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.
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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!
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"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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
