Evaluation

 Idea:

This project interested me from the start I have always enjoyed writing and exploring new ideas and this project was perfect for this. Furthermore I am hoping to go to University next year to do film studies therefore this essay assignment is the perfect practice for my further education. I decided from the start I wanted my essay to involve gender representation as this subject interests me. My first idea involving gender representation in comedy films was the idea I decided to proceed with as I felt there would be lot's of research I could do but also that comedy films are not often mentioned when considering political or social issues. I did not choose my second idea on how relationships are perceived by the different genders in romantic films because I felt that there would not be loads of research I could do for this and also there are not many romantic films told from the male perspective. Furthermore I did not choose my third idea that was are the reboots of films with reverse gender roles creating positive female representation as I felt I was too biased to present a good essay. I was happy that I could easily step back from my ideas to see which would work best and overall I'm pleased I decided to go with my initial idea. 

Research:

I initially I found this research difficult as it was unlike anything I had done previously for my projects I found that I wasn't sure how it would link together and whether the research I was doing what add to my essay. Especially my survey although I was lead to make my survey based on my research of the MPAA I wasn't sure if the result I would get would actually help my essay. However after dissecting who choose which answer I was able to make a conclusion which ultimately provided reliable evidence on a point I would make in my essay. To continue my research I analysed female and male characters from two different films and compared how they were written and why. In retrospective I spent too much time creating broad and in depth character profiles which took a large chunk of my time for research away. Although I did use the character profiles I only used a small portion and in reflection I would have been better to spend less time on this research.  

Additionally to help my research I looked into some film theories involving gender and representation. Although I was able to find Laura Mulvey's paper Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema through google books I was unable to find even extracts from other theorists so instead had to learn about the theories through YouTube videos explaining them. Whereas in normal circumstances I would have gone to libraries to obtain these or other books to aid my research. I think the quotes I would have been able to obtain through these books would have elevated my essay however I was still able to apply the theories I learnt to my work which overall really helped me. Furthermore I think broadening my knowledge of representation will aid my future projects as I now have a deeper understanding of these theories.  

Planning:

I decided to create an essay plan as I find writing my ideas out in a simple form really helps to speed up my writing process and see my essay as a whole. Furthermore I found that my essay plan aided me in tying together my research and seeing how and why they connected. Also this helped me to cement the points I wished to make throughout my essay ensuring I didn't miss anything. Whilst writing  my essay I was constantly referring to the plan as I found it guided my ideas and thoughts well. Additionally I created a schedule I often do this with my work as it helps me to concentrate and allows me feel less stressed about my time management. The schedule kept me on track and allowed me to feel a sense of accomplishment each day which in turn kept me motivated. 

Production:

A problem I often find in my writing is that I repeat rather than expand my ideas and I struggled with this throughout my essay. Resulting in my writing taking longer than I assumed it would however I stuck to my schedule and was able to complete my first draft in time. After receiving my feedback I was extremely happy although I already knew I had put time and effort into my essay to ensure that my first draft would not be far from completion my feedback showed that nothing I had written was weak instead it could just be expanded on. These were easy adaption to make and my second draft only differs slightly from my first. 

Overall I was extremely happy with my work I felt everything I researched helped me in some way even if it was not usable for my essay it lead somewhere else. Everything I did use in my essay I felt only aided my points and none diverted attention from my question. Also from my previous studies I knew how important planning and scheduling can be to help a project move forward efficiently and I felt I applied this well within this assignment.