Flush Magazine Issue #13 by Flush Magazine

13 MUSIC

ART

Ones to Watch The Antlers

Rebecca Pymar Zaria Forman

CULTURE

CARS

Cameron McCasland Luke Cameron

Jaguar F-Type Seat Leon ST FR

WIN

One of two amazing Raspberry Pi Computer Kits by Kano

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13 16 Versace PreSpring 2015

06 The Hotlist 08 Zaria Forman Ocean size

Ian Hughes We go live in 3.2.1... 78

18 Versace Pre-Spring 2015 30 Cameron McCasland Under a blood red sky

86 Jaguar F-Type

38 Rebecca Pymar East angular 46 K senia Schnaider Bilateral thinking 54 Luke Cameron Life by a thousand hugs 58 In Music â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ones to Watch

72 Zumbura Old town, New Delhi

60 The Antlers 68 The Big Red Pizza Bus A pizza, the action 72 Zumbura Old town, New Delhi

30 Cameron McCasland

Under a blood red sky

The Antlers

Competition: WIN One of two Kano computer 104 sets

Cover Francois Lebeau

>>>>

issue

Hello!

76 Key Lime Pie

Welcome to the new Flush Magazine. This edition was packed with so much good stuff that the travel section actually spilled out and we’ve decided to publish it separately. Our special, travel-only ‘Flush Escape’ is out next week, and is perfect if you’ve still not quite made up your mind where to go on your hols. In the meantime there is plenty in the pages ahead to keep you enthralled, delighted, spellbound and enlightened. Oh, a quick thankyou to everyone who helped put this edition together. You are brill!

78 Ian Hughes We go live in 3.2.1... 86 Jaguar F-Type 90 Seat Leon 94 Honda CR-V 98 Citreon C4 Picasso 102 Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Shoot and go 104 Competition: WIN One of two Kano computer sets

If you are interested in writing something for Flush Magazine, get in touch. Thanks for stopping by!

Pete Graham, EDITOR

Get away with CONTRIBUTORS Snigdha Nag Steve Clarke Ian Hughes Frank Turner Rob McSorley Rupert Parker Graeme Hughes Casey Bowers Mary Barber

escape

A new digital pull-out coming soon

THE HOTLIST The stuff of life

C&C Breakfast Factory

The best idea since sliced bread and the perfect way to show you care. Send a Crumpets & Coffee pack to a loved one through the post for breakfast, all they need is a toaster, kettle and a letterbox. Boxes start from £5.00 (try their chilli chocolate too, it’s tongue-tinglingly tempting) www. crumpetsandcoffee. com

Phonesexy

A long battery life, a blisteringly quick SnapDragon 801 Processor, great dual cameras and boomingly-boombastic sound. If you include the über cool pinhole case, the HTC one (M8) could just be the best mobile phone in the world right now. For more info visit www.htc.com/uk

WIN!

Brogue Traders

There is over 140 years footwear making experience behind these beautiful, classically designed Navy Suede Brogues from Sanders. Featuring a wing-tip toe and four-hole lace-up front, just don’t put them on the sofa. Navy Suede Olly Wingtip Brogues - £215.00 from www.opumo.com

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Born from the streets of Mexico, new Manomasa Tortillas are the perfect World Cup viewing accompaniments. Each flavour has a distinctive shape, my pick of the packs are the Sea Salt and Black Pepper (The Sizer) with Poppy, Sunflower, Linseed and Caraway seeds and a subtle taste of onion and garlic <insert drooling sound here>. For stockists visit www.manomasa.co.uk

Pocket Shot

The Canon IXUS range proves that nearly all good things come in small packages. It fits in your top pocket, but is powerful enough to take great photos without breaking the bank. From £59.99+ www.canon.co.uk

SuperFood

Chia seeds come from a South American plant used by ancient cultures for supreme athletic endurance. They also have more omega 3 fatty acid than any other plant, so if you don eat fish, drizzle the oil on a super salad for a healthy alternative and keep on keepin’ on. Buy from www. nutricentre.com £15.99 for a months supply.

Win one of two amazing Raspberry Pi Computer Kits by Kano p100

Ocean Size

In August 2012, I led an Arctic expedition up the NW coast of Greenland. Called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chasing the Lightâ&#x20AC;?, it was the second expedition the mission of which was to create art inspired by this dramatic geography. The first, in 1869, was led by the American painter William Bradford.

Francois Lebeau

Zaria Forman

Ocean Size

Francois Lebeau

My mother, Rena Bass Forman, (who was a photographer) had conceived the idea for the voyage, but did not live to see it through. During the months of her illness her dedication to the expedition never wavered and I promised to carry out her final journey.

I think the idea for this journey was one of the biggest gifts she ever gave me. The trip has set me on a path that keeps me feeling connected to her, and I am grateful for that. I have used a few of her photographs (from our first trip to Greenland together in 2006) to reference for my drawings. The thousands of negatives she left behind offer a wonderful tool for me to continue to collaborate with her.

Matt Johnson Francois Lebeau

Matt Johnson

Ocean Size

I have begun a series of drawings inspired by this trip. Documenting climate change, the work addresses the concept of saying goodbye on scales both global and personal. In Greenland, I scattered my motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ashes amidst the melting ice.

Francois Lebeau

Ocean Size

Drawing for me is often meditative. I get easily lost in the colour, form and shape of the intimate details. I often listen to audiobooks while I work. Listening to a story will keep me focused on the drawing far longer than music or silence. I always use my palms and fingers to move the pigment around on the paper - it has just always been the method that came naturally to me. I used the same technique for my Giselle series which is quite different from my landscapes, although I also implemented a few tools and charcoal pencils for the finer details.

Ocean Size

Francois Lebeau

Most human beings are drawn towards water in one way or another. It makes up more than 75% of our bodies, and covers most of the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. We need water to survive, but we also gravitate towards itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beauty- the respite, shimmer, and movement it adds to a landscape. Water provides me with an endless amount of inspiration as it constantly changes, taking on new forms from one moment to next. There will always be more for me to learn about the methods with which water can be conveyed in pastel, and I enjoy that never-ending challenge.

www.zariaforman.com

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I’ve spoken to a few people recently about what success means to them, and the ways you can measure it in others. Whatever they say on TV, you don’t have to be rich and famous, all you need is a dream and the dedication to see it through. Nashville based film-maker Cameron McCasland is one of those people. He’s just finished ‘The Lashman’, a low budget horror classic. And while there’s a good chance it’ll be overlooked at the Oscars, Cameron is happy doing things his own way. I caught up with him to find out more... How did you get into making movies and how old were you when you made your first film? Well, I was lucky in that my parents owned an electronics business when I was a kid. My grandfather actually sold some of the first television sets in the state of Texas. My father took over his business and in a sense television literally put food on my plate. Because of that, we always had things like video cameras around. When I was in Junior High School I did a video project about a bug spray where I was dressed in a really bad Michael Jackson outfit, and my two friends Jesse Daughtry, and Anthony

My Aunt Stacey did the make up, and I looked more like a drag queen Cher impersonator than the king of pop

Haston played cockroaches. We stuffed panty hose with cotton to give them extra arms. My Aunt Stacey did the make up, and I looked more like a drag queen Cher impersonator than the king of pop. As far as I know only one copy of the tape ever existed, and I don’t have it. If I remember correctly we got in trouble because we used the back half of Jesses sisters wedding video. That probably was the first time I ever tried to tell a story on video, and it wasn’t really edited, we just shot it in order, and Im sure its terrible. From there I really thought I was going to be a musician. I moved to Nashville and worked at a bluegrass/ gospel label for a while. I learned real quick I didn’t like that lifestyle. I had

always loved movies. My mother was an actress, and I just kind of grew up around play houses and things like that. So I took a few acting jobs, and worked production on some low rent movies and music videos. I got my first directing job from Quiet Company for the music video Fashionabel. They had a record that had not sold many copies and wanted a video. Taylor Muse was a dear friend, and my former room mate. I wanted to direct, they needed a video. They took a couple days off from tour in Nashville and we shot it. It went on to win Awards at Crossroads film fest, Fearless film fest, Worldfest, and MTV picked it up. It really sprung both of our careers forward.

The Lashman has an old school

‘...friends go camping and the bogey man is in the woods’ horror-type narrative. Was it challenging bringing new life to the genre? Would you say The Lashman is a ‘homage’ to this type of movies?

Well, I never really went in with the mind set of paying homage to any specific film. What I knew I wanted

was a period piece, as modern day slashers have had some fun taken out of them by modern comforts. So

You always want a cool Bogeyman, but the essence of a lot of those early films is the relationships and characters. while things like Halloween were shot during their present day, we were shooting something that had already happened. The other part to that, is I wanted to return to the earlier slasher film structure. You always want a cool Bogeyman, but the essence of a lot of those early films is the relationships and characters. The killer is something to fear, as opposed to someone to root for. By the time those movies got into sequels it was all about doing strange and over the top kills, which is fine. But I wanted the death in this to feel a bit more real. I think it hurts more to lose someone when you care about them. As far as inspiration goes, I did watch a lot of slashers films to see what I liked and didn’t like about them. I also took stock of people and locations I had access to. That all factored in to the story we told.

What memories do you have of

filming the movie? It’s funny because making a movie like this tends to lead to “war stories” about how hard it was. And it is. All the guys slept on cots in a horse barn during the shooting. It was hot, as we shot in August. We were doing 12-18 hour days for almost two weeks. So there is a certain misery that comes with losing the every day comforts. But truth be told, I loved it. I think most of the people on the production feel the same way. It would have been nice to had hotel rooms, and all the creature comforts but the lack of it tends to help create this camp out mentality and we all seemed to get closer because of it. One of my favorite memories from the shoot is the night I got back from the hospital (where Kaylee had to be because of dehydration) and I walked around in this corn field with Stacey Dixon, Kerryn Johns Josh Ickes, David Vaughn, Jeremy Jones, and highly inebriated Lee Vervoort. It was 3 a.m. under this beautiful Kentucky sky filled with stars. We didn’t know if Kaylee was going to be coming back. The whole thing was in peril, and O expected everyone to be mourning the film. Instead everyone was laughing and telling me it was all going to work out. I wouldn’t trade that night for anything.

