the vlog it became apparent to me that it would require an equal amount of time as the Pilot.
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| The Trailer was something I was very keen to do. |
I had many Ideas for the trailer, its contents would have been comprised of snipet-scenes of significant turning points in the first season. However, this plethora of material was part of the problem - I just didn't have the time to sit down to work my way through these ideas and structure them into a form that was aesthetically pleasing. You can read all that exists of the script here.
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| The trailer would have opened with something like this. |
However, after we completed production, Daniel (EYES' sound designer) put the following video together to showcase some sound design he had done and to demonstrate a possible idea for a teaser trailer.
While a trailer created from the Pilot's footage did interest me, it was something I felt I wouldn't have time to do and I have been proved right. Ultimately, a trailer was an embellishment too far and something that will have to be tried another time.
Video-centric: The EYES Website (that nearly was)
Initially the EYES web series concept proposal was going to be hosted on an original website that would demonstrate the EYES web series franchise presence on the internet and how it would engage with my intended target audience.
As I knew building an original website would take up a considerable amount of my time, I started work on it back in November. Following a meeting with the University's Publishing Lab, I invested in a domain name eyeswebseries.com (and got another one free eyeswebseries.co.uk) and a web hosting package through 1&1, it was a special offer package that gave me 6 months free if I signed up for a year.
However, due to my other work commitments and devoting the whole of the Christmas break to researching my dissertation, I was not able to devote any substantial time to the website before Christmas. Therefore, the actual building of my website did not begin until the end of January. In addition to hosting through 1&1, I started to build my website on Wordpress.org using a wordpress theme I had purchased on themeforest.net.
The way that I kept describing my vision for the website was 'video-centric' and, as such, the design of the website would need to place the pilot episode and other video content at its center, as the episodes of the web series is its primary content. While searching for website templates to use, one in particular caught my eye. 'This way' is a theme that epitomises the term 'video-centric'.
Below are images of the template's operations as a demonstration website.
I saw the EYES concept working very well within the 'This Way' theme! The whole aesthetic of the 'This Way' template and its alignment with my video-centric stance was something I really liked.
The Blu-ray menu feel of its presentation ensures that the content is always playing and always present; this has an awful lot in common with my vision for the narrative of EYES as being cognitive and something that is continuously very active and always moving. Also, It would have nicely fulfilled the marking criteria for my website:
Website: show good awareness of target audience through the site design; website design should reflect the content of the project, so that the two things work together to tell a story.
Below are slideshows of the some of the Posters and Visual Design Elements I prepared for the project and which would have been incorporated into the website. These images together with the images of the 'This Way' theme should give some idea of what the eventual website would have looked like.
Additionally, I have some items stored in my EYES Website notebook.
Ultimately, the reason why I was not able to complete the website was due to problems installing the 'This Way' theme into wordpress. I spent a great deal of time trying to solve this problem on my own; when that didn't work, I contacted the chap who made the 'This Way' theme via his forum. He was able to provide me with instructions for how to fix the problem, but it would have required a great deal of re-coding and time that I didn't have. Therefore, I believe I took the right decision in abandoning the website. It was an instance where an element wasn't working in the current paradigm - therefore, I discontinued it.
However, I did briefly toy with trying to build a simpler website from a free wordpress theme, to fill in for the 'This Way' website.
Again, though, I abandoned this concept because I was having trouble changing the mechanics of what is essentially a basic blog template into something that is closer to being video-centric. While I was able to engineer this particular theme to look something like my original website sketch, I was not able to make the operations of the website work the way I wanted them to function. Again, this would have required a great deal of coding!
While the loss of the EYES website is disappointing, ultimately, it has worked out rather well. Firstly, I haven't yet completed a final cut of the Pilot and I'm not going to showcase a rough cut on a fully polished website! Secondly, I can use my web hosting package to build a website for myself! This is actually something that I've been wanting to do for a while and something I had put in my initial submission of the EYES Planning Portfolio:
Professional Profile - This is not something I have to necessarily get marked on but it would be a nice side result of my project. At the moment, I have various online profiles scattered about all over the place and I've always wanted to make an About.Me style hub page that I could integrate all of my other profiles into. Basically, an online CV/professional identity page that would go beyond and be more personal than a LinkedIn profile. Providing I pull it off, EYES and the CEP module would act as a nice testimonial to all the skills I am going to flaunt on this page.
