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This timeline will show my journey through Dissertation Preparation. It will display my time management as well as the research and development of my ideas each week. I will mainly be uploading to this timeline each Thursday (after my diss prep lessons) to give my research and updates, these are all dated and in between these important documents, notices etc. will be placed that I found in the span of that week.

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MY INITUAL THOUGHTS FOR COMPLETING THIS UNIT

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MY INITUAL THOUGHTS FOR COMPLETING THIS UNIT

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I know for completing this unit I will need to have great time management which I will then be able to continue into my third year where I will write my essay.

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We just had a short introduction to the unit today and I read through the brief for what was expected of us. I have written in my diary when the formative and hand in is for this project so I am able to make a plan for when I will be coming up with each detail of the brief. This week I came up with some initials ideas based on what I was interested in such as documentary and women in film.

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This week in class we looked at refining our lead question. As I knew what topics I wanted to look into I made sure to do some brainstorming on some relevant questions and topics which you can see in the mindmap I have attached.

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This week we looked into researching for our dissertation and where the most reliable and interesting will come from. I am going to be using the Ravensbourne online deep web access point to look for articles etc. which we use in the lesson today.
I have set out a plan of how I will be conducting my research to make the information I use more viable and evident to me. I have also used this table to keep on top of my citations and bibliography.

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I have only found an extract on google scholar but I need to go to my local library or the university library to find The Environmental Documentary: Cinema Activism in the 21st Century by John A. Duvall!! I believe it will help my essay so much! I have found this link for it on amazon but it is expensive, however if I cannot find it in the library I will get it!

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This week I have got a rough question for my text as well as a lot of research. You can see this in the image above. I have found that looking into very current topics such as climate change in the environmental crisis along with looking into documentary. This gave me my question.

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This is the powerpoint I created for my formative assessment. I made sure to set up my idea with statistics and information to then lead them into the argument I am making in my essay. I will show the research I have and the examples of docs I am looking at so far.

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The effect of documentaries on the current environmental crisis

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As you can see from this feedback form filled out for me by my group it is most important that I reword my title so it is a question and makes more sense to the reader. I am really happy with this feedback as I believe looking at another viewpoint was so important for me so now I can develop my ideas.

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This week I have been remapping my question so now it is: What are the effects documentaries are having on the current environmental crisis?

I believe this question is much more clearer rather than being a statement like before. I can now continue to research this week and then begin to fill in my diss prep document 3rd June week.

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I have found an amazing report by UN environment that looks at the environmental crisis. It looks at the pressures as well as the

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This session we looked at the this checklist which got me thinking about the type of primary research I will be conducting in my project. I want it to actually be useful and help me to answer my question.

I also believe that the ethics checklist has a lot of importance for this part of the dissertation and I need to make suer I give myself time to see it through.

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For the primary research aspect of the course, I will be looking at having a focus group which will fill in a survey before and after they have watched a specific environmental documentary. I am aiming to have a range of people with varying ages and interests to get a broad idea of how different people will respond to the ideas and solutions represented in the documentary. I have not yet decided on the specific documentary I will be showcasing but I want to tackle a prominent problem and suggest solutions to the audience as this will be the best kind of documentary to show if audiences will perform a positive response. The questions before will involve looking at the type of person in the focus group and how much knowledge they have of the current problems and what steps they are taking. After the documentary is watched the questions will center around the enjoyment and knowledge that they took from the film as well as if they feel they will be taking more steps to combat the problem themselves. Taking COVID into account, if the group cannot all meet up at this specific time this can also be done online which is something that is important to me.

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I have found this article so far into my research but I need to find more like this! Such an interesting perspective on the Seaspiracy documentary!

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A documentary about the fishing industry's impact on sea life and the oceans has caused a lot of debate.

Many viewers have been saying they will no longer eat fish after watching the film, and expressed shock at the industrial scale of fishing.

Others have argued it oversimplifies a complex issue - many communities depend on fishing for their livelihoods and for food, and are in fact practising sustainable catching methods.

We looked into some of the main claims in the Seaspiracy film on Netflix.

"If current fishing trends continue, we will see virtually empty oceans by the year 2048," says Ali Tabrizi, the film's director and narrator.

