Create Choisen artoist- Dua Lipa video essay and write exegesis
Introduction
The first assignment for this unit is comprised of two (2) interrelated parts: a video essay, no more than 5 minutes in duration, and an accompanying exegesis of 750 words (excluding final reference list).
The video essay allows you to creatively explore a topic area from the unit through the medium of sound and image, drawing upon the critical ideas you have been introduced to in the unit and that you have developed further through independent research and reading. We use the word video essay because we are asking you to imagine that you are using the ‘camera’ (images, representations) like a pen. Having said that, there is no one or right way to make a video essay: as you can see from the unit examples below, the video essay takes many forms.
The exegesis is a critical and reflective account of what you have produced and why, drawing on the key terms and concepts from the unit. The exegesis reflects on what your video essay aims to do, drawing on your academic research. It allows you to tell us what you have made and why.
What is a Video Essay?
As its name would suggest, a video essay is a critical commentary and/or analysis that is expressed via audiovisual means. Video essays come in a wide range of styles and formats. Some are poetic and experimental, some are formal and didactic. Some assume a personal and subjective voice, others foster a detached and objective point- of-view. Some use voiceover narration, some superimposed titles and text, while others use nothing but image and music. Regardless, the central aim of the video essay is to offer an engaged scholarly meditation on a given topic by using the dynamic expressive materials of videographic media.
A video essay is not a blog, vlog, journal entry, documentary or fan video:
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‘You’ don’t have to appear in it – it can be driven by audio, voiceover and written/textual quotes (and it can be experimental, where you ‘play’ with or subvert the themes you are exploring)’
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It utilises a mix of multimedia elements such as found footage, still and moving images, written and/or spoke words drawn from research and media and film culture (but you can also ‘film’, for example, billboards or posters, magazine pages that make your case);
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It is scholarly but also creative – it wants you to use the aesthetics of celebrity culture to make your case
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It draws upon additional scholarly literature discovered through independent research
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It draws upon the readings, lecture notes and discussion threads
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It draws upon the critical ideas embedded in the unit
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It is rooted in careful scholarly research and reflection
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It sets and answers a research question
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It is an academic work that uses scholarly material to explore its topic
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It should have a full reference list included at the end;
How Do I Start?
- The first thing is to choose a topic. The Unit Guide lists seven broad topic areas:
- What is stardom and celebrity?
- Fandom and celebrity.
- Commodity culture and stardom
- Dressing stars and celebrities: desire and identification
- The industry of celebrity (Chosen Topic)
- Celebrity is the new religion.
- Star case study (of your own choosing)
These are broad options and you can either address them at a general level and/or narrow them down to tackle a specific facet. For example, you could build your video essay around one particular celebrity. Whatever you choose you need to approach it as you would any academic assessment exercise: with thought, creativity, background reading and research, and careful structural organisation. Teaching staff will be happy to discuss ideas with you and we would encourage you to develop peer assistance and review by workshopping your projects with other students in class and/or on the Cloud discussion board.
Research the Topic
As stated above, video essays are fully academic works and, like all academic commentary, they are grounded in scholarly research. Read as widely as you can around your chosen topic area. Start with the relevant unit readings and then broaden out with independent research. While you can draw from media and popular sources such as newspapers, magazines, websites and the like, this is still an academic assignment so you must prioritise and integrate scholarly and critical material as a key part of your research base. To that end, you will be expected to include a minimum of six (6) scholarly sources in your video projects. These sources should be used in both your video essay and exegeses to substantiate and support concepts, points and claims as appropriate.
