Editorial

Abstract

EDITORIALThe publication of the fourth volume of Enquiry is taking place among some exciting developments. We would like to welcome the new members of the student editorial team. Ben Brown and Jake Richardson (both studying on BA/MArt Film and Media Production) have joined our existing student editor Anita Bruvere (BA Animation) in the development of a new strategy for attracting student writers, designers and peer reviewers from across the Faculty. Improvements to the look, feel and usability of Enquiry are also under way. As part of his final year Research project, Charlie Tapster (MArt Digital Media Production) has conducted a heuristic evaluation study of the existing journal and created a mock-up for alternative design. We are hoping to implement the new look in the next few months. Welcome on board, Ben, Jake and Charlie!

Secondly, Enquiry has been recognised by the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR). The annual conference is taking place in spring, providing an excellent opportunity for student researchers to present their work and build professional and research networks. Starting from 2014 edition, Enquiry will publish BCUR call for papers as well as reports from the annual conference; we are also looking into a possibility of hosting one of the future conferences here in Sheffield.

In the last editorial, we have emphasised the students' transition from 'learner' to 'scholar' in the course of their undergraduate study, and the importance of including the work of first year students. The present volume continues with this commitment by including two first-year pieces. A research report by Luke Renwick (BA Media) focuses on the way in which fan communities on Tumblr react to new media, but also reflects on the author's own status as a researcher. Phoebe Jaspe (BA Film and Media Production), has contributed her last year's essay about the narrative meanings and implicit themes in Haneke's film Cache (2005).

We are continuing with our commitment to the inclusion of practice-oriented research, ranging from critical reviews of existing work to underpin the authors' own practice, to experimenting with creative production as a way of illuminating and reflecting upon aselected theoretical issue. For example, Michaela Wozny's analysis of Pixar's Up (2009) aimed to inform her final year animation project. Robert Danscenzo's article focuses on his fine art photography project 'New Colonial', investigating the potential of still life genre as a vehicle for social critique. Anita Bruvere uses her visual storytelling project 'Rare Bird' to reflect on some of the theoretical and ethical issues involved in the production of animated documentary. Ben Brown's ‘2nd Edition' uses the writings of Jacques Derrida as inspiration for his film treatment.

We hope you enjoy the current edition and looking forward to contributions from a broader range of disciplines within the Faculty. If you are a student interested in publishing your work, or to gain experience in peer review and journal editing, or simply want to find out more, the editorial team will be very happy to hear from you.

Anita Bruvere - Anita.V.Bruvere@student.shu.ac.uk

Geir Petter Laingen - g.p.laingen@shu.ac.uk