All the guys slept on cots in a horse barn during the shooting.

From the original idea up until the finished movie, how long did The Lashman take to put together? In 2009 I made a conscience decision that I was going to make a feature length movie. I had already been doing pretty well shooting music videos and working with Larry Underwood on our Dr. Gangrene television projects. But I wanted to make movies. Lee Vervoort had offered me a chance to direct his movie Gun Town (which I coproduced). But I wanted to shoot something that I had written as my first feature. So I started putting in extra hours at the record store I worked at. I took all the extra money from that and started storing it away, and buying equipment I needed. I took a few weird film jobs too. I shot video for this chamber of commerce awards ceremony, and things like that. I knew

I would need money, and no one was going to give it to me. I still had to feed my children, and put in all the regular time. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sleep much for 6-7 months. I also made a lot of trips to Kentucky from Nashville to scout locations, and get things in order. I had started a werewolf script, that I abandoned as I could see how problematic it would be to shoot financially. But I took some of its guts and turned it into The Lashman. I had wanted to make a western anyways and had already been looking at the Copper Canyon Ranch in Hopkinsville Kentucky. All of that kind of came together to inspire the character. Tim & Carole Emery gave me free reign to shoot at the ranch, and invited us in with open arms. We started looking around the town and found places that were stuck in time. I decided to move the entire production to Hopkinsville.

I still had to feed my children, and put in all the regular time. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sleep much for 6-7 months.

I finished the script in June of 2010 and recorded a video at 4 a.m. stating as much. We were rolling two months later. I had Tim Emery and Shawn C. Phillips in mind, as well as Larry Underwood who was the only other person who I allowed to read the script as it was in progress. The rest of the cast fell into place after auditions and some phone calls. We shot the principal cast starting on Friday, August 13th 2010, and ended with Stacey in the wee hours of the morning on August 24th which is my birthday. They had a cake waiting for me when I got back to the house. We did reshoots a few weeks later with the a few scenes involving Todd Bush and Terry Gragg who played the deputies. And I came back in November 2010 to shoot the western scenes. It was a year later on my birthday when I left to shoot the opening of the film with Alea Jordan and Joe Downing. We began cutting, I shot another day on the western set and we did last pick ups in early 2013. After that we took time cutting and trying to fix the sound. It was just me and Josh Ickes doing post production work.

Do you have any idea how much did the movie cost to make in total? I don’t have an exact number of what we spent. Its hard to gauge because I had so many people that I called in favors to and worked on deferred pay. That on top of it taking so long to wrap production. Gear I bought for Lashman has been used on other shoots, and payed itself back. Other items haven’t. I know I have at least thirty grand in cash on the movie. But I also know that its all my money. No one else ponied up for it, and Im proud of that. It lives and dies by my own hand. No one loses money but me if it doesn’t fly.

With the success of people like Gareth Edwards (director of low-budget Monsters recently directing the new Godzilla), especially with new technology, do you think the door is more open for passionate, self-funded directors like yourself to make the step up to bigger movies? Yeah, I think thats a good example, and his Godzilla movies looks fantastic so far. Also guys like the Duplass Brothers who made a lot of low budget films including a horror movie I adore called Baghead come to mind. Those guys are working over at HBO now. It would be nice to have someone else who could help fund, and promote new projects. And the higher up the food chain you get the more open top notch talent is willing to work with you. But where I think I have always differed from people is that I don’t live in constant desire for that. I don’t choose projects with the mentality that some guy in a top hat and suitcase full of money is going to knock on the door with a Hollywood business card. I like being the guy in control of my own destiny. The game has changed, and there is literally no one who can tell me no right now. I can make whatever I want, and the entire world has access to it. That I

I don’t choose projects with the mentality that some guy in a top hat and suitcase full of money is going to knock on the door with a Hollywood business card.

think is more powerful than getting to make one for Hollywood. I always preferred Roger Corman movies anyways. And I think there is an entire underground of guys like me making these type of films. Chris LaMartina in Baltimore. Dustin Mills and, Henrique Couto working out of Ohio. Joe Francis down in Dallas. Or Jose Prendes over in Los Angeles. Every one of those guys is doing brilliant work, and I have no doubt there are others just like them that I haven’t heard of yet. The one thing that binds us all together is the idea that we aren’t asking for permission from anyone to make movies. Im sure any of them would love to take a check and get to play with big monsters, but at the same time we aren’t waiting for that call. We’re taking cameras into the woods with our friends and making movies. That to me is powerful.

We’re taking cameras into the woods with our friends and making movies. That to me is powerful.

Who is your fav film director? what makes them special? Well, like I said I really admire Roger Corman and what he was able to build. Robert Rodriguez wrote my film bible in his book ‘Rebel Without A Crew’ I really enjoy the work Scorsese has done over his career. And then the masters like Woody Allen, Kubrick, Hitchcock, and Kurosawa. I’ve studied them all and adore their work. It is really hard to just pick a favourite. They all have meant different things to me in different times in my life. I like Soderbergh,in that the guy will jump in on any kind of project and do good work. And I gush over Tarantino the same way most guys my age do. He’s brilliant, but no one needs me to tell them that. And of course I cut my teeth with Spielberg, his work is my

childhood. I think each film they made offers a unique perspective into the world. Each is special just because it exists and couldn’t be recreated.

Is there a movie you would like to re-make? I really love Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. I think a movie like that is ripe for a comeback. But only if you have an actor with great comedic timing. Part of me always wants to be the guy to handle things I loved as a kid like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Masters Of The Universe just because I fear how bad they can turn out. But Im sure they would come with pitchforks for me just the same. And I hear they recently announced they are doing a Friday the 13th television show. I wouldn’t mind taking a crack at Mr. Voorhees in that kind of environment. I’m not against remakes, but I think it is a tightrope walk to appease fans of the original movie, and to tell a story that people already know.

What next? There are hints at the end, but are you planning on making Lashman 2? Also what’s

with all the self-portraits on Twitter? =] The self portraits was a photo project that I spent a year doing. I had a really bad health scare where I almost lost my arm. My life was also in a flux as I was going through a divorce. I had to get myself into shape, and It was a way to capture that time and those emotions. I freely admit it was self indulgent and narcissistic. Though, I could use something like that in my life, Once I stopped doing it I got fat again. I have a few things in the pipeline I can talk about. I shot a documentary in January for the band Quiet Company that I am cutting currently. It was really exciting to be with them again as we have all grown so much since that first video. I just worked as a producer for Matt Riddlehoovers new film More Scenes From A Gay Marriage, and we are collaborating on his next film Paternity Leave right now, tentatively set to shoot in September. I am producing/

writing/directing and anthology. We roll in just a few weeks. I'm excited as it reteams me with Larry Underwood and Josh Ickes who was my Director of Photography on Lashman. Josh is directing one of the segments and Im excited for that. Other than that, I'm writing a Romantic Comedy which Id like to shoot this year. As far as Lashman 2 goes. We did leave a way for him to come back for another film. I think the character has unlimited potential, as there is over a hundred year gap from where his story starts to where we meet him in this film. I have a few story ideas in my head, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to commit them to public record until we see how the movies fares out, and I have a chance to shoot something different. Making this movie took so much longer than I ever expected, and if I do revisit it later Id like to have something fresh to say. Or who knows, the guy with the top hat and briefcase full of money might show up from Hollywood and buy it.

As far as Lashman 2 goes. We did leave a way for him to come back for another film. I think the character has unlimited potential

For more info on the Lashman and Cameronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s projects visit @CamMcCasland on Twitter or on Facebook here www.facebook.com/ lashmanmovie

REBE C PYMA CA R In her la explo test work, res th Artist e Re a the ar chitec rtistic inspi becca Pym ar ture a r home nd sce ation from in Eas t Suff nery a olk. round her

EAST ANGULAR

“Southwold carries such rich memories of life by the sea for me. I aim for my paintings to evoke the passion I have for the area and celebrate the way its natural and man-made beauty sits together harmoniously. I love Southwold Pier as it echoes that quintessential British seaside town culture. I spent a lot of my childhood on the beach with regular trips to the arcade and the ice cream parlour, so it’s very nostalgic to me, plus the Art-Deco pier pavilion is reminiscent of the 1920s seaside glamour of yesteryear. Alongside the Pier, the two other iconic emblems of Southwold have got to be the Beach huts and the Lighthouse and both lend themselves to my style of painting – ordered and angular. I’m inspired by many things, ‘The Abstract Expressionists’ of which Clifford Still and Barnett Newman are particularly notable, and the American realist painter Edward Hopper’s work has been an influence too. The way he paints light and space so competently and manages to achieve a true likeness in perspective and depth when painting buildings is something I aim for in my pieces. I also enjoy pottering around markets and shops to see what other local artists, designers and makers are coming up with and inspiration can come from the most unlikely of sources. Sometimes it’s as simple as seeing a certain combination of colours or even a sound, song or smell!

Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings are currently exhibited at the Serena Hall Gallery in Southwold. visit www.rebeccapymar.co.uk for more information or on twitter @BeccaAlicePymar

Bilateral Thinking.

Ksenia Schnaider

Founded in 2011, independent unisex label Ksenia Schnaider is the shared passion of Ukrainian designer Ksenia Marchenko and Russian graphic designer Anton Schnaider.

Striving to create collections that are both timeless and engineered to last, these beautiful pieces are from their Spring/ Summer 2014 collection.

