Referencing Primary Research

Out of all the things to struggle with in my Dissertation, I was not expecting it to be referencing my own suvey. I have looked on Moodle, the Internet and asked my supervisor and I have found nothing. The closest I can find is "don't reference it at all as it is your own research" (http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/question/29796/how-do-you-reference-primary-survey-i-created-it). However, I also want to know how to word it in the Dissertation as I can't use first person pronouns, so how will people know I created it? At the moment it reads as "A survey of 190 people" which makes it read like it needs refrencing. Even though I don't need to reference it, lots of websites say I still need to mention that it is mine. But how when I can't use first person pronouns? I could say "a personal survey"?

I will include it in my appendix for now, and leave it as it is and hopefully my supervisor will help me. If not, my next port of call is looking at previous Dissertations in the Library or asking the programme leader what to do. I may also include my extra blog work in the appendix.

*UPDATE* I have contacted a previous graduate who received a First in their Dissertation and how they included their survey. I need to place the survey and results in the appendix and then put the number in the bibliography. They are also going to find their Dissertation and tell me how they actually mentioned it in the essay.

*FURTHER UPDATE* The graduate is a live saver, I am citing them an honorable mention in my Dissertation. Crisis averted.

My Weaknesses

I've been looking at my previous feedback for my essays so I know how to improve and act upon it. I'm usually good with applying knowledge and understanding a topic, so I should keep going with that.

One thing I need to improve is structure. My thoughts are often spontaneous and it shows in my essays. I have tried to keep my dissertation structure more solid by putting it chronological order. I feel like I keep jumping from point to point in my dissertation at the moment, so I'm constantly going back to see if I can keep is chronological and what way is best to format it to keep it this way. It's still a bit jumpy for now as it's mostly just a very detailed plan (I didn't want to do any more as I was worried I was doing it completely wrong, see previous blog post). 

I have struggled with analysing before, but I went a bit overboard in my Visual Culture last year, so I have tried not to do this again. Looking back at this essay as well (and most of my evaluations), I need to look at my conclusions. Most of them are not solid and have a definate answer (I doubt it will again this year), I think I would benefit a lecture focused on how to layout a conclusion and what to put in it. Do I analyse in my conclusion? When is it too much? At the moment, I've just done it in chapter 2. I will probably do less questioning and more statements in my conclusion. 

Dissertation Questions

I've left my Dissertation as it is at the moment. It's very brief and basically highlighting what I am going to talk about in each section, I just need a blessing saying to keep going and if I am doing it right (I didn't want to do more in case I was barking up the wrong tree). This post is a list of what I need to cover with my supervisor when we go back to Uni.

• I have mostly covered the history of the topic in general, but mostly of my case studies and how they relate to context in chapter 1, and how they have changed over time. Chapter 2 is just focused on different theories. This could be wrong, hence why I stopped why I was ahead. Need to check with my supervisor. 
• I think we would all be beneficial with a lecture focused on how to do a conclusion, as this is mine and many others' weak points. And since the word count is significantly higher this year, we need to see what to include and how.
• I have been told that the library have examples of student's previous dissertations which I will definately check out in terms of structure (I also need to find out where the new library is as I have books to return, note to self)
• I have done a survey but I'm struggling where to include it in my dissertation and how. Since I can't use first person pronouns, I can't say "In my survey". I'm also not sure whether to include it in chapter 1, 2 or both!
• I'm not sure if blogs are getting marked along side the Dissertation but I'm using it anyways to organise my thoughts.
• I'm not sure how much detail to go into. This links to if I'm doing it right. I've left some points like "(talk about this more)" but I'm not sure when to stop! Have I gone overboard? Can I go over the word count? 

Survey Summary

A document so I could constantly check back the results to make refrencing and facts easier to look at and access. The yellow highlighted box shows the break between SurveyMonkey and Google Doc responses.

Survey Results

I made a handy infographic to show the results of both surveys. I was hoping for a broader age range, but I am impressed how many 30-45 I got! The wordcloud graph worked particularly well and I could even change how big they were depending on how many people said it. I also included a few quotes. There was a few theories and case studies people also mentioned, which I will research into further.

