The Brand New Positive News!

The first issue of the revamped and rebranded Positive News arrived in the post today. 

In the same way that I keep saying film and media studies would greatly be enhanced by adopting a more constructive approach, Positive News has innovated and utilises the related emerging field of Constructive Journalism, which is precisely why I purchased some shares in Positive News last year, as part of the #OwnTheMedia crowdfunding campaign.

"Positive News is now owned by 1,526 readers, journalists and supporters from 33 countries following a successful crowdfunding campaign. With the aims of raising investment to grow and become financially sustainable, while also creating an inspiring ownership structure, our 30-day ‪#‎OwnTheMedia‬ campaign enabled people to buy 'community shares' in Positive News. The campaign ran from 8 June to 8 July and raised £263,422, surpassing our initial goal of £200,000. Using the online crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder.co.uk, people worldwide invested - from Mexico to New Zealand - ranging in age from 18 to 89." 

- Postive News, Issue 84:7

I even found my name on the list of shareholders on the back cover (that was a nice touch)...

When you consider that the research has shown you are 40% more likely to have a negative outlook and sense of hopelessness about the world when you consume traditional 'scaremongering' news outlets (everything from the BBC to Fox News), something like Positive News becomes all the more prevalent.

Lateral Thinking and the Extensions of Man

I have invested in two new books on Ebay, The Use of Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono and Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhuan.

I am not one for glorifying film and media theorists, because as soon as you start glorifying them you usually end up becoming a disciple to their ways of thinking.

However, that being said, I make an exception for Marshall McLuhan who quite literally wrote the book on understanding all of media and film AND much of which is still applicable to the technological and sociological developments of today...

"Art as anti-environment becomes more than ever a means of training perception and judgement. Art offered as a consumer commodity rather than as a means of training perception is as ludicrous and snobbish as always... The power of the arts to anticipate future social and technological developments, by a generation and more, has long been recognized. In this [the 20th] century Ezra Pound called the artist "the antennae of the race." Art as radar as "an early alarm system," as it were, enabling us to discover social and psychic targets in lots of time to prepare to cope with them." 

- Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1966:ix-xi

Equally, lateral thinking is something that I am very big on and it is something that I am incorporating into the format of the Breaking Cinema podcast. I saw de Bono's book going cheap on Ebay, so I though, why not?

"Since Aristotle, logical thinking has been exalted as the one effective way in which to use the mind. Yet the very elusiveness of new ideas indicates that they do not necessarily come about as a result of logical thought processes. Some people are aware of another sort of thinking which is most easily recognised when it leads to those simple ideas that are obvious only after they have been thought of. This book is an attempt to look at this sort of thinking and to show that it is quite distinct from logic and often more useful in generating new ideas. For the sake of convenience, the term 'lateral thinking' has been coined to describe this other sort of thinking; 'vertical thinking' is used to denote the conventional logical process." 

- Edward de Bono, 'The Use of Lateral Thinking', 1967:5

I have already got stuck into both of these and I suspect that Understanding Media will greatly assist with the Mass Communications major of my MTA; likewise, The Use of Later al Thinking should assist with the development of Breaking Cinema.

Ways of Being - the primary progenitor for Ways 2 Interface

Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle is my award-winning graduate theoretical dissertation, that is itself the culmination of a seven month research project. 

As the name suggests, Ways of Being is the primary progenitor and the prelude for Ways 2 Interface.

The paper is devoted to Douglas Trumbull, for his innovating efforts, inspiring persistence and words of wisdom. 

"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."

- Dr Suman Ghosh, guiding tutor and primary marker.

The masters length paper was praised for its boldness, 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 for Excellence in Film and Screen Studies research.

"This is certainly one of the best FL dissertations I have read for many a year."

 - Dr Terence Rodgers, Head of Department and second marker.

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 this project can be viewed in this Google Drive folder.

On top of my other final year projects, getting the paper up to the standard I wanted was a tall and exhausting order, but it was worth it!

"This is a well researched, conceptually sound and cogently argued dissertation which is striking in its originality of argumentation and in its nuanced reading of a wide range of film and critical material.

It draws on a plethora of examples from traditions of visual culture from prehistoric cave art to contemporary film, the IMAX experience and future practices of audio‐visual consumption in order to examine traditional and contemporary theories of spectatorship and the spectator’s relation with the spectacle.

The introduction clearly sets out the structure and methodology of the dissertation and provides a useful overview of the technological shifts which have resulted in a reconfiguration of the relationship between the viewer and the viewed.