However, the study's lead author is doubtful about using its findings to come to conclusions today.

"The 2006 paper is now 15 years old and most of the data in it is almost 20 years old," Prof Boris Worm, of Dalhousie University, told the BBC. "Since then, we have seen increasing efforts in many regions to rebuild depleted fish populations."

There are plenty of examples of overfished stocks, the catching of unwanted fish, and habitat loss, as well as issues with pollution and climate change, says Prof Worm.

But he points out there are also "countless efforts under way to repair the damage that has been done".

Other experts have taken issue with the original claims in the 2006 study.

There was an "unrealistic extrapolation way beyond the bounds of available data", says fisheries expert Michael Melnychuk, from the University of Washington.

He says the study was not well received by the fisheries science community, and that this prediction has "persisted ever since".

"Overfishing is certainly a problem in many regions of the world, but in regions where fisheries management regulations are based on scientific evidence and properly enforced, most fish stocks are doing well," says Dr Melnychuk.

A major theme in the documentary is the fishing industry's impact on the oceans, and the pollution caused by discarded fishing nets and equipment.

The film points to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a large collection of floating debris in the Pacific Ocean, which contains a lot of nets.

"We hear a lot about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP)... 46% of it is discarded fishing nets, which are far more dangerous for marine life than our plastic straws," says environmentalist George Monbiot, a contributor to the documentary.

"Fishing gear is mostly 'thick' - look at buoys, crates and nets," says study author Boyan Slat. "This trash fragments much more slowly and is also very buoyant; prime candidates to hang around in the GPGP."

Other "thin" plastic, such as bags and straws, tends to disintegrate and sink to the sea bed.

Mr Tabrizi says in the film that a global campaign to ban the use of plastic straws "was like trying to save the Amazon rainforest and stop logging by boycotting toothpicks".

The statistic - 0.03% of ocean plastic is straws - is sourced to two studies highlighted in the film, one led by Jenna Jambeck, at the University of Georgia, and another by two Australian scientists Denise Hardesty and Chris Wilcox.

Prof Jambeck's 2015 study provides a global estimate on the "mass of land-based plastic entering the ocean".

And the other study is an estimate of the amount of straws on coastlines around the world.

It appears a calculation has been done using these findings.

This is very much an estimate, and Prof Jambeck said no-one really knows how much of it is straws, but experts agree that it is certainly a lot less than dumped fishing gear.

Prof Hardesty does not think that straws are a bigger issue than lost fishing gear, but the risks posed by nets are clearly a major issue.

"Abandoned, lost, derelict fishing gear poses substantial environmental harm to coastal and marine species," she says, "and we know far more about entanglement risk than we do about ingestion risk (of other objects) to wildlife".

This claim is about the important role the oceans play combating global warming.

Microscopic organisms in the ocean called phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, just like plants.

Experts say that the figure is about right, and could even be an under-estimate.

"It's fair to say that over the global ocean, phytoplankton absorb about four times as much carbon dioxide as the Amazon does," says Dr BB Cael, a scientist at National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.

And Dr Cael says oceans can store carbon for a long time.

"A portion of the carbon absorbed by phytoplankton sinks into the deep, and stays there for hundreds to thousands of years until the ocean slowly brings it back up to the surface.

"A much smaller amount of the carbon taken up by trees is sequestered from the atmosphere for that long," says Dr Cael.

Recent research has also shown that some type of phytoplankton are better at absorbing carbon than others.

A 2020 study examined the annual appearance of phytoplankton - the spring bloom - and found that large ones, which are the most effective at taking in CO2, were far less common than previously believed.

Another study published in 2020 looked into what's called the "biological pump" - when plankton die they fall to the deep ocean, removing carbon from the surface and storing it.

"We estimate that the biological pump carries twice as much heat-trapping carbon down from the surface ocean than previously thought," said Mr Buesseler.

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Is Netflix's Seaspiracy film right about fishing damaging oceans?

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A documentary about the fishing industry's impact on sea life and the oceans has caused a lot of debate. Many viewers have been saying they will no longer eat fish after watching the film, and expressed shock at the industrial scale of fishing.

