Research Musings

http://bellesbookshelf.blogspot.com.au/2011_07_01_archive.html

Have spent the past two weeks working on my experiment, a series of background styles based on a single background from the project. After reading a lot about research methodology I came to the realisation that I am in the process of Action Research. I think this methodology best suits how I am approaching my research given that it is practitioner centred and allows for multiple ways in which to obtain data for analysis- which is exactly what I am doing. Feels good to put a label on it. Although, now that I have these 'experiment' background tests, I'm not sure how I am to test their suitability. I think I will have to decide which one visually appeals but also allows for a story to be told through detail. It is very different to testing software or different materials to create a sculpture. So for the time being I have put them on hold till I research a little more about the successes of the masters of background illustration then I will look into which background style is going to be most effective in conveying story.

I've also realised that at the moment my research is two fold. My overriding research is focused on how a background can tell story within an animation and this has involved research into layout devices and technical advancements in creating a sense of viewer immersion into the environment. Yet in order to get to that stage, my preliminary research is dominated by selecting objects of significance and designing the backgrounds themselves that will tell the story in my project. This added layer of research has allowed me to use a range of both Quantitative and Qualitative research methods to collect data for visual reference. It is this visual reference that will enable me to create authentic backgrounds that will tell a story without the constant reference to a protagonist or narrator.

I think this dual layered approach is going to be the most effective in reaching the common goal of creating an animation short film wherein the backgrounds convey narrative. At the moment it is like I'm on the lower rungs of the ladder where in order to create the backgrounds I first need to research what should and should not be included in the images to convey a particular sentiment at a particular point of the story. The next rungs of the ladder will involve layout and design which is key in the overall theme of my research in looking at how the animator can avoid reliance upon a central protagonist or narrator. This I believe will also be Action research as storybeats become storyboards and an animatic that will test out how this focus on the background will be read by the audience. But don't panic, I haven't been neglecting this section of my research, its just that at the moment its relegated to the role of critical analysis of past masters ready to applied to my own project once the backgrounds and their content have been fully researched.

http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/good-direction.html

I have no idea whether this is the right approach, but the emphasis in these classes seems to be here are a range of different approaches use them as you need to give you the best possible opportunity to come to some kind of valid conclusion. So, at the moment this is the way I am headed.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/6372/The-F-Bomb