The second course was on research planning, I did find this course interesting but the format was more for Phd students so everything was created for their timescale. I had to adapt the charts and table to suit my needs as a masters student. I did however find talking to other research students very interesting, it was really nice to talk to students with children and work commitments that are in my same situation. I have found being a research student kind of a lonely experience so far as you are not tied to a class room. So the interaction is solely between myself and my main supervisor. The other funny thing was when talking to other postgrad researchers that they all talk in as much depth as I do when I talk about my project. Sometimes when you are explaining what you do to people you can see them slowly loosing interest or they look at you as if to say.. who would read that many words in detail.
Animatronic Thesis:
Over the past few days I have been concentrating my efforts on building the contact list for my questionnaire, I have now reached 75 potential participants. Another development concerns using data from … in my research to give me a good timeline for the use of animatronics in film.
I am still continuing with my literature review research and I am very pleased with the progress. I have found some very good news articles that underpin many of the themes I am working on.
Animatronic Build:
The past few days have focused mainly on making some prototype teeth for the model out of thermoplastic (1.1) , (1.2)
1.1
1.2
I am pretty pleased with how the teeth look, I used the model created by James as a template for the teeth. I also found that you can get really nice fine detail if you use a pin, so I created different typed of decay using this technique. The teeth also interlock very well which was one of the concerns I had when up scaling the model. When James made the teeth he used a standard denture mechanism that allowed him to see how the teeth would fit together before applying the resin for the gums. Since I cannot do this I need to be able to make subtle changed if needed, luckily thermoplastic will allow me to do this.
Feelings:
I still feel very positive about how both the elements of the project are going. I am trying to put the same amount of effort into each elements so progression continues at the same rate. One thing I am finding quite nice is that when I feel that I am getting to much into the research I can have a break and work on the psychical build and vice versa. This is helping keep focus and enthusiasm at a high level, I aim to continue on this path and hopefully the outcome will be very positive.
Evaluation:
This project continues to be a very exciting and fascinating process, I am really enjoying on both projects. I did initially think that I would prefer the physical build over the thesis but I am really enjoying doing the research. I think it helps when you have a strong connection with the field you are research so it become less of a chore and more of a personal journey.
Analysis:
The current situation of both projects is that they are starting to come out of the initial research - prototyping stage and coming more into the developmental stages. This is an exciting and interesting time as things are pulling together and taking shape.
Conclusion:
I do not feel that I could do anymore or anything else over the past few days I have done both training, research and practical elements of the project. I hope to continue on this linear..
Action Plan:
I hope to do some more experimentation with the thermoplastic when the colour pigment arrives and I will start to look at how I will created realistic looking teeth with this medium. I also aim to add more contacts for the questionnaire and start to write my introduction for the literature review outlining the themes and purpose of the chapter.
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