1. 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:

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.