So, this all starts again!

For the MA I have decided to write a 25,000 word thesis instead of pursuing any practice based methods. The reason for this is because my writing is better than my photography and I enjoy theorising about different aspects of photography and how it fits into the wider spectrum of art in general. I also enjoy this type of research, of burying my head in books for days on end! I have also decided to write a blog as I go through the MA. This is to help me track my progress and also to help organise my thoughts and my notes, which proved to be a very practical tool when I was studying for the BA.

The first step is to start planning on how I am going to produce a document of 25,000 words. It actually hit me the other day just how much of an undertaking this is and the enormity of the task ahead of me. The thesis could be about 45 pages long, which is huge! It does seem daunting that this is entirely my own research project, I have to give it a structure, direction and sufficient depth for it to be worthy of an MA. On one hand it’s exciting that I have so much freedom and control over the project, though it’s also scary when I consider how much work I have to do.

But when writing any essay or dissertation it always has to start with a plan, a way to keep the thesis organised and on track and to give the research a structure. The original plan is to use the celebrity image as a case study to cover all of the various points that I want to discuss, such as why a certain photographer would take an image a certain way or how information is transmitted from the image to the viewer. Indeed there are so many different aspects that I want to discuss that I wonder if 25,000 words will be enough!

So, I have decided to split the research into 3 sections, which are The Photographer, The Image and The Viewer. Each section will eventually be about 8,000 words each and then the introduction and the summary for the final 1,000 words. Each section will have 3 months research with a 3,000 word document summarising the various points that I think are relevant. Then review the 3 points for 3 months and after that produce a 10,000 word document summarising all 3 sections. Then it will be more researching for 3 months and afterwards start writing the main document over a 3 month period. Afterwards I can start to edit and continue further research to help strengthen and build upon the thesis leading to a final 25,000 word thesis on the celebrity image.

The celebrity that I have decided to study is David Beckham. The reason for this is because his image seems so complete, that he has a professional image portrayed through his endorsements but he has also developed a public image that reflects his private life, such as images of him with spending time with his family. It is this image that is projected through the images, both the professional and the private that has created a public persona that is a work of fiction but is presented in such a believable and authentic way. Personally I find this fascinating, that something so manufactured can appear to be so genuine and authentic.

I think my starting point for the research will be the photograph that is used on Beckham’s face book page, the image of him kneeling beside his motorbike. From this point I can start to research who the photographer is, when the image was taken and how and why the photographer took that particular image.