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This week I have been filling in my diss prep document and getting the last bits of research for my research review. i believe I have enough research so far into my topic to show how I will set up my chapter plan.

This is the last session before hand in so I just need to work work work! And make sure my proposal is handed in on time!

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Throughout summer I do not want to just forget about my dissertation as I believe this will be so unhelpful! So, I will be watching a number of environmental documentaries and keeping up to date with the environmental crisis via the news. Over summer I want to make sure I have all my research and the film I want to use for my primary research set in stone!

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Begin writing my essay!

I also want to plan my focus group and conduct it in this month because I do not want to end up leaving it last minute!

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Continue writing my essay. Making sure I keep going back and proof reading my work so I gain new perspectives and ideas.

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Finalize and check through a finished dissertation!

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HAND IN!!!

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My key feedback from my dissertation preparation:
- A Lead Question has been created that demonstrates initiative, clarity and critical thinking, but it is too broad at present (this can be easily remedied).
- Put more effort into your choice of primary and/or secondary research sources
- Academic and industry led conventions are adopted through the coherent organisation of research and text, the completion of an Ethics Checklist, correct formatting and Harvard Referencing. (Remember you need to use in-text Harvard after direct quotations but also after paraphrasing.)
- (Note: Great subject area but be careful – dissertations are about depth of research and analysis, not taking on so much subject area that research becomes thin. Advice: narrow down your subject to focus on a particular environmental crisis, perhaps even a particular location, and a particular documentary or two that are connected with it. That will hopefully leave room for in-depth analysis.)

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Throughout summer I have been watching many documentaries and have come to the conclusion to narrow this down to focusing on one documentary as well as other case studies. I will be focusing on Seaspiracy by Ali Tabrizi (2021). I watched this film and was taken aback by the hands on approach of the director/ interviewer and his attempt to target large companies rather than just the common person and what they can do to help the environment. This film heavily focuses on the oceans and what we are doing to them such as polluting, killing mass amounts of animals etc.

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First meeting back!
Homework - to write rational

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Rough Rationale to base off for conclusion

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Rough Rationale to base off for conclusion

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In my dissertation I will be looking at the effects documentaries have had on the environmental crisis. Particularly, I will be focusing on Seaspiracy by Ali Tabrizi 2021. The environmental crisis is a very current topic. The harsh reality is that most of the damage humans have done to the planet is already irreversible and we have little time left to make a range. The film industry has focused heavily on displaying the consequences to human’s actions to enforce change. The effects I will be measuring is through the effects on the government (e.g. any law changes), audience response (e.g. stopped eating fish) and organisation response (e.g. website changes.)

Seaspiracy is a modern film that focuses on the ocean and the lasting effects we are causing to it. I will be evaluating the success of this film in terms of the impact it has made to the environment and change amongst people. I will be taking qualitative and quantitative research through using the responses to the film through box office as well as people’s responses which are normally showcased on social media platforms such as twitter. Although it is hard to get an understanding of how the majority were feeling towards the films places which review films such as google which is open to the public is a way to see how the general audience responded to the film.

Qualitative: Qualitative methods are often used in the social sciences to collect, compare and interpret information, has a linguistic-semiotic basis and is used in techniques such as discourse analysis, interviews, surveys, records and participant observations.

Quantitative: Quantitative research study delves into a phenomena through quantitative data collection and using mathematical, statistical and computer-aided tools to measure them. This allows generalised conclusions to be projected over time.

For the secondary research into the current environmental research, I will be using reports such as the Global Environment Outlook 6 by UN Environment to compare the current state of the world to what is being displayed in the documentary. One of the things I want to explore in my dissertation is truth to documentaries. In Seaspiracy it compares how companies are telling the public to use less plastic etc. Whilst 46% of plastic in the ocean is fishing nets. These big companies are masking their destruction to the environment through blame to the average person and this is something I wanted to explore in the documentaries. Seaspiracy is a great example of showcasing the companies doing this which is of course helping the crisis, but others do not. Through comparison of documentaries, I will be able to show this.

I will also be conducting primary research where I will be showing the documentary and how people’s views change before and after watching the film. I will be sending out a google form to use before and after watching the film to show the impact on a small group of people and their opinions. This is so I can show, once projected, how this film has impacted people and their daily lifes

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So helpful when looking at the research I was going to use in my dissertation!