This is clearly an ambitious project.

It makes a passionate case for the revival of grand theory in studies of Spectatorship in particular and Film Studies in general and sustains this case through argumentation of an exceedingly high order.

It acknowledges the need to expand the scope of such studies beyond film, in its reference to a wide range of media texts as much as to critical literature, all of which are directed towards an understanding of spectatorship from points of view as diverse as the sensory, experiential, philosophical, spiritual, metaphysical and neurological."  

- Dr Suman Ghosh, Senior Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies.

  

As a result of my enthusiasm for the project, I unearthed so much data that the first draft I assembled 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 over 30,000 words! Furthermore, I still had additional ideas and data that would have allowed me to write more - hence my reasoning for orchestrating Ways 2 Interface.

One of two hard copies I submitted on 6th June 2013.

The copy of Ways of Being that is included here is a refined draft that I produced between July and September 2013. As it became apparent that the research project had attained a longevity greater than the paper itself, I decided that I would produce a polished draft to exhibit online; both with the aim of including it as an additional component of this website, but also as a dissertation example that other students could scrutinise. 

The research content and argumentation has not been altered or added to in anyway; rather, the refined draft includes additional polishing, proofing and initial page material. Key among this new initial page material is the marking feedback I received and a new Foreword section in which I reflect on and deconstruct my process of assembling the paper. 

If you would like to view the original submitted paper, then you can do so here.

The study of looking is a recurrent interest for me.Why? Search me...

Additionally, the Ways of Being research project had a huge influence on my EYES web series project and vice versa; in fact, I refer to EYES, my practical dissertation and creative enterprise project, as being the practical expression of what I explored in Ways of Being. I believe the high marks both projects were awarded - EYES was also awarded the highest mark of its module - stand as testament to their mutually beneficial relationship.

Initial Ways 2 Interface focus and About #2Interface page

Since building my personal portfolio website, PeterOBrien.me, and retroactively constructing my Masters of Transdisciplinary Application, which is itself being housed on my person website, the focus of Ways 2 Interface has greatly shifted from a transdisciplinary research project and study log" into "a personal journal/blog of mass communications and media studies 2.0" 

In short, the load on Ways 2 Interface has now been greatly eased into a much clearer and actionable focus - my personal reflections on all things mass media and progressive, but less so on film, because that is what my film focused blog, Something to do with Film, is for. 

However, detailed below is the original focus of Ways 2 Interface as it was laid down on the initial version of the About #2Interface page...


 A  transdisciplinary research project and my study log. 

 The Project: Something New and Fantastic 

Is it actually something new and fantastic?

I don't know.

But from my point of view it is, because this overall project-and-blog-thing is very much tied up with my larger personal development aims, so naturally I have a great deal of enthusiasm invested in the overall focus of Ways 2 Interface.

It's about finding my focus.

This blog started its life as a research focus extension of the concerns of my First Class BA (Hons) in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies and, in particular, the focuses of my two final year dissertations: EYES (practical dissertation) and Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle (award-winning theoretical dissertation). 

Hence, the name of this blog: Ways 2 Interface a.k.a. Round 2.

Welcome #2Interface - my original intention for this blog.

However, the initial focus of just presenting my extended research and considerations never felt quite right - it always felt incomplete. After essentially writing another dissertation spread across the first four posts of this blog, I decided to reassess its situation and where exactly I stood in regards to my academic interests.

Why #2Interface: expanding my focus + focusing my interests = mastering the enterprising researcher - my reassessment of this blog and its focus.

Ultimately, this project was always building towards a masters degree in Creative Technologies and Enterprise that I was very interested in undertaking (there is still a huge maybe hanging over this, but the option is still open) and, when I reassessed the situation in regards to my postgraduate education, it occurred to me what was really missing from this blog - MOOCs!

The many different MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) I had undertaken throughout the later part of 2013 and the full breadth of 2014.

Follow Peter's board MOOC-tastic on Pinterest.

From the many different disciplines of the MOOCs I have studied, it is clear to see that I have a hybrid transdisciplinary focus that extends far beyond the creative writing and film focus of my BA (Hons).

Basically - my MOOCs, the vast swathes of time they have eaten up and the reflections they have encouraged me to produce on the various different aspects of my overall education and creative application - are very much an expression of my expanded hybrid focus.

It's about re-thinking traditional paradigms.