Photography: Eugenia Pavlenko Model & Styling: Nastya Bessonova For more info visit www.kseniaschnaider.com

Life by a Tho Luke

Maybe it’s just a feeling I have, but I’m sensing a sea change of good on the way, not just in the UK, but one that could reach across the whole planet. I’m not sure how or where, or who’ll start it, but in the same way ‘Kickstarter’ and ‘Just Giving’ use goodwill independently of boundaries or Governments, now we have the mass communication facilities (Facebook and Twitter, etc) the like-minded can come together for positive change with seemingly limitless potential.

y using social media, Richard James raised more than £3 million through his actions while terminally ill with bowel cancer, in turn his bravery and determination has encouraged many others, and it seems that everywhere people are doing little things to make the world a better place. In London there is a mechanic offering MOT discounts to men who go and have a test for prostrate cancer. I know these are just ripples, but with the power of communication, the effects can be huge. Luke Cameron is another shining

light, he’s taken it upon himself to do a good dead every day for the whole of 2014. I caught up with Luke almost exactly half-way through his ‘Good Deed Diary’ project to find out what inspired him and how he was doing. Was there a ‘lightbulb’ moment that made you decide to do your good deed project? Last year I lost somebody very close to me from cancer. It was actually the nurses that gave their time and love throughout one of the hardest times of my life that really made the day to day slightly more light hearted.

ousand Hugs. Cameron

Without their love, care and support I think the journey would have been 10 times harder than it was. Watching these nurses give up their own time after their shift had finished so selflessly to sit with us through the night was a truly humbling experience. It was their love and dedication to others that inspired me to want to become a better person and start looking out for others, not just myself. So as of the 1st of Jan 2014 I decided to dedicate this year to others, not me. I wanted to do a good deed every day for the whole year of 2014 and keep a diary of my experiences. Were you a generous person before you started your ‘giving’ year? I would like to think a pretty generous person. At the age of 17, when I was in my final years of studying I took

a business class. We were asked to theoretically write a business plan for a hypothetical business. I raised the question with my teacher that why couldn’t we set up and run a business and then write the plan retrospectively. So I did. I set up a small company importing eco friendly jute bags and sold them locally. Through hard work and perseverance I managed to raise just under £400 in profit was I then donated to a local children’s charity which paid for breathing apparatus for a young boy. It’s still one of my proudest personal achievements even outside of my work and degree and I guess its something I’ve continued with the diary. Have you been surprised at how people have been so interested in what you are doing? Yes, to be honest. I am totally overwhelmed with the response to

Life by a Thousan Luke Cameron

my blog and when the Times wrote an article about me I started to think wow, do people really read my stuff?! I am totally flattered but I want to stress that this isn’t about me. Yes, I may have become the face for RAKnominations and Good Deeds but this is about inspiring people to be better than they are. To stop and think less about themselves but about other people. You never know what happens in other peoples lives. You could be at the supermarket buying shopping and the woman behind you could have just lost her mother to cancer and she’s only popping out to take her mind of her loss. Or the man in front could have a disabled child at home and has had an awful day understanding why his son or daughter can’t be like everybody else. I want my blog to inspire others, even if they just take a few moments to think.

Have you regretted any of the good deeds afterwards? No, I can’t say I have. I have walked away and maybe thought I could have done more for somebody, but never regretted them! What has been the most generous thing you have done? So far my 100th good deed, where I am giving away my Nintendo Wii to a deserving young kid. I can assure you I may decide to do something even crazier but so far just that. Do you ever struggle to come up with new ideas? I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone! Its was quite easy to start off buying coffee’s, giving people car rides, helping the homeless, but now as I continue on my journey I really want to try and make a difference to as many peoples lives as I can. So I plan on

nd Hugs.

working with loads of charities and people in need as I possibly can! Have any of your attempts at doing a good dead backfired (eg has anyone been suspicious or refused to accept your generosity?) I have had a few people ask me why. There is always that risk when you do a venture like this, people are naturally suspicious but to date everyone has been gracious and grateful! Have you seen any evidence of people ‘passing on’ your good deeds? I get emails, tweets, Facebook messages, youtube comments every day from people sharing their deeds with me. Its amazing to see so many people being selfless. Your idea is potentially world changing..... Do you think things

like social media can be used to make positive changes to society? I’m not sure about world changing but I would say making the world a better place. We live in a society obsessed with ‘stuff’ and its not about that. We should fill out lives with experiences. Touching somebodies life can have a chain reaction that can live on. You can’t your rolex to the grave can you? What happens at the end of the year? Do you have any plans to expand the idea? So far I just plan on getting through this journey. I have no idea what lies in store so I don’t tend to speculate. Live one day at a time the best way you can. Tomorrow is just another day. Visit Luke’s ‘Good Deed Diary’ on Facebook here https://www. facebook.com/thegooddeeddiary or follow him on Twitter @lopwert

Happyness

The sound of a perfect West coast Slacker sunny day, Happyness are that 90’s college rock band you always loved, but they’re all shiny and new still. ‘Weird Little Birthday’ their debut album is released on June 16th, catch them on a mini UK tour from 16th June in London, Sunderland, Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds. Brilliant! http://bit.ly/happynessvideo

Dracula Legs

First there was Vampire Weekend, now, there is Dracula Legs. The London based five-piece fronted by a Canadian nod a wink to The Cramps, Nick Cave, and sprinkle a dash of country and a smidgen of early grunge to the mix. Debut single ‘Heartburn Destination’ is out on the ‘Too Pure’s Single Club’, look out for another single and more gigs on the way. https://soundcloud.com/draculalegs

Eliza Shaddad

‘Discovered’ busking on Shoreditch High St (isn’t everyone?), Jack Patterson from Clean Bandit was suitably impressed to let Eliza sing on two of their latest tracks. Her debut EP, ‘Waters’ is out through Beatnik on June16th. Like Nina Simone in a timemachine, Eliza should be massive. www.facebook.com/ElizaShaddad

Ones to watch Jetta

Pharrell is a big fan and at 24 yrs old, Liverpudlian Jetta was one of the stand out performers at this years SXSW event . Her self-penned ’Start a Riot’ track with a video shot entirely on her iPhone led to mega bucks record deals on both sides of the Atlantic. Her new Crescendo’ EP mixes the narrative folk of Joni Mitchell, the eighties pop of Eurythmics and the noughties female empowerment of Destiny’s Child. www.facebook.com/jettaofficial

Diaries Of A Hero

Second album, the self-titled ‘Diaries Of A Hero’ was recorded in Croatia late last year and it’s just been released in the UK on German label, Dust On The Tracks. On DOAH, the band who’ve previously toured with Motorhead and Anthrax, take their personal brand of ‘British Metal, clean and scream’ to a whole new level. Play it loud Mutha! www.diariesofahero.com

Terminal Gods

Formed in 2011, the whispers around Terminal Gods have become louder recently and current EP, Machine Beat Messiah is certain to turn even more heads on their way to world domination. With infuences ranging from the Jesus & Mary Chain to Nick Cave to The Cult, they’re on a runaway freight train of dark, new heavy sounds with pop sensibility and 2014 sees further European tour plans, an LP to follow and much more. www.terminal-gods.co.uk

Antmusic

The affecting, hypnotic sound of New York’s The Antlers returns on 16 June with the release of a new album, Familiars. The band’s 2009 breakthrough LP Hospice used the metaphor of palliative care to reflect on the death of a relationship, and Burst Apart quickly followed, which also charted the raw emotions of human interaction. The band’s last release was 2012’s Undersea, a concept EP whose intricate sonic textures soothed the appetite of fans in what became a three year gap between Burst Apart and Familiars.

Given your pursuit of metaphors to explore relationships on previous records, does Familiars have a particular concept associated with it? It kinda does, but it’s a little less clear than the past records I think. It’s intentionally a bit elusive. I think of it as being about a conversation that you have with yourself throughout your life at different times – that sort of inner monologue or dialogue that’s happening – I manifest that as two different people talking to each other. And I guess that ties into the way that you change as you get older, in ways that are sometimes imperceptible: subtle changes in personality, or in attitude.

So a process of reflection is part of your writing process? For sure, especially with this record there was a lot of that involved. A lot of that is just me listening to what I’m thinking about, trying to write it down, and kind of observe myself from a distance. It’s a really weird process to be honest. The way I found to work on this was I practiced simultaneously stepping outside of myself and also getting very deep into myself in order to get a sense of what was going on and track this change that I felt was happening over the course of making this record. We were working on it for a long time – a year and a half – and I could feel this change starting at the beginning of the process. As we

were getting into the record I didn’t know what I wanted to write about. But I could feel this change and thought “Well, I’m gonna keep track of this and just see what happens and what it turns into”. By the end of the recording, it was this record.

Because Familiars took so long has the sound of The Antlers developed since we’ve heard from you? Yeah, definitely. I was working on the lyrical side on my own. But the musical side of it was a very collaborative thing. It always is. But this time especially. Each one of us developed a really intense focus on our instruments, and I think each of us was going through changes in our lives as we were working on this record. It was the first time in years that we had stopped touring for a pretty prolonged period of time and had a chance to just look around at what life had become for each one of us, who we were as people. I think we found a very strong connection to the music that we were playing and we were honing that craft, separately and together – throughout this process. As a result I think the record ending up sounding pretty different to records we had made before. There was more of an emphasis on organic instrumentation.

To unpack that process a little: do you start with the lyrics you’ve written and then it’s case of everyone working together on the arrangement? Everything’s kind of happening simultaneously. If anything, the lyrics come last. I have to work on them the whole time but I don’t really drop them into the songs until the last possible moment. It’s a result of

The Antlers

We caught up with lead singer and guitarist Peter Silberman, who founded The Antlers as a solo project before enlisting drummer Michael Lerner and multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci. We learned a lot about The Antlers’ uniquely introspective writing and recording process.