Therefore, the website has a longevity that will persist beyond my participation in this module and, surely, that is the point of the module!
As I knew building an original website would take up a considerable amount of my time, I started work on it back in November. Following a meeting with the University's Publishing Lab, I invested in a domain name eyeswebseries.com (and got another one free eyeswebseries.co.uk) and a web hosting package through 1&1, it was a special offer package that gave me 6 months free if I signed up for a year.
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| My original 'Video-centric' plan sketch for the website. |
However, due to my other work commitments and devoting the whole of the Christmas break to researching my dissertation, I was not able to devote any substantial time to the website before Christmas. Therefore, the actual building of my website did not begin until the end of January. In addition to hosting through 1&1, I started to build my website on Wordpress.org using a wordpress theme I had purchased on themeforest.net.
The way that I kept describing my vision for the website was 'video-centric' and, as such, the design of the website would need to place the pilot episode and other video content at its center, as the episodes of the web series is its primary content. While searching for website templates to use, one in particular caught my eye. 'This way' is a theme that epitomises the term 'video-centric'.
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| I was always prepared to invest some money into the website. |
Below are images of the template's operations as a demonstration website.
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| 'This Way' enables video content to be the body of the website. |
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| As shown above a video is the background of the website. |
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| It has a playlist function that gives the template a Blu-ray main menu feel. |
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| It has a popout menu, again adding to the Blu-ray menu feel. |
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| Other pages/sections of the website appear as modules over the main video. Again, like a Blu-ray main menu. |
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| The template's are customisable. |
I saw the EYES concept working very well within the 'This Way' theme! The whole aesthetic of the 'This Way' template and its alignment with my video-centric stance was something I really liked.
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| A Blu-ray menu with the film playing in the background. |
The Blu-ray menu feel of its presentation ensures that the content is always playing and always present; this has an awful lot in common with my vision for the narrative of EYES as being cognitive and something that is continuously very active and always moving. Also, It would have nicely fulfilled the marking criteria for my website:
Website: show good awareness of target audience through the site design; website design should reflect the content of the project, so that the two things work together to tell a story.
Additionally, I have some items stored in my EYES Website notebook.
Ultimately, the reason why I was not able to complete the website was due to problems installing the 'This Way' theme into wordpress. I spent a great deal of time trying to solve this problem on my own; when that didn't work, I contacted the chap who made the 'This Way' theme via his forum. He was able to provide me with instructions for how to fix the problem, but it would have required a great deal of re-coding and time that I didn't have. Therefore, I believe I took the right decision in abandoning the website. It was an instance where an element wasn't working in the current paradigm - therefore, I discontinued it.
However, I did briefly toy with trying to build a simpler website from a free wordpress theme, to fill in for the 'This Way' website.
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| This is closer to my original sketch for the website. |
Again, though, I abandoned this concept because I was having trouble changing the mechanics of what is essentially a basic blog template into something that is closer to being video-centric. While I was able to engineer this particular theme to look something like my original website sketch, I was not able to make the operations of the website work the way I wanted them to function. Again, this would have required a great deal of coding!
While the loss of the EYES website is disappointing, ultimately, it has worked out rather well. Firstly, I haven't yet completed a final cut of the Pilot and I'm not going to showcase a rough cut on a fully polished website! Secondly, I can use my web hosting package to build a website for myself! This is actually something that I've been wanting to do for a while and something I had put in my initial submission of the EYES Planning Portfolio:
Professional Profile - This is not something I have to necessarily get marked on but it would be a nice side result of my project. At the moment, I have various online profiles scattered about all over the place and I've always wanted to make an About.Me style hub page that I could integrate all of my other profiles into. Basically, an online CV/professional identity page that would go beyond and be more personal than a LinkedIn profile. Providing I pull it off, EYES and the CEP module would act as a nice testimonial to all the skills I am going to flaunt on this page.
Therefore, the website has a longevity that will persist beyond my participation in this module and, surely, that is the point of the module!
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