Category: Thesis

We had an online meeting with my teacher over the past three weeks, from which I made some adjustments to the paper and documented the results of the final term 3 paper and the next steps in this post. The essay also successfully completed the Literature Review, Draft Chapter 5, and Draft Chapter 6 sections, and the Literature Cited section also documented 21 valid references in standard form.

This Word file below is the document with more words than required, but given the three weeks is more than enough time, a shorter version will follow, for example, eliminating the section on the main point of conflict in the work (150 words or so)

The video blow is my presentation about this research at the stage.

In the following semester, I will continue to take this argument to the next level of analysis and find more relevant content to add to it.

Weeks 5 and 6 continued with the importance of multisampling the reference section of your dissertation and we also had an offline dissertation session to help us better cope with our dissertation proposal. In Nigel’s course we continued to learn how to go about analysing our dissertation topic and how to construct an argument.

In offline courses, we analysed the types of research framework that can be done in our thesis and the research methodology we are going to follow to develop our topic.

Types of research

There are two types of research that we could use for our thesis such as:

• Quantitative research. This type of research provides numerical data (analysed using mathematical methods or statistics). It is an empirical research that explains trends so it is more objective.
• Qualitative research. This type of research produces findings without using quantitative methods and it is more subjective. It explores the perception, feelings, or ideas of people.

Critical thinking process and thesis proposal structure

The process to follow to analyse a topic in a critical manner is the following:

• Investigate a problem thoroughly
• Prosecute and defend an idea
• Cross examine witnesses (literature review)
• Verdict (conclusion)

This process will help us to structure our thesis topic in a logical way until reaching a conclusion where we will explain our findings.

Our thesis proposal structure will be as follow:

• Introduction
• Background significance
• Literature review
• Research design, methods, and schedule
• Suppositions and implications
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Methodology

Our research targets will constitute the basis of the methodology used. In order to explain the methodology used, we will need to follow this structure:

• Describe thesis or research problem
• Explain chosen approach
• Clarify any uncommon methodology used
• Explain how the data used was collected
• Detail methods used to analyse collected data

Topic research

Brain Storm

1 Will the field of film special effects continue to move towards computerised CG compositing rather than developing techniques for realistic filming?

i There are many times when real life filming will have a better display ii Pure CG filming will be false iii Which is better for film, focusing on CGI compositing or focusing on real life filming?

Focus on CGI compositing

Pros:

Unlimited Creative Space: CGI offers unlimited creative possibilities to create any imaginable scenes and characters without the constraints of real-world physical limitations (Pearson CMG).

Efficient use of resources: Scenes can be created and modified efficiently in a virtual environment, avoiding the costly and time-consuming process of actually building and dismantling sets (Filmmaking Lifestyle).

Safety: for dangerous scenes or complex stunts, safety risks for actors and crew can be avoided through CGI.

Disadvantages:

Costly: High-quality CGI requires significant computing resources and specialised staff, resulting in high production costs (StudioBinder).

Authenticity challenges: Despite advances in technology, CGI effects can sometimes lack the realism of live action, especially when combined with live action, resulting in an ‘off-kilter’ look.

Audience Acceptance: Some viewers may prefer the texture and realism of live action, and believe that over-reliance on CGI can cause a film to lose its rustic and authentic appeal.

Focus on live action

Benefits:

Strong sense of realism: Live-action filming can provide a detailed representation of natural light and shadow and real physical environments, increasing the sense of realism in the film and the audience’s sense of immersion (Filmmaking Lifestyle).

Interactive performances: Actors tend to behave more naturally and realistically in real scenes, which helps to enhance the authenticity and emotional resonance of the performances.

Audience Acceptance: Many audiences are more receptive to real-life filming, believing that it conveys real emotion and storytelling.

Disadvantages:

Limitations: Live-action filming is limited by the physical environment of the real world, making certain scenes difficult or costly to realise, such as alien worlds in sci-fi films (Pearson CMG).

Costs and Time: Live-action filming requires finding suitable locations, sets, transport and crew scheduling, which adds to the cost and time of production.

Weather and environmental constraints: Live action filming is highly dependent on weather and environmental conditions, which can lead to delays or changes in the filming schedule.

Comprehensive Analysis

Balance and Combination

In modern film production, the best results are usually achieved by combining CGI with live-action shooting to complement each other’s strengths. The Avatar and Avengers film series, for example, create stunning visual spectacles through a seamless blend of live action and CGI, preserving authentic performances and environments while expanding the boundaries of visual effects through CGI (StudioBinder). The

Project Requirements Determine the Choice

Ultimately, the choice to focus on CGI or live action should be based on the needs of a specific project. If the film requires a lot of fantastical elements that can’t be realised in reality, CGI may be a better choice, while if the film is more realistic and emotional, live action may be more appropriate.

