Where has my creativity been in the last few years/ research

For the last few years the main source of my creative influences has arisen from films and cinematography in general. I studied topics in AS Film Studies such as Shocking Cinema, Film Noir and Gendered Cinema. These sections provided a lot of discussion and I also learnt a lot of different techniques that went into making a film and creating a specific meaning.

As well as my creativity being in film recently, I have also become more adapt to designing and producing different pieces of work on computers. As well as creating websites and simple themed interactive stories, I have worked on understanding target audiences more and coming to grips the marketing side to creating work as well as other aspects.
Research

I feel that research can help me in a number of ways. One of the most fundamental being that I can research the background of a product I am designing or a genre I am looking to go into so that I can have an idea of what is to be expected and gain more knowledge of the market place. I can also research how different products are made and how they specifically cater for different people will different needs and expectations.

If I am working on something which I am not feeling comfortable with then research is an effective way to help increase my understanding on the topic.

I seem to use the descriptive based research more often than not as a starting point when I’m looking into something because I am after an overall background of it rather than anything specific. When I am looking for an explanation for something then exploratory research would be preferred however.

Practitioner development activity

Topics included writing, listening and reading.

Personally, I had been given a few books over christmas to help me improve my reading skills and get me reading more consistantly. (New Design London, Reading at University)
Watched some films such as Slumdog Millionaire etc to help remind myself of the mise-en-scene of films and cinematography.. and entertainment value