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Adam's about to start his fifth year of PhD research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he's earning a doctorate in anthropology as an affiliated researcher with the University of Iceland's medical school.

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Types of Research - Explained with Examples | DiscoverPhDs

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Adam's about to start his fifth year of PhD research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he's earning a doctorate in anthropology as an affiliated researcher with the University of Iceland's medical school.

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What are my keywords and key themes? - documentary, environment, representation, audience perception, impact, change, veganism, cooperation's vs people

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I invested in this book and it is so helpful. The author evaluates environmental films and looks at their impacts on the environmental crisis. It also touches on controversial opinions made from these films etc. I can use this book for research into films, but not only this, I can use it as a basis for my essay. To see how the author has set out explaining the films and audience response is extremely helpful.

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the environmental documentary: cinema activism in the 21st century

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documentary films - history and criticism

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environmental films - history and criticism

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performing arts / film / history & criticism

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performing arts/film - history & criticism

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performing arts / film / history & criticism

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performing arts/film - history & criticism

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The Environmental Documentary: Cinema Activism in the 21st Century

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Buy The Environmental Documentary: Cinema Activism in the 21st Century by Duvall, John A. (ISBN: 9781501347511) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Other films to reference - initial notes

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Other films to reference - initial notes

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The Cove by Louie Psihoyoa (2009)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

IMDb rating: 8.4/10 (49k)

Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.

“Some reviewers found the film overly propagandistic and ethnocentric, since after all Americans and Europeans kill and eat animals too” The Environmental
Documentary by John A. Duvall

Carnage by Simon Amstell (2017)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6667360/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

IMDb rating: 7.7/10 (1.4k)

It's 2067, the U.K. is vegan, but older generations are suffering the guilt of their carnivorous past. Writer and Director Simon Amstell asks us to forgive them for the horrors of what they swallowed.

Mockumentary

Blackfish by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2545118/

IMDb rating: 8.1/10 (65k)

A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.

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When looking at the research for my project I need to make sure I am using a wide range of data and looking at people's criticisms and opinions on the film. I am using this research table I have made (see screenshot for example) which red and green highlights to showcase positive and negative reviews of the film. I am also trying to do my bibliography as I go along so it is not as much work at the end.

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Wednesday 13th October - WHO IS THE REAL ENEMY

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Wednesday 13th October - WHO IS THE REAL ENEMY

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In my dissertation meeting today I was having a conversation about the distinction rebellion protestors. It was about how they are annoying the general public by causing traffic. However, if the government was actually helping climate change they wouldn't be doing this in the first place. While everyone is arguing with each other the government is still yet to change. Linking this to my dissertation, a lot of people are complaining and arguing about these situations but lose sight of the real problem; who is the real enemy?

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Distraction, public reaction, ability to convince, personally offended

Overt propaganda

How do things change?

How to win over hearts and minds?

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In my elective documentary course last year we have been looking into whether a documentary can ever be subjective or objective. Many people on my course believed a documentary can never truly be objective due to the directing and editing that manipulates a story or images to tell the audience a represented story. I believe this is relevant to looking at director's roles on documentaries and truth!

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This week I have been looking at the responses from organisations to Ali Tabrizis film. Responses from: Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Plastic Pollution Coalition, Will McCallum of Greenpeace, Earth Island Institute (Dolphin Safe). These are all so important. Will they deflect and hide or will they own up to their actions displayed int he film? Great website for a hub of these responses is linked.

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Seaspiracy Response: Here’s What NGOs & Other Organizations Are Saying About The Documentary, Plus Our Take

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We dive into the Seaspiracy backlash, starting with the responses from the various NGOs and other organizations depicted in the film.

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A lot of people questioning complete truth

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A lot of people questioning complete truth

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Whenever you look up Seaspiracy there is a conspiracy that the information used is not true or just very selected so it shows the ocean's problem to be more dire. Need to look into this more for my chapters.

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Worried about getting draft done in time with work. I have made a do to list for everything I need to do. It will be okay. Just need to write write write. (This list is for all my university work not just dissertation!)