Antmusic me being really neurotic about it, so I will be editing and editing and I’ll rewrite my lyrics like twenty times on a song. So I’m always hesitant to put unfinished stuff in front of anybody, even the band, just ‘cause I’m like “I’m not gonna sing this, I’m just gonna change it so what’s the point? I’m not gonna sing these stupid words for you”. So, it usually starts with the music and us, I think, just getting ideas out. It begins with long sessions of just aimlessly playing for hours, and recording everything that we come up with. Then we’ll start picking things out of it that sound like the seeds of an idea. Once we have those then we’ll start to practice and refine them and turn them into more concrete ideas. Then we start mapping out a shape to the song, which sometimes we do through the recording. We’ll record something and then cut it up, move things around and give the song a shape. Or sometimes it’ll be completely on our instruments. I was definitely leaning more towards creating a shape by playing it. Some songs are actually – I’m not really sure how obvious it is – one part played over and over and over again. We decide ahead of time that it’s going to be that and then the changes come in the dynamics and the arrangements of this one chord progression. It’s sometimes like a hypnotising effect, and it’ll not be like a pop song with a verse/chorus/ bridge but it’ll actually be like a long meditation.

Do you listen to music when you write and record or do you shut yourself off from any

potential influences?

I actually listen to a lot of music when we’re making records. I definitely become kind of a blender or something, where whatever I’m listening to is gonna make its way into my musical vocabulary. I just absorb things that way I guess. This time my tastes were all over the place but a lot of them were arriving at the late 60s early 70s; I just found myself really gravitating towards that period of time.

So what kind of artists or bands were you listening to? A lot of Leonard Cohen. I was definitely taking cues from him lyrically, and I like Philip Cody, and a lot of old dub and reggae. Some of those old reggae singers have the most beautiful voices, and I love the bands behind them too. There’s a tightness – that’s something I aspire to with our own band. The synchronicity.

You’re coming back to tour when the record’s out. Do you look forward to touring? It’s been a while since you’ve been on the road. Yeah, definitely. I think of it as a long time since we’ve toured. I was really happy to have some time away from it in order to just get my life back together. Touring can definitely dismantle your reality back home. So it was good to be home for a while and build up a life again. But now I’m definitely ready to get back out there. It lends this whole other

said the parts that I record for this record (which were entirely guitar parts this time) that I was going to, basically, reproduce that live. I was going to write one guitar part per song, and pretty much one vocal part per song too. And I did it with the intent of there being a direct translation to the live show, kind of for my own piece of mind. Because in the past I’d written hundreds of guitar parts over-dubbing on each other and I never quite feel like I’m getting the same sound I intended. This time When you’re arranging I was like “you know what, I’m going for the record do you to just write one guitar part that think about how that sounds like two or three guitar parts will translate to the and that’s what I’m gonna play”. live experience or It makes tour preparation easier do you just focus on creating a studio album for me ‘cause then I know what I’m and what that sounds getting into. I think Michael our like? drummer had the same approach: I definitely think about it but what’s he was writing his drum parts with a interesting with this record in direct translation in mind. But Darby’s particular is that each one of us covering a lot of sonic ground. He claimed ownership over the parts suspends the thing that tries to figure that we were writing. I know I made out how he’s gonna do it live until it an objective for me – and this was after we finish the record. It can be the first time that I’ve done this – I its own nearly direct translation but

The Antlers

dimension to it: when we’re travelling around the world delivering this music. It’s something that doesn’t quite feel real when you’re not doing it. In the same way that when we are touring our life back home feels like a dream that doesn’t exist. We seem to be in the best place when we’ve got a healthy mix of both of those: when we’re not just home all the time and when we’re not on tour all the time, but when we strike up some kind of balance.

Antmusic slightly different in a way that I think can be cool.

We’ll try not to put two songs that are stylistically really similar next to each other but it depends on the From a listener’s point songs that we’re working with. I think of view your albums there’s something about this whole have a movement to process, that will start to naturally them that is almost put things into place before we symphonic in the way even decide what order they’re in. the overall record ebbs and flows to There are songs that feel like they’re particular moments. a last song, and songs that feel like Do you think of track they’re a second to last song, a song listing in terms of that feels like it’s the first song or the side 1 and side 2 even third. I guess we’ve just been making in a digital age? Or records for long enough that we can do you think of it as ten tracks straight hear a song and be like “I think I through? know where, relatively, that belongs I think both. We like to think of it in in the sequence of things”. terms of a record and what’s the A short and strange beginning of side 2, what’s the end question to end on: of side 1. In this case we’re actually what’s your favourite doing double vinyl. We were thinking sound? about it in terms of 1-side and 2-side Oh man, I don’t know what my while we were making the record, all-time favourite sound is. But but there were 4 sides once we the one that sprang to mind right were done. It’s ended up working now is not one I hear all that often out, it’s a cool division: it definitely unfortunately, but I guess that’s why makes me think of the record a I appreciate it so much. It’s the little bit differently having it cut into segments like that. I think for me, the sound where, if you’re walking or hiking or whatever, you start to hear foremost consideration is the entity the ocean and then you realize as a whole: the movement and shape of it. ‘Cause I think momentum that you’re actually really close to something coastal. That is such a is a really important thing to have in specific sound attached to a lot a record, and proper pacing. We of memories for me. I always get work with really slow tempos a lot of excited when I’m going to be near the time and if we sequence things the ocean. I think that sound signals wrong it can enter into this stagnant a shift in your environment that takes dip and, on the other hand, if you over, and it gets louder and louder jump out of a really slow tempo into the closer you get to it. I don’t know, I something faster it can be jarring really like that sound. in not the right way. So there is a kind of path that we carve out on a Follow Amanda on twitter here record. It’s partly about the mood; @mandapen it’s partly about lyrical content. It’s visit www.antlersmusic.com partly about the style of each song.

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AThePizza, The Big Red Pizza Bus DEPTFORD, LONDON

Once upon a time I used to work in Deptford. It’s always been an ‘edgy’ place, with a mixed population of different social classes and highly multicultural, it also has a strong arty flavour owing to nearby Goldsmiths College... ...I had good times there. But since I started working in town, I stopped visiting on market days and only visit occasionally to go to the local Vietnamese restaurants (Deptford High Street is like a mini ‘Pho Mile’). So I hadn’t noticed the double decker bus converted into a restaurant next to the Birds Nest public house. Artist John Cierach, is the owner and brains behind The Big Red Pizza Bus (or BIG RED). He took on some disused land, bought an old double decker bus and set to work. In June 2011 The Big Red Pizza launched itself as a restaurant and bar. John’s original concept has been developed further through the addition of a large covered patio and articulated lorry compartment converted into a theatre/cinema for Film Clubs and popular Open Mic Comedy nights (wed). One wonderful idea is the Weekend Film Club where local children can watch a children’s film for free whilst mum and dad grab some lunch.

Action by Snig

There is a weekly (weeknight) Film Club for grown ups, so those who aren’t into the Pixar oevre don’t have to miss out. Given that the London Borough of Lewisham is one of only a couple of boroughs in London with no cinema at all, the Big Red is providing a great local public service. The simplest pizza at Big Red costs a very reasonable £6.95 (the signature ‘Big Red’, with tomato, Mozzarella and basil), with prices rising, depending on the ingredients. The most expensive, is the very meaty and generously topped ‘Mighty Red’ at £10.95. Big Red, despite being independent and sourcing toppings from specialist, high quality suppliers, is managing to undercut the big chains of Pizza Express and Ask. Being keen on price is all very well and good, but what did the pizzas taste like, I hear you ask. Well, here goes... All of the pizzas are made of homemade pizza dough which is thin rolled and cooked good and hot. The pizza achieves a few little brown patches dotted around the golded brown crust which is crisp and crunchy. It’s pizza how we like it these days, with all memory of greasy, doughy, deep pan of the 1980s erased. The ‘Mighty Red’ pizza is a glorious meat fest; pepperoni, salami, pancetta and ham with chilli and two cheeses (cheddar and mozzarella). A bold and hearty pizza which Him Indoors particularly enjoyed, as a confirmed meat eater. This would be a wonderful pizza to

AThePizza, The Action Big Red Pizza Bus DEPTFORD, LONDON

share on a Film Club night, I think. The meat was not skimped upon and neither was the chilli! Bellisimo! Black olives, preserved anchovies, Mozzarella and tomato sauce came together in the “Puttanesca” inspired pizza. This is a pizza of joyous gutsy flavours, which I enjoyed a lot. The grilled vegetable with Grano Padano cheese was topped with grilled courgette, red peppers, red onion and mushroom and finished with pitted black olives and fresh rocket. The contrast of the fresh leaf and cooked vegetables is a great touch, giving this pizza unique character. This was topped with a very unlikely ingredient: beetroot. However, the peppery rocket, and mellow sweetness of the beetroot were very pleasant contrasts to each other, marrying up with the tomato sauce and just melted Mozzarella extremely well. I’m not myself a vegetarian,

but would happily eat this myself and would recommend it with confidence to vegetarian dining companions. The pizza has a crispy outer crust and the bread was light and thin. BIG RED also does a nice line in accompaniment dishes and we tried thee Grilled baby chorizo with bread (£3.95) Cute little dough balls, best eaten warm with crispy skinned chorizos full of chilli punch. Lovely with a glass of wine and good conversation. We also sampled the ‘House’ platter of cured meats, cheese, olives and bruschetta for 2 (£9.50). The bruschetta were topped with yielding and still-juicy slightly dried tomatoes. Exceedingly sweet with a hint of chewiness which was just

right, the texture of the tomatoes complimented the toasted bread in a manner befitting good bruschetta. It is amazing how often this simple starter misfires in other establishments, but The Big Red’s bruschetta was accomplished. The other anti-pastis were enjoyable, going down a treat. Toasted sourdough bread toasties with pan fried mushrooms and a creamy spinach sauce was another delightful small plate, and a welcome change from the usual dull starter options available to our vegetarian friends. BIG RED have worked hard to reach out to the local community and imaginative options for those with dietary requirements is a part of that thinking. I was impressed to find

there was even a vegan pizza with no cheese and dough made with olive oil. The service was friendly and efficient and the food a cut above the vast majority of pizza restaurants in London. All in all, BIG RED have made a great first impression, and I’m sure we’ll be back. The Big Red Pizza Bus 30 Deptford Church Street, London SE8 4RZ www.bigredpizza.co.uk 0203 4908346 Snigdha and Him Indoors ate as guests of The Big Red Pizza BusFollow Snig on Twitter @snigskitchen and on her website http://snigskitchen.tumblr.com

Old Town, Zumbura by Rupert Parker

Someone famously said that the past is a foreign country and I feel the same way about South London. But the promise of exotic cocktails, and light healthy tapas-style Indian dishes, make me cross the river to Clapham for a meal at Zumbara. Head chef is Raju Rawat who trained at one of India’s finest five

star hotels, The Oberoi in New Delhi, and since has worked at Benares, the Cinnamon Club and Bombay Bicycle Club. It’s a chic and stylish place, reflecting the owners’ previous history of founding Dwell, the contemporary furniture retailer.