Additionally, I am finding that my creative entrepreneurial focused practice and self-directed postgraduate study is proving to be vastly more beneficial and fulfilling than a pre-arranged masters degree. Therefore, for the time being, I am staying off the conventional path, while I continue to explore the wilderness.

It has taken me quite some time (nearly a year) to realise that I could utilise this blog to further consolidate my learning by using it as a reflection space. Therefore, I have quite a large backlog to get through, but as the content of the blog becomes more fuller and more widely representative of all the studying I have been doing, I will gradually tie its relevance back into the original research focus of Ways 2 Interface.

Welcome #2interface.

Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle - the award-winning primary progenitor for Ways 2 Interface.

E Y E S - A Web Series Concept Proposal Package - the sister dissertation project of Ways of Being.

For an overview of my wider research web and the philosophy driving it, see Smartlife: my philosophy + my research web = why I am doing, what I am doing and why it just might help you to fulfill your potential...

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to do so via the contact form.

 

 About Me: Something to do with Film 

My name is Peter O'Brien, I am a Creator, Writer, Filmmaker, Personal Developer and award-winning Researcher based in Bristol, UK. 

In July, 2013, I graduated from Bath Spa University, where I gained a First Class BA (Hons) in Creative Writing with Film and Screen Studies; as well as a great deal of recognition and heartfelt encouragement of my overall potential.

I am currently embarking on my own self-directed postgraduate study that Ways 2 Interface is chronicling.

“I can't help but feel your careful consideration and reflection has developed formidable power. I wish that all my students had a fraction of your application and drive to dig deeper.”

- Mike Johnston, Senior Lecturer in Creative Media Practice.

My theoretical dissertation, Ways of Being: The Spectator and the Spectacle, the primary progenitor for this project, is a Masters length paper that gained the highest mark ever awarded to a Film and Screen Studies dissertation at my institution.

It has also been bestowed with the Media Futures Research Award for Excellence in Film and Screen Studies research.

"This is certainly one of the best FL dissertations I have read for many a year"

- Dr Terence Rodgers,  Head of Department: Film and Media Production.

My practical dissertation and creative enterprise project, EYES, a web series concept proposal package, a reflexive expression of contemporary networking attitudes and their implications on our ways of being, was also awarded the highest mark of its module.

"These materials are comprehensive and strong, showing a close attention to detail throughout... verging on the overwhelming, from an assessor's point of view."

- Professor Kate Pullinger, Lecturer in Creative Writing and Digital Media.

My temperament is a fusion of creative and academic. This  project will very much employ the full breadth of this combined expertise; as well as nurturing it and growing it in new areas.

My two dissertations very much serve as testimonies of these two key facets of my character. 

At heart, I have always been both a  deconstructor and a builder.

"You're a really good builder." 

- Charlie Driscoll, Nephew and fellow Lego builder.

My philosophy is simple: utilise everything that you are, to achieve everything that you want to be; while helping others along the way. I very much took this to heart while undertaking my degree and I do likewise here.

All of my exploits are feeding into this project. 

"That is so typical of you, that you work while you work."

- Mykel Elledge, friend, fellow student and actor in EYES 

I have something of a special relationship with stories and it has something to do with film. 

I have spent all of my life building a foundation of knowledge that, in the broadest sense, lies somewhere between stories and film.

In other words: how we make sense of the world through the stories we tell ourselves and what role mass entertainment and branding  (film, being a primary example) play in this inherent narratology. 

“Pete, you have a fantastic dissertation which deserves the highest possible grade. Really, it is brilliantly written which displays your thorough research and passion for the topic and, most importantly, it is original and not something that people have written about tens of thousands of times. You've done something new and fantastic.” 

- Matt Coot, friend and fellow student.

Between June 2013 and January 2014, I wrestled with the best way to orchestrate Ways 2 Interface. Should it be pure academia, devoid of me and my journey? Or should it be more of me and my story?

Ultimately, I have decided on something inbetween. As a creative and an academic, Ways 2 Interface is an extension of my story, an exploration of my path and an expression of my overall drive to dig deeper. 

"The most motivated individual I have ever had the pleasure to meet... I have never met an individual so driven and so likely to succeed and push the boundaries of which ever field he chooses to go into." 

- Tim Bradshaw, friend and fellow student.

Between June, 2013, and January, 2014, I evolved the focus and aesthetic of this project from its origination in Ways of Being. It was a process that made me reflect deeply on the growth of my own story. I have come to realise that if we persistently invest ourselves in the things that we are passionate about, the things we are passionate about will empower us to achieve great things.

I hope you enjoy coming on this journey with me.