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Here are the chapters and around the word count I will be using for each of them! Just need to write under the research I will be using and the ideas and themes that will be presented for my chapter plan.

Introduction

Documentaries and The Time We Have Left

Seaspiracy and Director’s Vision

Seaspiracy V.S. The World

Who’s The Real Villian

Conclusion

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Wednesday 27th October - What is this thing called analysis and how do I do it?

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Wednesday 27th October - What is this thing called analysis and how do I do it?

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I had a meeting today on analysis. I feel I am in the right headspace to not just regurgitate information now and actually analyse. I hope lol.

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I have been writing my dissertation draft all week. Am I happy with it? No. I am finding it hard to write how I want to and not go off topic.

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I have handed in the formative piece of my dissertation! I have completed the introduction and first chapter as well as the chapter plan. I feel overwhelmed but I am glad I managed to hand it in in time.

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I am going to keep writing my dissertation while waiting for my feedback. I have a plan in my diary to write a chapter a week which, from now will give me time to then finish my conclusion on the week commencing the 29th November - 5th December. This will give me over a month for room space and to edit and check through my dissertation! I have also worked out each chapter, excluding the introduction and conclusion, should be around 1250 words to meet the word count between 6000-7000 words!

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I have had my feedback right from my tutor:

There is evidence of a lot of good research and developing analysis and discussion in the document. The chapters give good segmentation to the themes and allow you to divide the topic into useful elements, building towards your overall analysis.

You have cited things like Nanook of the North and the possibility of truth in documentaries. Perhaps more could be made about these ideas more generally, the themes about document vs propaganda (some of the reviews seem to see it as little more than propagandising).

The foundation and the structure is here and well laid out. The next step is to deepen the analysis of some of the main themes, truth, persuasion etc and to draw on critical ideas and are search to allow for that. E.g. propaganda is often seen in purely negative terms but is it ok in this instance if the aim is to help the environment?

Overall there is a good start here. Keep the key themes and opportunities for analysis to the fore, don’t get too distracted by being overly descriptive.

Keep up the good work and develop that critical voice more, but this is a string start.

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Okay so, I am already behind on my plans to finish a chapter a week unfortunately. I do have a lot of other things to do but i need to keep a focused mind!!

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I am going to be taking a break because I genuinely have so much work to do for my other class this term. I am finding it hard managing the portfolio side of this term along with the dissertation! This photo is from my diary. This is what I am doing for my portfolio this week!

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Everything for term 1 has been handed in! I have written my chapter 2 and I am feeling confident for the rest Christmas break to get this done! I am also writing my bibliography and citing as I go along with I think is only going to help em in the long run!

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I have been coming to costa to complete my work. I am having trouble not bleeding chapter points into others. Looking at my chapter plan is extremely helpful and keeps me grounded when writing.

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My friend Lauren offered to read through my dissertation. She is spell and grammar checking what I have so far and I am extremely thankful!

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So I wanted to prepare some primary research for my final chapter. I feel I can ask the correct questions and get a good response. I am going to create two forms which will be pre and post Seaspiracy. These forms will be filled in before and after watching Seaspiracy. This will measure the audience reaction to the film and see first hand responses. This will have to be done from home due to COVID unfortunately but this may be better as there will be no discussion during the film so each response can be independent and without influence.

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These are the google forms that I will be sending out to my participants. I have managed to get seven which is good enough to get some responses and look at some percentages!

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Nothing like starting the new year off with COVID. It is the week before my dissertation is due in which is worrying. However, I am trying to start out the year positive and this means I am stuck in my bedroom for the foreseeable future and I will be improving my dissertation!

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I have finished all my chapters and I am now writing my conclusion! I feel estactic that I have completed the bulk of my essay.

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My parents and sister are checking through my dissertation for spelling and grammar. I am entirely thankful for my family.

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I feel weird that I have finished my dissertation. I know this essay showcases how I write and what I have accomplished over my time at university. I hope it is good enough. I know I have tried extremely hard to create a piece of work that is up to the highest standard I have created. I feel this is the beginning of the end of university. I have enjoyed writing this which I guess is the main thing. I found it interesting and I think I developed my writing skills and my knowledge around documentaries.