New Delhi

They cram the tables in and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dominated by a long curved bar where they prepare those cocktails. Of course it would be rude not to try one so I start with a Zumbara Martini and my partner goes for Cucumori Chilli. He gulps the combination of Hendricks Gin, St Germaine, cucumber, coriander and chilli and

pronounces that it delivers a kick. My martini exudes citron as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s laced with fresh Pomelo and lemon so is delightfully refreshing. Now to the food. The menu divides itself into categories: small plates, braised and stews, grill and roast, fish and vegetables but mercifully limits

each to a handful of dishes. You won’t find Lamb Vindaloo or Chicken Tikka Marsala here and it’s obvious that this is not your standard Indian when they plonk down their pickles – tamarind dip and coriander chutney with raw carrot and diced salad, all freshly made, and no mango chutney in sight. The dishes hail from the Purab region of North India but, as you’d expect in Clapham, all have a contemporary twist and they’re designed for sharing. The spiced mincemeat filling in the Patties is slightly bland but the flaky puff pastry crumbles in your mouth. Better are the Pakoras, crisp spinach and onion fritters, crunchy and light, the chick pea flour binding them together, without any trace of oil. From the braised and stew section we go for Kullia, chunks of lamb on the bone, slow cooked with turnip,

and this is definitely a winner. The meat is tender, spices are subtle and the vegetable soft, yet not falling apart. The dishes keep on coming and we hit a bottleneck as the table is not big enough to hold them all. We send some back whilst we tuck into the Tallee Machli, Pollock fillets in dry spices, coated in an almost Japanese tempura batter, light as a feather. Slightly out of order, we’re back to meat with Sikkiwe Chops, lamb twice marinated in herbs, small but bitingly tender, the spices whispering in a low undertone. Vegetables are the stars here - the Bhindi, braised chopped okra, is slightly undercooked but all the better for it and I love the Karela, bitter gourd with lentils, a fascinating combination. Of course we have

some steamed rice and only the Chappatis disappoint – they’re slightly leathery and I suspect they’ve been reheated. Moving on to dessert, we share Kheer, rice pudding with cardamom and Gajja Ka Halwa, warm creamed carrot pudding. They’re both not oversweet and served in small bowls, so we don’t feel too stuffed. If you’re after red hot curries, that blow your head off, then Zumbura is not for you. If your palate is more refined, and are going for flavour rather than fire, then this food fits the bill. Portions are small, but enough to fill you up, and the sharing concept means you get to taste the full range of the diverse menu. Even better, prices are reasonable, each dish from £4 to £8, and house wine priced at £17.50. It certainly seems to please the good folk of Clapham Old Town as the restaurant is packed on the night I visit. You never know, it may tempt me to venture south of

the river on a future occasion… it’s that good. Zumbura, 36a Old Town, Clapham, London SW4 0LB For more info visit www.zumbura.com Follow Rupert’s adventures on Twitter @PlanetAppetite

Key Lime with Fresh Raspberry Sauce

Pie This recipe is direct from the official International Culinary Ambassador of Florida, ace chef Justin Timineri. I modified it slightly adding ginger nuts to the base and using Raspberries instead of Blueberries, but the core recipe is the same. It's really easy to make and a perfect dessert for a summer BBQ. If you can let it chill 3 or 4 hours before eating is even better (easier said than done!) Serves 6 to 8 Ingredients For the base: l 1.5 cups finely crushed digestive biscuits (you can use half ginger nuts for an extra crunch) l Third cup salted butter, melted l 3 tablespoons sugar For the pie filling 14-ounce can sweetened condensed whole milk l 4 large egg yolks l Half cup fresh squeezed lime juice (approx 6-8 limes) l 3 teaspoons of lime zest l

For the topping: Half cup (125 grams) apricots jam l 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or water (can also use other liqueurs) l

METHOD Preheat oven to 325 (Gas Mark 4). 1. Combine all of the ingredients for the base. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool completely before filling.

2. Whisk together the pie filling ingredients until well blended. The mixture thickens as the milk reacts with the acidic citrus juice. Pour the filling into the pie crust. 3. Bake the pie until the center looks set but still quivery, like gelatin, (around 15 minutes). Cool and then refrigerate until chilled. 4. Gently heat the apricot jam or preserves and water (if using) in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid (melted). 5. Remove from heat and strain the sauce through a fine strainer to remove any fruit lumps. (If using, add the liqueur at this point). 6. Top the pie with a single layer of fresh raspberries (or Blueberries if you prefer) Cool until the sauce is only slightly warm and then glaze the fruit or tart crust, using a pastry brush. Serve chilled with fresh whipped cream.

ENJOY!! Read our adventures in Florida from Key West to ST Augustine in the latest Flush Escape.

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by Ian â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Epredatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hughes As in digital still images, the ability for anyone to record moving images and sound has gone through a revolution in the past few years. How we take them and how we share them (wait let me take a #selfie). Yes! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the midst of a video revolution, a revolution we already have the technology to support, one that requires almost no effort. All you need is a press of a button and a spark of creativity and inventiveness.

True Cut and Paste In the 1970’s regular non movie/TV people who wanted to capture films used wind-up or battery operated cine cameras using film based standard 8 and super 8 cartridges. These (like the still images of the regular cameras) were sent away for developing to a chemist somewhere and then returned as 3 minute spools of film that you wound through a projector showing the pictures onto a silver screen. You pretty much got what you filmed, editing was hard work and filming things you didn’t need wasted some of that precious 3 minutes. That didn’t stop me trying editing of course. We had a little hand powered winder that allowed you to see each frame of film. An edit involved marking and cutting the precious original film, then rejoining it to an equally clean cut piece with transparent tape. The tape had to line up correctly and allow the sprocket holes in the film to still work. Getting it wrong meant the film jamming, and the projector build then melting some of the precious frames. Editing however meant I could make our 3 minute home-movies into 15 minutes ‘Blockbusters’. I tried to edit a selection of childhood memories together when I was 14. It came out as a 15 minute epic, but each reel was in the wrong chronological order (making a fore runner to Benjamin Button), I started older and got younger as the film evolved.

Editing is a lousy process, bits of film have to be trimmed and thrown away so I never did edit it back the right way. Another thing missing was the ability to repeat film. With only one source copying a scene for a home user was almost impossible. So no slo-mo repeats or funny falls or speedy bike rides.

Video Killed The Cine Film Star When we had the first video camera revolution in the 80’s we all ended up with camera’s and tapes (of differing sizes and formats of course). The kit that meant we could record without sending away for developing. You could also afford to record several versions of something. If you could be bothered you could also stream the tape output onto a computer,using a video capture card and attempt to edit away. This needed a pretty high-end (i.e. expensive) machine and a lot of time. Having revisited some old video tapes and tried this recently, it still does take way too much time. Of course even if you did edit things up, producing that interesting holiday movie you still had little chance to show it.

Again it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop me trying. We took a Sony digital video camera out on Safari (as in looking at animals not the Apple web browser) during our honeymoon, last century. My wife was in charge of that whilst I had the old fashioned film camera and zoom lens. There was a lot of empty tape between the shots of animals, capturing everything as we drove across the plains of Africa. When we came home I did an old fashioned analogue edit. Playing the video camera output into a VHS video recorder and pausing the record as a got to bits we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need. We ended up with a decent enough wildlife show. I used the title text effects that the video camera could do to create the animal descriptions and place names. I also added an equivalent of a stop motion animation of the some of the stills I had taken at the end. Recording several frames on the video camera before swapping photos. That then was added to the end of the VHS recording. It took a while as you can imagine. Once done I was able to run off copies using tape to tape. Each step lost some quality but that was the only

option we had really. It is pretty obvious from the effort required to do anything at all with this footage that most people would not bother. Lots of people bought and used video cameras, lots of footage was shot, but most of it is still tucked away on tapes, slowly degrading.

Going Live Way back in 2007, a few of us tried to do a mixed media event as part of our work at Wimbledon tennis event. We used a mix of the virtual world Second Life as a way to be present with others, and had people all around the world live in there. We also broadcast the stream of the virtual world for people who could not get into the event. The event itself was a player interview. It was using Ustream, which was very new at the time. This opens up a channel for people to log into on the web and lets the producer of the live show send a video stream from a device or source. We mainly had a video feed from the computer (showing the virtual world camera view), but we were also using live video fed into the virtual world and occasionally my Nokia N95 phone to stream live too to uStream. It was, as they say, Transmedia. It took a bit of thought, a little bit of technical knowledge and the willingness of guests to join in but it was pretty much a live TV show with some important extra viewer interactions. As with all these things if we, as a few interested geeks, could pull that off with home equipment and easy access web resources then surely it would follow that it would get easier, cheaper and more likely everyone could do it a few years on?

