About a week ago, I was nervous about how my research progress was going based on the timeline I set for myself earlier in the semester. However, as of this week, I have almost completed my committee completed, which was a huge milestone for me. I have my chair and one committee member, and my other possible committee member is in the works. The actual research aspect was always going well, as I have kept up with reading new articles and getting my research ready.
My project vision has changed, but it is on a new track that I am super excited about. In the beginning, I was imagining more of a documentary-style production for this research. However, now I am leaning more towards a video essay with archival and original footage. I am proud of the fact that I can finally see my project in my mind’s eye. I was a little nervous about the documentary, as my strength is more in post-production rather than in the field. With the video essay, this allows my video editing strengths to shine, and I can get my ideas across more strongly.
According to the MSP MA project proposal guidelines state that: “The paper that must accompany the MA Project is a theoretically informed, formal paper in which students explain the foundation of the project and analyze its success in terms of the theory used and its significance as a final project”, I believe I am on the right track in terms of research for completing this task. I have a lot of research regarding the hyperreal and spectacle, Baudrillard and Debord being some of my main theoretical frameworks, including the social learning theory. I have a few more theories that I would like to explore further, but so far, I am on the right track.
I am looking forward to having my entire map planned out for the completion of this project, both the production and writing/research aspects. As I am watching it develop more, it is making me more excited for the second half of this semester, when I have a full schedule planned with my chair and begin editing/writing the entire project.
The feedback I got for the project treatment and initial media basically stated that the idea of a “documentary narrative” was confusing, and I have changed that idea to being a video essay. The feedback also stated that I need to be more specific when saying “we” and “they”; for this, I will go through my treatment and fix this, and also remember for my actual research paper to be more specific about who I am referring to.