Vampire Movies - Survey Results
Infogram

Survey - Initial Thoughts

At the moment, my survey has 184 responses (I did have more, but 4 have been lost in the ether as Surveymonkey wants me to pay to view them, and I have deleted some others). Some are more useful than others. Some are completely useless (people just filling them out with full stops just to say they did it, which I have deleted as they serve no purpose in my findings and are clear anomalies). Of course, there are also a few just "yes" answers despite being asked to explain fully on the survey. However, most of them are usable as statistics, and some have some good points I can further research. And some made me laugh out loud (can I have outtakes for a dissertation?). A few honourable mentions: 

I think over the years it has. With TV shows targeting teens. It's gone from been something dark, inhuman and intriguing to people with perfect skin and hair that can merge in with society (punctuation would be good here)

"There's a little man in his hair"

http://imgur.com/7BVuacm

Yes I do. Fright night (recent release) there were fears of people breaking into houses 

And one person who constantly spelt Dracula as "Dracular"

I did have a few quotable and usable respondents I can include in my Dissertation. I am also currently typing up a summary of the questionnaires so I don't have to keep looking back at the survey and just look at one table. I am also making an infographic to see if there's any correlation between age and how they find the image of the vampire.

Another thing that was brought up in the survey was the Dark Universe franchise (pretty much Universal's take on Marvel Cinematic Universe) which s basically loads of horror films that connect with each other. The start of this was the remake of The Mummy (a great start...) But it's something to look into for the future of vampire films. 

I've also noticed that only a select few people have mentioned female vampires in their answers. Most people say that they are the 'bad boy' but failed to mention women. Why? Do female vampires not sell? Why aren't they as well known? It's something to look into.

Dissertation Survey

I made a survey last night to gather more opinions that would be valuable to my dissertation. I wanted to start one sooner rather than later to get varied opinions (and also make physical copies to hand out). I had also reached an impass in my findings so needed a few more opinions to broaden my research.

I spent a good while figuring out the questions last night, wording them just right to fit with my dissertation and its theories. I struggled a bit with the gender one, so I made it optional (people still refused to do it as it only had two genders, even though it says quite clearly it's optional). I also struggled with another so I gave an example (this was an issue as people said "never seen it" but failed to read the rest of the question). 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m59mwtt96b1qkx3d4o4_250.gif

The survey does have its flaws (one strong minded person asked if I've "ever did any modules on good questionnaires" as my questions won't "give qualitative or measurable answers" which was not my intention at all. I am after opinions, not facts). But most of the respondents enjoyed doing it!
I did not expect my survey to blow up the way it did. In under 24 hours, I have received 158 responses and still counting. It is by far the most successful questionnaire I have ever done. I'm currently reading through each one and making notes. Can't thank everyone enough that has taken the time to complete it. 

UPDATE: Surveymonkey want to charge me as apparently I can only view 100 on my account. I am FURIOUS! I'm hoping if I delete some as I go, I can be able to see most of them. I've also made a Google Form and cancelled the SurveyMonkey one as I am still getting a lot of interest and responses.

http://reactiongifs.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Supernatural-gif-mouth-open.gif

TV Shows/A Possible Conclusion

During my research, I have discovered that vampire films are becoming less and less relevant and popular (which is making my dissertation rather tricky). The new Underworld was a flop as it was the "same as the others" and other films were quite independent with not a lot of marketing behind them. It seems like the vampire is dying (ironically).

However, there has been more and more successful vampires in TV shows; Shadowhunters, Preacher, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and upcoming Interview With The Vampire which has a lot of hype surrounding it. 

https://hiddenremote.com/2016/05/23/preacher-recap-review-pilot/

Preacher is a particularly good example with various award nominations and 90% score (season 2 getting 97%) on Rotten Tomatoes with people saying "Preacher's sophomore season benefits from more focused storytelling, without sacrificing any of its gorgeous, violent, insane fun." The show is still going strong, with Cassidy being many people's favourite character (yeah, mine too). 

Maybe the future for vampires isn't in films anymore, possibly because it's been done too much and people are finding it boring, or it could be a context link with more people choosing to binge watch TV shows on Netflix rather than watch a film. I will research into this further in my dissertation. 

Theories

Scopophilia, Male and Female Gaze - Laura Mulvey

Voyeurism 'pleasure in looking' (aka sex scenes). Women sexualised for male pleasure, also known as "to-be-looked-at-ness". Especially relevant to Hammer Horror films such as The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Countess Dracula (1971). This can also be linked to lesbianism (note to self: look at context at the time). Also have the female gaze with more modern films such as Twilight. Interview With The Vampire has both, also verging on gay culture (link to context!) Can also link to Dyer's theory of Star Appeal (star vehicles and sex appeal, e.g. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt)

Narrative - Todorov

Can probably touch on this and link it to how people are familiar with this style in context. Equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium. 