Cue Wobbly Video Fade Dream Sequence... So here we are in 2014 and a new age of digital video content. Youtube is the big player. There are countless stats of how many videos are loaded, and enjoyed on that site. It has led to the creation of new stars in new genres too. Stampylonghead is one such gaming and Youtube star. His popularity has grown dues to his use of Minecraft (and some other gaming platforms) as a place to make his shows. He has tremendous appeal with kids and is now

at the forefront of a new educational channel. I like to think I am up on popular culture, on advances in technology, but it was my own kids who told me about Stampy. He applies traditional editing techniques, spending time to craft his videos, but produces content every day, Games themselves provide a very good source of video content, spectating on other players games is becoming

an integral part of the gaming experience. Games started to provide replays within the games themselves a few years ago. Standalone and multiplayer games all were giving the ability to re-watch and savour your experiences. Rather like the cine and video camera example though, this was only really for your own edification. Once games and consoles opened themselves to the social web, sharing of game achievements and of visuals started to explode. It has become part of the infrastructure of the latest consoles, the PS4 and the Xbox One, to be able to capture gameplay, record it and then share it. On an Xbox One you shout â&#x20AC;&#x153;Xbox Record Thatâ&#x20AC;? and any game you are playing will save video of the previous 30 seconds. These clips stream via a service called Upload and any of your friends, or other people playing the game can see your highlights. Some games trigger the record themselves when they consider you have done something interesting, worthy or daft. There is scope to edit and to add a voice over or picture in picture commentary to the clips. It does not end there though! There are gaming streaming services such as Twitch.tv that for some time have provided the infrastructure to broadcast games as they happen. Players have their own channels, you can dive in and watch live with a meta chat room over the top

of the gameplay. This too is now integrated with the latest patch to Xbox One. Now you can say “Xbox broadcast that” and all your gaming output will be patched to Twitch.TV and streamed to the world. It is live, is it raw, it has a huge number of users. Just like like TV people are working out how to produce interesting shows, the good ones will be in the minority, but it is democratising broadcasting. For the game companies it provides an incentive to keep the games great and with lots of content. The games are no longer just being seen by the people with the right console or who have bought the download. It is not just a demo that you get to play, you

see the whole thing. It has also caused the lawyers a few problems. There were incidences of players videos being issued ‘take down’ orders on Youtube for breach of copyright. That was not good for the game companies, despite them being the content owners. This was not piracy, this was people saying “look at this, its great isn’t it, you should try it” a.k.a. free advertising. Of course the bad things get highlighted to, but that should promote positive good design in games.

And Cut…. I would suggest it was probably Vine that showed lots of people the potential of more advanced video concepts, specifically on mobile devices. All our smartphones are great at capturing

video. Just point the Vine app at something hold the button to record a bit of movement, let go and point at something else, hold to record again. You have six seconds to play with. Most people initially will just record a 6 second loop of one thing. However, the ability to stop the record, but then start with something else introduces the concept of editing and even of being able to tell a story in 6 seconds. It is seat-ofthe-pants live editing, but with only 6 seconds invested it’s easy to start again. The moment you finish the video loop is

up on the web and shared, you have an audience for your near real-time editing. A number of other video editing apps are vying for our attention too. Directr, MixBit and alike are trying to tap into the creative process and be the next big thing. Directr is about providing storyboard templates and MixBit is about creating and mixing with other peoples videos to add to a conversation or story. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used iMovie on the Apple Mac a lot to create storyboard based minimovies, just for fun. The trailer concept, as with Directr, provides a template to shoot something in a style. The pacing, soundtrack and titles all fit that style. It shows you the sort of shots you need to fill the template. Action shot, pan shot, single person, group etc. You can fill those shots from footage you already have or specifically record into the slots. iMovie is now also on the iPhone and it has become even easier to make one of these. On a recent roadtrip in the US I was taking a break from driving and made a mini trailer, as a bit of fun, for out 500 mile car journey. Later on on a visit to Atlanta aquarium I made another as I went around the exhibits, I was taking pictures and shooting video anyway as we all do. The Aquarium provides very high speed wireless internet to everyone. The video was uploaded as soon as I had finished the final tweaks. The simplicity to create, the freedom to combine and then the technology to instantly share,felt like the future had arrived. The clunky-ness of 7 years ago, trying Transmedia broadcasts had gone.

Lets Do Another Take There is another interesting device on the horizon that may tie in even more with the original virtual world experience of 2007. Currently our video devices see the world as a series of flat pictures. A film is just pictures played one after the other. Virtual worlds and video games render those pictures, but from a set of digital geometry. 3D models provide the source material. Data that can be changed and altered. Already we have devices like Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kinect that can see a room as a point cloud of data, known the angle of a surface, the placing of people in 3d space. These devices are often fixed in place though, living room devices. Google are working on a new device called Project Tango. This mobile phone style device doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just have an ordinary camera in place. It has a 3d scanner, that in real-time can see the geometry of the room or place it is in. This means if we shoot video in the future, the size, shape and place and people involved in that event will be captured as digital positional data too. This makes it possible to start viewing things from multiple angles or combine into game environments and sets. it also makes it possible to merge the visuals of the a digital environment with a physical one

Further Viewing http://ustream.tv http://eightbar.co.uk/2007/06/13/pushing-the-wimbledonbroadcasting-envelope-web-20-is-web-do https://www.youtube.com/user/stampylonghead http://www.twitch.tv https://directr.co https://mixbit.com http://www.apple.com/uk/mac/imovie https://www.youtube.com/user/vepredator/videos https://www.google.com/atap/projecttango

in very rich ways. It would be difficult to not bet on Google matching this sensor device with itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s display device Google Glass. Other devices to view content like Oculus Rift, Sony Morpheus and alike need content to be produced in the way that game content is. Just as when you record video digitally you can do all sorts of edits and creative processes, so if you capture the entire geometry digitally there is scope for interesting applications, all of which can be shared live, or nearly live online.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Wrap! Like all social media people worry that things that are put up are trivial, pointless, somehow lacking in gravitas. However if one thing you put up makes one person not with you, a friend or family member, smile or feel a bit more connected then why not? The current media companies need to take note of a massive disruptive force in their industry. The disruption may not happen this week, but it is coming. There is a lot to be said for a well produced TV show, I was on one for 3 series with The Cool Stuff Collective so I speak with a bit of experience of the industry,

(though only a little). It takes time, effort and money to produce TV. Lots of commissioning politics and money from sponsors and advertisers floats around. Just watch the mockumentary series W1A about the BBC to get a flavour of it all. However now there is so much more scope to interact with the audience, to allow them into the content of the show. New styles of program and entertainment are forming, and adding to the wealth of styles we have already. The simplicity with which anyone can produce video without any permissions, hardly any kit and reach a global audience is very exciting. I hope it also will help people understand the effort that goes into effortless looking quality production too. The future of video is in our hands. We are all Makers now.

Ian can be found on twitter @epredator The future can be found on his website www.feedingedge.co.uk

Jaguar’s current advertising campaign for the new coupe F-Type has the best of British film baddies, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong hanging out of helicopters and speeding through London in the dead of night accompanied by the tagline ‘It’s good to be bad’. This marketing approach has, I can only guess been thought up to attract those who see Jags as driven by Arthur Daley wheeler-dealer types or cloth cap, driving gloves, duffers. I’m not usually one to side with the Ad Men but this methodology should be encouraged. The new Jags are very far from being boring and despite Indian ownership, they’re flying the flag of ‘Cool Britannia’ long after the memories of Britpop and Tony Blair’s Downing St garden parties have faded.

So what about the new F-Type? Well, the car I tested was the soft-top version and after just a few minutes in the drivers seat it had seduced me enough to know I was going to enjoy our time together. The pulsating engine ‘start’ button is pure theatre and there is a familiarity to the controls, and dials given from intelligent design and an interior (aside from a passenger hand grip) that is very much centered around the driver experience. It usually takes me a while to properly get the measure of a new car, but the F-Type feels like a favourite pair of jeans, albeit with immense firepower in your pocket. I drove the larger of the two V6 engines, the F-Type S (the car is available in 3 versions, a 3.0litre supercharged petrol engine (340PS and 380PS ’S’) and a superhero, 5.0litre V8 ’S’ version producing 495PS. At £56,000 for the entry level model, is very far from entry level in terms of spec (see below) and nestled nicely pricewise between two Porches (namely the Boxster and 911). It seems to be working

as right now it’s selling like the preverbal hot cakes. This front-engined, rear-wheel drive convertible takes inspiration from the classic E-Type, yes, it’s slightly less flamboyant, but you can see the family genes shine through. The F-Type has been designed by Ian Callum, the man responsible for all the recent Jaguars (not to mention the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish too) and he’s done a fantastic job to create something new, exciting and different, but with a nod to Jaguar’s rich history. The lines are clean and unfussy, the twin centre exhausts give it a symmetry and it looks fabulous from every angle. Off the blocks, my car will do 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, which is quick, but with a growly engine engine noise that can be tuned to your liking via the touchscreen console via a new Dynamic Drive system, it feels quicker. The joystick type gear shifter is hitech, but easy to use and according to the guy who dropped it off, similar to the one used in modern jet planes

Tech Spec n

Jaguar F-Type £69,500 V6 S

Engine 3.0 litre V6S Petrol Supercharged

Maximum Power EEC-PS (kW)

Maximum Torque - EEC - Nm 450

Transmission: 8-speed ‘Quickshift’

380 (280)

transmission n

Acceleration 0-62 mph: 5.1

Top Speed: 161mph

MPG: Urban 22.4 / Extra urban 40.9 / Combined 31.4

Carbon dioxide emissions - g/km 209

On the Road price: £67,520 Price as tested with options: £80,990 n

Bluetooth® telephone connectivity/ Sat Navigation

8” colour Touch-screen display

Bi-function HID Xenon headlamps with LED Daytime Running Lights & Direction

(however I couldn’t find the ejector seat button). Both S models have limitedslip-differential to maximise traction and out on the road, this means plenty of grip and plenty of fun. An all-aluminium double wishbone front and rear suspension systems provide a smooth driving experience and a top speed of 161mph ensures (if traffic conditions allow) a very quick way to get from A to B.

