Production diary: November – December.

October and November were the months of initial hard and tedious work. The very foundations for my work are now done. Sketching, scaffolding, research and contact sheets are now completed.

My next task was to conduct my photo shoot… brilliant.

On a freezing morning in mid/late November, my models and I were up bright and early to prepare for what was going to always be a seemingly difficult photo – shoot. My models (All close friends) are not the kind of people who would really desire to be in a photo shoot. It’s not that they aren’t photogenic – it’s just they are the kind of people who would rather look scruffy or average than have to dress up especially for occasions such as this. But despite their protests, I managed to persuade them to do it.

“You are a band guys – A famous band. Just imagine it. Fan girls, money and fame…” – That was my one and only line in my argument against their rather pathetic protest.

Two of my models live within 5 minutes of me and are both in the same general direction – so us meeting was easy and stress free. After leaving at around 8:45am, we made it into school at around 9:00am, just in time to see Mr Fisher finalising the preparation for my band’s “Big day”.

I needed there to be a real professional feel about this photo shoot. The pictures from the magazine articles sometimes tell the story better than the text itself. The photo shoot is integral to the success of the magazine. Fans and readers of the magazine want to see the band – it allows them to feel more direct with the band members. My logic when doing the photo shoot, was that; “I need to include the kind of pictures that I would want to see in a magazine”. These pictures should be ones which show the band/artist being happy and actually being themselves. It is incredibly easy to portray an artist or band on stage, because you, the band and the audience know what is expected of them. Standing still and holding an instrument is easy and can be over used very quickly. This is why I included pictures of the band practicing, standing together and laughing. For the audience to feel close to the band, they need to understand the kind of people that the members are. What I mean by this, is that they need to see what the band are like away from their stage life. Pictures of them doing even the simplest things can help to make the audience feel a lot more in sync with the band than if they had just seen them on stage.

Below are a few pictures that truly show who the band really are:

Two of my models, Zak and Aaron are pictured working together in the editing sutie of their recording studio. You can also see my other model Hugo sat in the background. He is neither in complete focus or out of focus – he is just there. This is because I did not give the models any particular pose to be in. I told them very simply, to just act as if they were hard at work. In addition to this, I didn’t tell them when I was going to take the picture. This meant that they

wouldn’t just go any special or fake poses for the camera, giving it a much more natural and unexpeced look. By doing this, the image looked a lot more realistic because absolutely nothing was staged in tha part of the shoot. The fans of the band and the readers of the magazine can see what Roode Pelikaan are really like away from the stage and in the private world of their recording studio.

The second picture that I thought the audience would appreciate seeing is one of their Apple Mac computer and speakers. Knowing that a band makes music is good, but surely they fans would want to see exactly how they do it? This is why I included a picture of their equipment. I felt that the fans and readers needed to see how their beloved Roode Pelikaan make their wonderful music. The fact that two of these pictures have been taken in their

recording studio denotes a sense of cohesion between the band and the readers because they are getting a real sense of how the band operate.

I also thought that I would take pictures each band member on their own. Each member is doing something which they are good at, to give an actual insight into what kind of people the members are.

Daniel Gleeson (James Coots)

This picture was taken of my model Daniel, who plays the lead singer in Roode Pelikaan (James Coots). I felt that these individual pictures of the band members needed to truly say something about the kind of people that they are.

I feel that this particular picture of Daniel really gives off the feeling of a lead singer. As a lead singer of a band, you have to be confident in yourself and others around you. The fact that Daniel cannot be

fully seen or even identified links to how there is self confidence on the inside and how it is kept away from the outside world, because he doesn’t want to look too cocky. Roode Pelikaan are meant to be a band who are honest, professional and not at all arrogant in their work.

Hugo Harrison-Carr (Tony LaTaune)

Despite not coming out how I intentially wanted it to, this picture of Hugo (Tony LaTaune) displays the confident and sometimes aggressive nature of bass player. Tony’s story in the magazine article actually explains how he was a solo bass player, which is something that isn’t particularly common in the music industry, which is perhaps why he doesn’t quite fit into the relaxed and sometimes calm style of music that Indie is famous for. Hugo’s facial expression is one that

looks somewhat smug and proud. His body language and stance show that he is ready to play his instrument at the click of a finger. In addition, his stance does not look like one that is typical of an Indie artist. He looks more like a rock and roll artist. The reason that I don’t feel that this picture came out as well as previously intended is because he almost looks as if he is struggling to hold the bass.

Zak Labiad (Liam Darlow)

This is probably one of my favourite pictures from the entire shoot. It pictures Zak (Liam Darlow) sitting at his beloved keyboard whilst he thinks and reads the music off the page. The keyboard/piano is an instrument which is seen as intellectual. A lot of piano players are seen as “Highly educated” and “Incredibly intelleigent”, so I felt that I had to have some sort of pose that linked to the stereotypical

idea of pianists. I have chosen to have Zak thinking because it makes him look like he is one with the music that he is playing. As he stares long and thoughtfully into the page, one can only wonder what he is thinking – which makes him mysetrious as well as incredibly thoughtful. Whilst being a posed shot, it does give off a sense of mid action, as it looks as if Zak is experimenting with different notes whilst reading (Look at left hand).

Aaron Czinner (Daniel Zayn)

The drummer of the band is a very secluded and personal role. They are usually sat at the back of stage, away from sight or partially hidden by the other band members performing in front of them. However, it isn’t a case of “Out of sight, out of mind”. The drummer still has a huge role in the performance of songs. They give the song life and beat at the same time. However, this important role is brought to fame as frequently as

those who sing or play another instrument, which could explain the quiet and seemingly angry attitude that they usually have. This picture can directly realte to how drummers are portrayed. Aaron is sat on his own. The audience can see Hugo in the background, but he cannot be seen properly. The rest of the band were performing in this picture and were all looking directly at the camera. However, Aaron is sat on his

own, looking at hus drum kit. I told him that as he drummer, it is a sole role. More than one member of a band can usually play guitar or another insrument because they can sing whilst using it. But the fact that the drummer is such a solo role means that they can almost feel as if they are on their own, which is what I wanted Aaron to look like.