2.3.15

Thesis:

Today I spent the day in University exploring the special effects section in the library and pulled out a book on the Stan Winston studio that has lots of great examples of animatronic characters that where created for large scale cinematic features in. I photocopied some of the images for reference.

I have been writing my literature review and I have decided to start with the section on hyperrealism and simulation in animatronic characters. Much of this research is based around Baudrillian theory so I have been going through some of the information I collected on simulacra and simulation. Today has produced steady progress the topic matter if very complicated and I am finding it takes alot of energy to break down some of the more complex theories and applying them to animatronics and hyperrealism.

Build:

The tube of silicone glue I ordered arrived today so I will start conducting experiments in adding colour pigmentation to the material at the weekend.

Feelings:

I am feeling happy with the progress so far I am aiming to get around 200 words a day completed of the literature review at the moment. I think this is an acceptable amount of text as the subject matter is highly complex and I wanted to take my time with it to make sure I get across everything I need to the the reader in a form that is understandable.

Evaluation:

This session has been a good experience, I am still getting back to writing full time which always require a little adjustment and practice until you get the flow back. I have not written a large scale research paper since my b.a dissertation.

Analysis:

I can currently make sense of the situation, I am going to spend the next few days concentrating solely on the literature review because it is an area that needs attention in terms of getting back into academic writing. It makes sense to put all my effort into this and leave the physical build till the weekend as I have materials arriving in the post so hopefully they will arrive in time for the weekend.

Conclusion:

I do not think there is much I could have done differently since the last session. It is all still a working progress and I am pushing myself to get some real definitive work down on paper.

Action Plan:

I aim to get 1,000 words of the literature review down by the end of the week. This will be the completed sub chapter on animatronics and hyperrealism - simulation.