Downsides? Well the boot is too small and there are only two seats, but fuel consumption is fairly good and despite not driving the car over-efficiently I still managed approx 25mpg, which sat next to the combined MPG official figures (done by a robot) of 31.4mpg compares favourably. On a summers day with the roof down the F-Type embodies a Britishness that is wonderfully unique, and in the competitive world of high end sports cars that is something money just can’t buy.

Indicator n

Rear Parking Aid with Touch-screen visual indicator

Intelligent Stop/Start

Dynamic Stability Control (with Trac DSC

mode) n

Winter Mode - with enhanced Rain/Ice/

Jaguar Smart Key SystemTM with Keyless Start

18” Vela wheels

Single zone automatic climate control

Trip computer / touchscreen console

Intelligent venting system

Jaguar 180W Sound System - 6 speakers

Snow capabilities

DAB Radio Optional Extras include n

Configurable Dynamic Mode (£400)

Keyless Entry (& Start) (£450)

Performance Seats (£1,450)

Premium Leather Interior (£995)

Meridian Surround Sound System (£1,700)

Parking Pack (£500)

Flat Bottom Sport Steering Wheel (£400)

20-inch Turbine Wheels (£1,000)

For full spec details visit www.jaguar.co.uk

SEAT Leon ST FR 2.0 TDI By Frank Turner

Friends and families get together, the wine and chatter flows – and the whole chic and cheery gathering looks flawlessy stylish. For, like the French and Italians, the Spanish know a thing or two about looking good – and that extends to their cars. The latest case in point is the SEAT Leon ST, an estate with a sporting demeanour and a purposeful, crisp look. Flush Magazine ran the rule over the car, an FR 2.0 TDI DSG-auto, during a week-long loan, looking cool in ‘phantom black metallic’. Gone are the days when estate cars were merely beasts of burden, transport for reps and tradesmen, their load-carrying rear ends often looking like an afterthought. Now they are as attractive as their hatchback/saloon siblings. You can also apply the saying ‘handsome is as handsome does’ to the Leon ST FR, for the car handles in

just as sporting a manner as its looks suggest, with help from speciallytuned suspension. Mega-grippy cornering and a firm ride make the estate an engaging drive, with a spirited exhaust note for a soundtrack. The FR gains exclusive, sporty, front and rear bumpers, darktinted windows and chrome twintailpipe exhaust. And the pacy cues continue inside with the likes of front sports seats – ours were leather-upholstered – perforated leather steering wheel with red contrast stitching and FR logo, and aluminium front door sill trims. There’s a generous helping of tasty kit, with features including dualzone climate control, electrically folding and adjustable heated door mirrors which have integrated LED indicators, passenger door mirror with kerb function, drive profile for

SEAT Leon ST FR 2.0 TDI

different set-ups (sport/comfort/ eco/ individual), LED tail-lights, and front and rear parking sensors with optical parking system display. And it doesn’t end there … think coming-home headlight function, height-and reach-adjustable steering wheel, 12-volt power supply in the centre console, rear reading lights, ambient spot lighting and footwell illumination, five-inch touchscreen with posh satnav, MP3compatible CD player, Bluetooth and steering wheel-mounted audio and telephone controls… and more. Where safety is concerned, the Leon ST has been awarded a fivestar rating by assessment body Euro

NCAP. SEAT says the outstanding score puts the car among the very safest on the road. Features such as front passenger airbag deactivation, to facilitate installing a rear-facing child seat, helped achieve the score, while extensive use of high strength and ultra-high strength steels in key areas of the chassis ensure that the car remains as stable as possible during a collision. High-tech safety systems include lane-keeping assistant and multi-collision brake technology. On the practicality front, the loadspace is 587 litres, extending to 1,470 litres with the split-fold rear seats down. The illuminated boot

has a double floor, cargo rings, a cargo net and a 12-volt power socket, there’s a through-hatch into the cabin for long, thin stuff, and 13 cubbies. The DSG transmission offers full auto or selectable gears, but the former is so smooth and quick-shifting you will probably never bother with the latter. There’s smooth power aplenty from the two-litre diesel engine, which the maker says returns 60mpg (combined). The Leon ST FR is a captivating blend of Spanish flair and German quality, due to its tie-up with Volkswagen. It combines a thoroughly rewarding driving experience with lots of

practical features. My only niggle was the dark interior, which would have benefited by a dash of colour to liven it up. TECH SPEC: MAKE/MODEL: SEAT Leon ST FR 2.0 TDI TECHNICAL: 1,968cc, 184bhp, turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine. Six-speed automatic transmission. PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph, 7.8 seconds; top speed, 140mph. FUEL: 60mpg (combined) EMISSIONS: 122 g/km Price: £24,630.

Tour-De-Force DIESEL engines used to be noisy, clonking things that powered commercial vehicles, from lumbering lorries to busy bakers’ vans. By Frank Turner

Low-powered and plagued by vibration but long-lasting they were only considered suitable for motoring beasts of burden. Enter the turbo-charger and all manner of other technological enhancements which followed and diesel engines are now winning Le Mans and sitting under the bonnets of lots of upmarket motors. Honda, engineers par excellence, have been doing their bit to make the ‘oil-burner’ even more advanced and appealing, with their remarkable, new 1.6-litre engine. I had first sampled the power unit when Flush Magazine attended the launch of the Honda Civic Sports Tourer, the Japanese company’s new estate, and was impressed by its suppleness. The engine stands out because of its road tax-beating emissions level and great fuel economy – 74mpg was claimed for the Sports Tourer. But how would it fare in the larger and heavier SUV? After all, 1.6-litres may not sound much in the go department for a large-ish car.

The result is a lighter car with more nimble-feeling handling, the reduction in weight also helping the smaller engine – which produces a more-than-worthy 120 bhp.

I had driven, and enjoyed, a 2.2litre diesel version when the fourthgeneration CR-V was introduced, but this motor is, in some ways, a different proposition, offered in two-wheel drive only and with revised suspension.

The latest car has reduced height and length compared to its predecessor, without compromising interior space and the exterior lines look more confident and dynamic than its immediate

Honda CR-V 1.6i-DTEC SR 2WD manual aerodynamically optimised front bumper and rear spoiler help to manage the air-flow over the body, aiding performance, fuel economy and reducing exhaust emissions. Slip behind the (reach-and-rake adjustable) wheel and the cabin is a pleasant place to be, with top quality trim, comfortable, supportive seats and elegant dashboard layout. Honda describes the interior as offering a ‘spacious, comfortable and ergonomically efficient driving environment’ and that neatly sums it up.

forebear. Handsome features include streamlined door mirrors with integrated indicators, front LED daytime running lights and a full rear LED light cluster. Form and function go hand-inhand in the aerodynamics of the car. The adoption of a flat underfloor and sculptured wheel arches smooths the air flow under the car, while a long roof combined with

You will find plenty of space for rear seat passengers, and the car excels as a load carrier. There’s a one-action fold-down rear seat system. The seats have a 60/40 split function but the easy-to -use facility also allows them to be folded completely flat with a simple pull of one handle, offering a whopping 1,648 litres of load space with a full size spare wheel (1669 litres if a space-saver spare is specified). With the seats in place, the CR-V has 589 litres of cargo space – enough for four golf bags or three large suitcases. There were lots of lovely, usable standard features on our SR model (there’s an EX above it in specification). I’ll give you just a taste – cruise control, dual zone climate control, 18in alloys, CD/DAB radio with steering wheel controls, electric adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors, auto light and wipers, Bluetooth, driver power lumbar support, heated front

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Tour-De-Force

Honda CR-V 1.6i-DTEC SR 2WD manual

seats, half-leather and Alcantara upholstery, door lining ambient lighting, rear view camera and front and rear parking sensors. On the safety front, there’s a 5-star Euro NCAP rating, airbags a-plenty and a feast of very techy features, including Vehicle Stability Assist with Traction Control, Motion-Adaptive Electric Power Steering, Trailer Stability Assist , Anti-lock brakes with Emergency Stop System, Advanced Compatibility Engineering Body Structure Pedestrian Injury Mitigation Design and whiplash mitigation system. The driving experience is both comfortable and engaging. There’s a reassuring feeling of solidity and integrity about the car, and the engine does its stuff with aplomb. It revs freely and may not feel quite as torquey in high gear as other diesel units, but is well mated to a precise six-speed manual gearbox. Acceleration is brisk and get-along motorway driving a pleasure, with great visibility. Add that agile handling and you have an attractive driving package, my only niggle being a busy ride over broken road surfaces (which now abound).