Binary Opposites - Claude-Levi Strauss

Good vs evil, humane vs inhumane. Humans vs vampires. Can also link to Vladimir Propp's theory of antagonists vs protagonists serve narrative function.

The Monstrous Feminine - Barbara Creed

Very relevant!! Look at The Male Gaze for good film examples. Context link: in 1920s, flappers became Vamps if they were out of line. People also scared of women taking their jobs from the war, so they turned them into villains.

Constructionist

Stereotypes in the media and views on society. Could also link to Roland Barthes' genre expectations and enigma codes (semiotics).

Uses and Gratifications

Why and how audiences consume media. Identity, Educate, Entertain, Social Interaction, Escapism. Twilight fandom. Could link to Hypodermic Needle theory (audience is passive and media 'injects' ideas. Could also link to hypermasculinity) and maybe Cultivation Theory (repeated exposure to the same value).

Hypermasculinity

Men's identity constantly changing. Unachievable body types; 6 pack, etc. Less action roles in modern day (e.g. the 'dilf'); reflect in modern vampire films? Also link to patriarchy (especially in Dracula). Also link to metrosexuality and the 'New Man' (care for their appearance, although Dracula and vampires always have, it's part of their appeal). 

Hegemony - Antonio Gramsci 

Leadership/dominance especially by one social group. Particularly relevant to The Lost Boys. Link to punk youth (context). Gang culture. Links to Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner: Person's sense of who they are depends on the social groups they are in). Could also link to brovado. Especially links to Dracula and social class (hierarchy sucking the lower class dry?)

Desensitisation

We have become hardened to horror and making it harder to be frightened by vampires. Maybe due to desensitisation, they had to completely change the image of the vampire, making it more horrific in a different way (using sexuality). Or just not making them horrific at all (Twilight). The comedy vampire film goes against this theory though.

Dissertation Rethink

*UPDATE* Okay best to ignore this post as I've just discovered that you can't change the dissertation topic after submitting the proposal. I'll just have to come up with a compromise with my current topic, maybe change the title a bit so it's more open. I think what might be a better thing to do is submit a plan for your Dissertation with the proposal for other years as I didn't know mine was going to work until I actually planned it. 

After working on my dissertation for a while now, I have decided to have a major rethink about my topic. I do not have a strong argument, plan and weakened enthusiasm because of it. I have done a lot of research and restarting will set me back, but I believe it is for the best. I am currently redoing my proposal and sending it to my supervisor to get the go ahead for my new topic and start fresh ASAP. 

My new topic is similar to my report I did for Professional Studies last year (which is a worry of mine). However, I feel like I could have gone more in depth, so Dissertation would be perfect to further explore the themes I covered in my report. However, I will not focus on cinematographers like last year. I will include all job roles in the industry as well as plot and storyline. I will look at feminism but in a controversial way; has it all gone too far? For example, the new Ghostbusters and the new Doctor Who have cast women instead of men to fit in with the new feminist society. But shouldn't we have original female heroes like Wonder Woman? My working title is quite broad and including the word "emancipation" so it could cover race, censorship, etc.

I can also include various theories too to make it degree level standard, such as chaos theory, equality vs. equity, etc. I feel like this new topic has a lot more material to include to a higher standard and is something relevant to today's society. My previous topic, according to my research here, is becoming less relevant and stale, so I think dropping it now rather than later would be for the best.

Dissertation Plan

Upcoming Vampire Films

For part of my dissertation research, I am looking at vampire films in production in the next few years and how they portray the vampire. I was very surprised when only two came up when I Googled it. There was also another vampire film released late last year/early this year (a part of the famous Underworld franchise) which I am also looking at.

Underworld: Blood Wars (Anna Foerster, 2016)

Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her.

All I can say about this film is, oh dear. Reviews are poor and they did not make back their budget nor achieve a good opening weekend box office. According to numerous reviews, it's very similar to the previous Underworld films and offers nothing new for old and new fans. Maybe the production company wanted to play it safe and go with what the franchise likes? 