Taken together, modern film production often takes advantage of CGI and live-action shooting through the combination of technology and art to present audiences with visual effects that are both realistic and creative.

(Derive the argument above to generate the question) 2 The increasing development of visual effects has required more money to be invested in the production of a film, which must have led to fewer and fewer new companies or new directors joining the traditional film industry. What will be the future trend of this problem? How can this problem be solved?

i Marvel’s films over the past few years have tended to be homogenised, with the hero genre no longer being accepted by the public ii One of the films that has invested the most in CGI compositing over the last few years has been Avatar: The Watercourse, which had an estimated budget of $400 million. It relies almost entirely on advanced CGI technology to create the visual spectacle of Pandora.iii Netflix has a growing number of short films based on CGI compositingiv

Jedi: The Fast and the Furious (Bad Boys for Life, 2020): two new directors, Bilal Farah and Adil El-Abi, collaborated with several VFX companies, including Image Engine and DNEG, to complete high-quality visual effects

Summary

Thesis Research Topic

The impact of the development of visual effects on the entry of new companies and directors into the traditional film industry and future trends

Main Argument

With the development of visual effects (VFX) technology, the cost of film production has risen significantly, a trend that may limit the entry of new companies and directors into the film industry. However, through the democratisation of technology, the support of streaming platforms, collaborative production models and education and training, new directors and small companies can still find opportunities and success in this high-cost environment.

Abstracts.

VFX, CGI, cost of film production, new ventures, democratisation of technology, collaboration, independent film, streaming platforms, etc

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND: The importance of visual effects in modern cinema.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: High VFX costs are a barrier to entry for new directors and small companies.

In the first few weeks, our focus was on researching our possible dissertation topics and analysing how to structure our dissertation proposal. As well as Nigel also told us how to construct a properly framed thesis, as well as giving an account of example arguments as well as the academic nature of the thesis.

The structure of a thesis would be the following:

• Title page
• Abstract
• Acknowledgements
• Contents page(s)
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Themed topic chapters (main discussion)
• Results
• Discussion or findings
• Conclusions
• References
• Appendices

Before starting with the actual thesis, we will be doing a thesis or research proposal this term. This research proposal’s goal is the plan a structure for research like books, questionnaires, possible interviews, etc. It needs to explain why that research is necessary for the topic like for filling a gap in the subject, proving already existing researches, adding new knowledge to the topic, etc. Also, a literature review is important in our proposal to see if the material gathered is enough and useful for our thesis. It will let us demonstrate that we understand the key information of our goals. The proposal structure would be the following:

• Introduction
• Background significance (why research is needed and how it relates to field of study)
• Literature review (introduction to sources we plan to use in our research)
• Research design, methods, and schedule (planning)
• Suppositions and implications (what results are we expecting and how are they going to contribute to the field of study)
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

In order to develop a research topic we should be asking questions like the following:

• What motivates me to research and discover?
• How can I connect it with my previous research?
• Can this research impact the current knowledge of that topic and add new one?
• Who is going to be the audience?
• What is the reader going to learn from this research?
• Will my topic meet the assignment’s requirements?
• Will it be connected to my FMP?

Thesis objectives and structure

Before starting to write a thesis, it is important to set the targets, audience, and structure of it:

• Determine audience
• Determine what hit is the audience is going to learn
• Break down thesis into main questions
• Put questions in an order that makes sense
• Develop sub-questions
• Plan investigation two find answers

In order to build my thesis argument, I will need to use my own voice, meaning to express in a formal way but following my own style of writing. I could build my own views on its but not using my own opinions into it without any evidence to prove it. I should not use ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘mine’, only to be used when citing my own research. Before starting to write the thesis, it is good practice to try and sum the argument in a few words, so I can have it as reference to go back to check if I am still following this initial argument while writing the thesis.

In the chapters, it would be interesting to add counterarguments to our arguments that could at the same time argued again. This would prove that the analysis is not biased and it is taking in consideration all perspectives.

The conclusion should summarise the main points discussed on each chapter and should answer the question asked originally.

The methodology followed to research and gather information could be by researching peer reviewed sources, surveys, interviews, experiments, etc.

Literature review

This will help to orient ourselves and the reader towards what we want to cover in our thesis. A literature review is developed by:

• Communicating relevant research methodology.
• Showing theoretical framework we could establish.
• Detailing where our work fits into the bigger picture.

When structuring a literature review we need to state our research question and explain how we tackled it. Then a body of paragraphs will explain the research in detail. Lastly, a conclusion section will reiterate the research question while summarising the insides. Within our body sources, we will need to identify themes, patterns, and gaps.

Once we have read and understood our sources, we will need to organise a strategy for writing about how we have used them in our research. We can organise them chronologically, by themes, or according to methods used by their author. Once this outline is done, we can start writing our literature review.