The CR-V scores highly in so many areas, and with Honda’s excellent build quality and reputation for reliability should hold its price well. The smaller diesel engine enhances this practical and refined car – and is sure to benefit the wallet. TECH SPEC Make/model: Honda CR-V 1.6iDTEC SR 2WD manual Technical: 1,597cc four-cylinder diesel engine with six speed manual gearbox. Performance: 0-62mph, 11.2 secs; top speed, 113mph. Fuel: 62.8mpg (combined) Emissions: 119g/km Price: £27,815 OTR (inc £500 for metallic paint)

Art in Mo

2013 Citroen C4 Picas

If you have a family to cart around and lots of clobber then MPVs are a natural choice. There practical interiors full of innovative storage solutions, different seating permutations and excellent passenger comfort mean your precious cargo couldn’t be in better hands.

ere I am reviewing the new second generation C4 Picasso five-seat MPV that’s the first Peugeot Citroen model to sit an all-new £630 million platform dubbed EMP2. Set to underpin the entire Peugeot and Citroen ranges the new platform benefits from cutting edge manufacturing processes and uses high strength composite materials. It’s promised to bring new levels of comfort, refinement and driving dynamics as well as lower emissions and weight reductions. Citroen has certainly got their mojo back with the C4 Picasso as it looks fantastic especially in a class ruled by dull design. The front has been given the Nissan Juke treatment with headlights sitting below LED DRLs which are incorporated neatly into the brand’s double chevron bars. In profile a neat chrome frame intersects across the rear quarter window and the unusually long wheelbase creates a balanced look. The rear has more than a passing remlance to the latest crop of Audis with horizontal onepiece taillights and a smooth

wraparound tailgate. The look is lifted by Citroen’s cool 3D light graphics have clearly come straight from the DS3. Inside the modern theme continues with an unashamedly futuristic design with modern curves and angles and lashings of gloss black and silver trim. The materials used are of premium

otion

sso HDi 115 Exclusive

by Rob McSorley

instead there’s a 7 inch touchscreen with a scattering of touch sensitive buttons on each side. I found it a cinch to operate although I’m sure some will find controlling the air conditioning via a sub menu problematic. Oddly though the steering wheel has tons of buttons. Traditional dials are replaced by second centrally mounted binnacle hiding a 12 inch screen displaying the speedo and peripheral dials. It’s a crystal clear HD unit on higher spec models such as my test car and can display sat nav instructions, trip information and even a wallpaper of your choice from a USB stick. There are also themes to choose from.

quality throughout with nicely textured soft touch plastics covering the entire dash and doors. The asymmetrical seats are a little quirky but are as comfortable as they look. It all makes the Picassos interior easily the best non-DS interior Citroen has produced in recent years. The layout is a first for Citroen doing away with traditional buttons on the centre console

As is the norm for MPVs there are storage spaces galore including a large centre glovebox, front and rear underfloor compartments and neatly concealed cubbies under the front seats. There’s also a deep bin between the front seats where the handbrake would usually be as it’s dash mounted in this particular model. Despite being both shorter and lower than the old car the new C4 Picasso is roomier inside thanks to the new platform. Leg, head and shoulder room for 5 adults is plentiful and the individual rear seats slide individually varying the amount of leg or boot space. They also fold flush into the floor. Luggage capacity is better

Art in Mo

2013 Citroen C4 Picas

than before to offering 537 litres with the seats in the furthest back position and 630 litres with them forward. When you do fold all the rear seats there’s a massive 1,851 litres of space which can be further extended by folding the front passenger seat down, ideal for long items. My test car test car’s power comes from Citroen’s tried-and-tested 1.6litre HDi diesel motor producing 115bhp at 3,600 rpm hooked up to a 6 speed manual transmission. As the new car weighs a sizeable 140 kg less than before performance in surprisingly brisk with impressive midrange grunt once the turbo wakes up. Refinement is also brilliant with very little audible grumble even when cold. The manual box has a slightly rubbery feel but accurate and nicely weighted steering is reassuring although ultimately it lacks the feedback enthusiastic drivers demand. For an MPV though it’s perfectly acceptable. The new platform features with the same MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear configuration but it has clearly been better tuned than ever before. Corners are handled with a little initial lean but beyond this the Picasso grips well, remains composed and feels really stable. It also feels a lot lighter on its toes and considerably less wooden than before. The ride is its greatest asset managing to mask any

imperfections in the road beautifully and it does so very quietly. Long journeys will fly by without any fuss thanks to superb levels of refinement - wind and road noise are kept outside the cabin at all times. Running costs are class leading especially with the stop-start technology fitted. Emissions of just 105 g/km make first year VED free then just £20 thereafter - excellent for a car of this size. Economy is also nothing short of outstanding Citroen quote 70.6 mpg combined. I managed 60 mpg combined. It’s worth noting though that a range of Blue HDI engines are on the horizon which promise even better economy and lower emissions still.

otion

sso HDi 115 Exclusive Equipment across the C4 Picasso range is generous with standard equipment including the touchscreen infotainment system, panoramic windscreen, dual-zone climate control, electric front and rear windows, cruise control, alloy wheels and a handful of airbags and safety systems. Leaping up to Exclusive trim brings with it the 12 inch HD display, larger 17 inch wheels, sat-nav, more chrome trim,

keyless entry with engine start/ stop button, reversing camera and parking sensors.

pulling away and does the same if a frontal impact is imminent. If you like you can also get your C4 Picasso with a passenger seat RELAX function that has an electronic footrest and massage function.

Verdict

After a week with the C4 Picasso it’s not difficult to appreciate its unique, futuristic design inside and out. It’s a very easy car to get on with thanks to an alluring blend of comfort, refinement, practicality and economy. The new platform and impressive weight loss make the Citroen extremely good to drive. The Ford CMAX may still have the edge in terms of handling but the C4 Picasso is infinitely more distinctive and can be specified with tons of cutting-edge technology making it one of the very best MPVs money can buy right now.

Tech Data

Price as tested: £23,999 (£21,555 excl options) Engine: 1.6 16v 115 bhp My test car was fitted with a number 0-62mph: 11.8 secs of extras. The £849 Exclusive Maximum Speed: 117 mph Convenience pack represent decent Economy: 62.8 mpg (urban) 74.3 value for money as it includes a mpg (extra-urban), 70.6 mpg motorised tailgate, front parking (combined) sensors, Park Assist with 360 degree Emissions: 105 g/km (Band B) cameras, blind spot monitoring, VED (12 months): £20 radar-guided cruise control, autoDimensions: dipping headlights and a Lane Length - 4428 mm Departure Warning Warning System. Width - 1829 mm The latter vibrates the seatbelt if you Height - 1610 mm cross lanes without indicating. There’s Wheelbase: 2785 mm also an active seatbelt safety system that tightens the front seatbelts when Follow Rob on Twitter @DriverVIBE

TECH REVIEW

Shoot and Go Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom By Mary Barber AS a keen amateur photographer and traveller I’d been looking for a phone with a quality camera for some time. One I could keep in my handbag at home, and on my travels. “bump”, was also useful to keep shots steady. When I turned it over there was a bigger than average 4.3in touch screen, which had all the usual elements of a Samsung phone.

I’ve used various smartphones before but have never really found one that could deliver in a range of different situations. A bright day is one thing, but taking photos in poor light conditions, or on the move has always been a challenge, and generally results have been disappointing. Enter the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. When it was launched last year it was the only smartphone on the market with a 10x optical zoom. At first glance this Android ‘device’ looked more like a camera than a phone, it had a big motorised lens and a powerful Xenon flash – great for taking sharp images, even in low light. The raised hand grip, or

Combining so much in a single device inevitably made it bulkier and heavier, but a small price to pay for such a good mobile/camera companion. I was seriously impressed by the quality of the sharp, clear shots when compared to even the better Nokia mobile phone cameras and products like the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom are in danger of consigning the compact camera (as we know it) to the scrapheap . The key features were the optical zoom, 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and built in image stabiliser. This helped reduce blur in images and videos if the camera wasn’t held perfectly still - very useful when on the move. Shots were also made easier by the digital controls, instead of the traditional dials and buttons you got in the ‘old days’. For the more experienced photographer there was a manual focus option, but I enjoyed

It was easy to forget when taking photos that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom was also a smartphone with many of the same features as the top selling Galaxy S4. These included the usual internet, email, text message facilities, as well as S Translator, Story Album and Group Play. It even makes phone calls! There are many other options, like the In-Call Photo Share, which allows you to capture and share images instantly during a call. And Photo Suggest, which connects you to libraries of images taken by other photographers. The 8GB of internal memory is also useful for storing a never ending library of memories. The only slight snag I had was getting used to holding what looked like a camera to my ear. Battery life was also about average but it charged up quickly. Samsung’s mission was to create a single device that fulfilled the role of a smartphone with a high-end compact camera. For me, it was mission accomplished. Price – from around £400 or free on certain contracts Visit www.samsung.co.uk for more info.

trying out the 25 pre-set smart modes, which included landscape, silhouette, best photo, macro or automatic. The colours were as vibrant in the outdoor night shots and those taken during the day. Green, in particular, really popped out. The only downside was the indoor shots – some were not quite as sharp as I would have liked.

WIN one of two Kano computer sets

You know youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on to a good thing when your KickStarter campaign reaches $100,000 in less than 18hrs and finishes with over 1.5 million dollars raised. Kano has been created for inquisitive young minds to find an exciting way into computers and computer programming. Its mission is to be simple to use, look great, and most importantly engage and inspire creativity. Using the amazing Raspberry Pi as its heart, each Kano Kit contains...

Inspired by the simplicity of LEGO, the Kano OS runs six Kano Levels, with software projects to make Pong, Snake, Minecraft, videos, and music. Do cool stuff like connect blocks, output Python or Javascript with live code updating. Make your own power-ups (two-player-mode, teleportation) then earn new ones. Huge Pong balls! Massive TNT towers! Code cheats, Kano lets kids see updates, learn how to change the games and understand the code behind them.

Enter overleaf >

HOW TO ENTER

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve for two brilliant Kano Kits to give away, just visit www.flushthefashion.com/win/kano to enter our competition. Alternatively you can also email your name and address to kano at flushthefashion.com For more info visit http://kano.me/

CONTACT Editor: Pete Graham pete@flushmagazine.co.uk Art Director: Dawn Li dawn@flushmagazine.co.uk For advertising enquiries, call 01603 387120 or email: ads@flushmagazine.co.uk www.flushmagazine.co.uk

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