To link to my dissertation, this goes against the idea that the vampire changes with societal context. The Underworld franchise is 14 years old and it is still the same in storyline and in their vampires. 

The Last Voyage of Demeter (David Slade, TBC)

Based on a chapter in Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which describes the arrival of the vampire count in England on a cargo ship that has crashed into the rocks at Whitby with no crew and the dead captain lashed to the steering wheel. Stoker tells the story via the captain's log of the voyage, which begins in Bulgaria and becomes increasingly disjointed as members of the crew disappear.

There isn't a lot of information or clips on this film as it is still in production by the looks of it. The story itself sounds like an old fashioned vampire tale. With the star studded cast of Viggo Mortensen and Jude Law, and the recent final Pirates of The Caribbean franchise, the film feels like it could do well, with people wanting more out to sea action.


The Redemption of Cain (Will Smith, TBC)

An epic re-telling of the Biblical sibling tale, Cain and Abel, this time with a vampiric twist.

Again, there is not a lot of information on this film. It certainly does sound interesting though, and curious to how Cain and Abel will be portrayed. There has been a few biblical blockbusters such as Noah and Ridley Scott possibly doing a Moses film, there is a franchise for it and they could be playing on that. There is definitely a franchise for Will Smith too so the film could do fairly well. However, biblical films don't seem to earn huge profits, and with quite a lot of religious people going to see it, they may be put off with the vampire twist.

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Another notable project (not film related) is The Vampire Chronicles (Interview With The Vampire) being turned into a TV series. There is a lot of hype behind it with rumours of a star cast and a huge fanbase of Anne Rice's novels and of the film. However, there has been a few TV series based off films before, one good example for my dissertation is From Dusk Till Dawn. There is a huge fanbase behind the cult classic film, however the TV series plummeted and received terrible reviews.

The market is very unpredictable and it's hard to say what films will do well or not, even with a franchise, it does not secure a film will do well or people will enjoy or be affected with the take on the vampire. 

Mood Board

I have made a Pinterest mood board of loads of different posters and portrayals of vampire films over the ages. It was quite interesting to search for them and what came up. As soon as I typed "vampire" in, loads of close up of lips and very sexualised shots came up (including some text posts such as "forget princess, I want to be a vampire"). However, vampires today have become very comedic with TV shows like Being Human and the Netflix film What We Do In The Shadows. Why?

I was trying to put my pins in chronological order, but that kinda failed.

Dissertation Proposals

I showed my course lecturer my main concept idea yesterday of vampire films over the years and why the vampire changed, and it looks like I have the go ahead for it! Yay!

We had our Visual Culture lecturer today who we now have for some Dissertation help and the first thing he said to us about it was, don't panic.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llq4ng9zJg1qetou5.gif

We have a "Dissertation Proposal Form" due in on Friday 26th May, 12:00AM. This is a 500 word synopsis and a 15 source bibliography  about your dissertation idea, objectives and aims and plan of action. We also need to look at who our Supervisor should be (however with one of our lecturers leaving, this needs sorting out, so can't do this yet!) If the Dissertation involves talking to people, you need to fill out a morals and ethics form.

http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3w22JP6V1qexbc1.gif

You also need to mention theories and why people should be interested in it. It's basically a short essay, even has footnotes! The way it should be set out is;

• Background and Rationale 
• Context [in which issue arises]
• Who will benefit
• Research Question
• Aims
• Methods [what are you doing over the holidays]
• Bibliography 

Dissertation Ideas

Might be a bit early to be thinking of dissertation, but I want to get a head start and just have a post up so I can jot ideas down.

Vampire Films

I've already done something similar for my A Level Film coursework and (kinda) my Visual Culture journal in level 4, but it's what I love, passionate about and can rant for hours about. But what exactly about vampire films? I'm interested in cinematography so I could talk about the visual look of different vampire films (maybe spread it out a bit and say horror films), but I feel I can only talk so much about that. I feel more confident talking about the context of vampire films. I can research it more in depth at this level. I could link to different theories like the male/female gaze, context, apotheosis/religion, etc.

Fandom

Does fandom sell a film and spread the word? Why do people cosplay? I can talk for a while about this topic too being a member of loads of different fandoms and it will be interesting to find out if fandom saved a film with word of mouth. I can also talk about cosplay, comic cons, and social media. I could talk about theories like hyper-reality, and also link it to context, whether this is a new thing, or if it's been around for a while.