Programme of Study Update

It has been a couple of months since I last updated my Programme of Study. So much has changed since then. I have come quite far but I feel like some factors are still being elusive.

My research is based on effective story-telling techniques and animating stories based on Human Behavioural Psychology to generate a response from the audience. According to the theory 'The Strategic Use of Gain- and Loss-Framed Messages to Promote Healthy Behaviour : How Theory Can Inform Practice’, the result whether a particular individual responds to it is dependent on how the message is presented.

The gain-framed or the loss-framed messages as I have come to understand is result-driven. If people can know what the consequences of their choices might lead to, their behavioural response towards certain aspects might/might not change. Thus,my intention was to test this theory by creating two stories on both the tenets of this theory and do a primary research on which of the two tenets was more capable of getting across to the audience and whether a change was possible in them.

Mark's Script-writing classes turned out to quite helpful as that's the basis of my research-story telling. One of the key thoughts that might play an important role in my research,Mark pointed out is the 'tone' of the story. The way a message is projected and how much of it is retained in the audiences mind,not only depends on what the message is about but also how it is said. The tone of, 'you must' to 'you should' to 'you might' or to 'you could' sets how much will be accepted by an audience. Keeping this in mind,I had planned to make two stories with a variation in not only the tone but also colour hues in the environment setting of my stories.

A meeting with my Supervisor made me think again. Sharon,said that as I was using this psychological theory to research,it would be a waste if the tone and environment settings were different in both the stories as I would already be manipulating with the audiences perception of what they see. She adviced that it would be better if the tones and environment be the same in both the stories.Instead how the two different characters respond to the same environment differently would bring about better material for my research.

My team members George,Sheng, Lilly and I stated coming up with stories on different themes like environmentalism, pacifism,co-operative behaviour, etc. based on our discussion with Sharon but we still couldn't come to a decision as to which story would suit our purpose.

It was time for some peer review. A meeting with our peers made us think about the patronising aspect that each of our stories carried. What we needed was an abstract story with the message hidden in it that the audiences needed to work out themselves. Thus, we came back to square one- effective story-telling. Fraser's advice of not dealing with bigger issues like environment and wars and making stories on smaller but still relevant issues, was something to think about. 

Last week,we were scheduled a lecture with Donna which turned out to be a peer review again. I told her of what variables I was thinking of and how difficult it was becoming to make two stories with all the permutations and combinations. As Mark had said story-making is so much like cooking. You might have a cupboard full of ingredients but you still use what is in the recipe. You don't use all of them. 

Then,there is also the mammoth task of making two animated versions instead of one within the given time and then showcasing it to an audience for primary research. Donna was very kind in pointing out that what I intend to pull off is in itself is a research and I might not need to test it on an audience. Now that I am in the process of this research I think what she said is absolutely true. This has somehow taken the time-constraint burden off me.

However,all said and theory discussed, writing a story is becoming a big bone of contention. When any of us does come up with a story it doesn't suits with everybody's set course aims. So,we still need a story!