What is a Research Project?

To put it simply; a research project is a large piece of formal, detailed writing, with images and external sources that explores an idea or subject. It is usually done to increase ones knowledge on something and give them the ability to learn more. As put forward by Successful Writing "A research paper presents an original thesis, or purpose statement, about a topic and develops that thesis with information gathered from a variety of sources."

Potential content in a research project is similar to a book, in that there's a front cover followed by a bulk of writing. Content may include primary and secondary research, statistics to back up points, images on occasion and lastly extracts from past publications, data from documentaries and films. Throughout the research project the writing should be of a formal, detailed standard and use Harvard referencing. This means that references must be listed in a research journal/bibliography in a Harvard Referencing format (Author, Year of Publication, Title, Place of Publication, Publisher) for books.

Exploring and Evaluating Ideas

After completing these three mind maps, I decided that I wanted to base my research project on 35mm film photography. I had created two mind maps with a similar topic: ("Why is film used today and is it still a valid medium" & "Why has film photography become more popular in recent years"). Out of these I have decided to focus on why film has become more popular recently. This is because I can relate it the the modern day photography industry and look into statistics. Furthermore looking into film photography will be an exciting project for me as it is a medium I find aesthetically pleasing and interesting as it's so aged.

Why use Harvard Referencing?

Using Harvard referencing in a research project (if not in all work) is essential to ensuring your work is professional and of high quality. For example, using Harvard referencing helps to avoids plagiarism by letting the reader know where certain data is sourced from and who created it (the author). In order to properly reference a piece of writing for example, it needs to be included with an in text citation and a full reference in your bibliography (or reference list). This form of referencing is also helpful as you can include data using it to back up research you're conducting to make a more impactful point. Furthermore it lets the reader know that you've committed to your research and explored different books, websites, magazines etc.

When referencing a book for example, the reference would look like this:

Bell, J. (2010) Doing Your Research Project.

5th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

The authors surname followed by their initials: "Bell, J.", the year of publication in brackets "(2010)", the title in italics with the edition if it applies "Doing Your Research Project. 5th ed" and lastly the place of publication and publisher "Maidenhead: Open University Press.". This covers all relevant information to not only show exactly where you've sourced the data, but also to let the reader find the data for themselves.

Interview Reflection

Interviewing someone from the industry gave me a great perspective of media and the real life practical aspects of it. From completing this task I learnt 3 main things. Firstly, I discovered that I should keep doing things related to media, be it watching films, taking photos, writing scripts or experimenting. The second thing I learnt was that any work in the industry is good work, even if unpaid. It enables you to make contacts and connections which is vital and can help towards you getting noticed. Lastly I found that I should try to make a portfolio and show myself off. This means that when people ask or find out about you, you have something to say for yourself.

Critical Analysis - Contextual Studies

Portfolio

Strengths
-Had a minimalistic layout - didn't look too complicated
- Was organised into sections and neat looking
-Shows a variety of photography types, letting viewers know my range of skills

Areas for Improvement
-Content limit - more photos could have been added
-Not much information, add text for details
-No contact information or details about me

3 Things I've learnt by completing these tasks
-Important to get yourself out there online
-It can prove quite challenging to make your own website
-Constantly keep creating content

Presentation

Strengths
-It was to the point and concise
-Arranged in an easy to understand manner
-Good choice of goals

Areas for Improvement
-Too simplistic - add photos maybe?
-Short length, add more information/goals? Go into more depth
-Present it better - use gestures, face the audience etc

3 Things I've learnt by completing these tasks
-Work hard to get into uni - the sooner the better
-Do independent research/work outside of college
-Contribute/go the extra mile in lessons

12 Month Personal Development Action Plan

For my 12 month development action plan I've split the plan into three main goals and gone into detail of each goal, listing details of the goal and how I can achieve it in a specific timeframe. My first goal and most important goal to me is to get into University to do a course in either film or photography.

To do this I'll need to work on a personal statement and have this complete, ready to send off before the 15th January (which is the deadline for applications). I'd like to have my personal statement complete on the 15th November so that I can apply to Universities sooner rather than later. This seems like quite a daunting task so to get this done I'll need to set out a plan for each paragraph of the personal statement, brainstorm ideas of what to say & do research online by watching videos and reading articles and other personal statements. I'll also need to ask for feedback from my lecturers and adults so I can keep adapting and improving the personal statement.

Next I'll need to find some University courses that apply to me so I can apply to them and have good options (if I get a place). I have some universities in mind already but I'd like to find a couple more and ideally I'd like to have this done by the end of the month, so to make a sound decision of courses I need to read their prospectuses and look at their websites which will state what they look for in a student.  

Lastly I'll need to take action on what the university websites say about ideal students and make myself appealing to the university by acting on this. This will mean working to my best ability in this college course to try and get a distinction, and working on personal projects outside of college. I'd like to make at least one product a month up until University so I gain lots of experience and knowledge whilst also having some work to show for myself. This product could be something moving image based, audio based, or photography and design based. I'd also like to try and watch at least 3 films a week to get more familiar with analysing and understanding them, and again to gain experience.

My second goal is to improve in my college course so I can achieve the best grade possible, which will help to lead me on into higher education. I've split this section up into the three lessons we're taking this year: Contextual Studies, Moving Image and Audio. To begin with, for Contextual Studies I'd like to learn how to pitch better, which means delivering my ideas and presenting more effectively. This is because pitching is an important skill to have in the media industry and can help massively towards getting your ideas heard. To do this I'll need to research effective techniques online and practice pitching in these lessons.
 

Something I'd like to improve on in Moving Image lessons is knowledge on real life aspects of film and tv such as budgeting a production, lighting techniques, scriptwriting and storyboarding. I know how to do all of these things but I'd like to research them in more detail and learn how to do them better so I can improve my work. I'll be able to research all of these things online so I aim to be more skilled in all of these things by the end of the year.

For audio I want to become more familiar with sound in premiere so that I can apply this knowledge to my video productions. To do this I need to pay full attention and contribute in my audio lessons with Tom, as well as doing research and experimentation outside of college by watching videos on it and googling it.

My last main goal is for personal things outside of college. For these I'd like to make myself more attractive to future clients and employers which means making a portfolio and personal website. Which I aim to have completed by the start of 2018. I also need to work on independent projects outside of college with other creative individuals which I will do on my free days and in the holidays. Lastly I need to keep myself organised so I can work to my best ability. I can do this by setting deadlines and achievable tasks for myself.

I hope to check back on this blog monthly so I can see what I'm doing and what needs to be done, leading to my personal development.

Differential Focusing Techniques - Experimentation

In this lesson we experimented with different lenses and apertures to see how they affected the depth of field. As the aperture increases numerically the depth of field gets deeper. This video shows the different apertures + lenses I tested:
I concluded from this that a small aperture like f1.8 makes the background very blurred and soft, bringing focus to the foreground. (Professional look also) This looks better for portraits in my opinion. With a large aperture like f22 the background and foreground are both in focus so this should be better for location photography or trying to get a shot where everything is focuses on. Additionally, with the zoom lens fully zoomed in you need to bring the camera quite far back to get the subject in frame, which can be an issue. Another thing I noticed was that the perspective changes with lenses.