inSYNC - Issue 5, March 2014 by inSYNC

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Contributing Team Design Editor - George Hall Technology Editor - Tobi Stidolph Gaming Editor - Jack Whiteaway Music Editor - Luke Jackson Sports Editor (inSYNC Portsmouth) - Tom Emmans

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inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

Road,

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Contents

12 The Lego Movie & Game The inSYNC low-down of the new Lego Movie and the

videogame of the movie.

14 Advertise @ inSYNC Business owners, get your business out there with inSYNC Advertising.

The $25 Smartphone

Cover

- Live at Ally Pally, The Lego Movie & Game and inSYNC on the Oscars

inSYNC’s View of the Oscars

2 inSYNC Subscribe today and meet the team.

UK Festival News

See which festivals have announced what so far in 2014.

3 Contents Your here now! See what’s in inSYNC March 2014.

101 Reykjavik

20 podd.io

On the cover this month: The Samsung Galaxy S5, Foals

Editor’s Note

See what Editor George Hall has to say about inSYNC’s latest Issue.

Byte-Size News

Take a look at some quick, entertaining stories from the past month.

6 Ring

The next piece of wearable tech coming our way.

6/7

inSYNC on Kindle

Take a look at Alcatel’s new super-budget smartphone.

We take a look at the fun and games from this year’s 86th Academy Awards.

Ad for the new Icelandic inspired Kaffibar in Portsmouth.

Some tech news from our friends at podd.io.

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Bill Gates

Twenty One Pilots: Live in Portsmouth

A quick look at the new South Park game.

Bill Gates is returning to Microsoft.

inSYNC Live at Twenty One Pilots’ latest south coast gig.

If you have an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, get inSYNC now.

24 dividephotography

Check out wedding and event photographers divide.

f.lux

The Samsung Galaxy S5

inSYNC on iPad

The piece of software for your PC that can help you sleep.

Avicii: Live at Earls Court

Our experiences at Avicii’s latest London DJ gig.

Our featured article of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone.

Batman: Arkham Night

inSYNC coming to iBooks for iPad and iPhone soon.

Take a look at the announcement for the latest Batman videogame.

32 Foals

34 Sherlock

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Business owners, get your business out there with inSYNC Advertising.

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Our 3rd gig review in February; we see Foals at Ally Pally.

A Sherlock theme park coming to Portsmouth.

Editor’s Note

Editor’s Note Issue 5, March 2014

inSYNC Issue 5, March 2014 has a lot to offer. With three gig reviews, the latest flagship smartphone from Samsung and the next piece of wearable tech, Issue 5 is a must read.

This month sees the release of our first regional, city-specific inSYNC edition, for Portsmouth UK. As well as our usual, national guide on business, technology and music. inSYNC Portsmouth includes our featured Blue News segment, written by Tom Emmans. This gives you all the latest up-to-date news and gossip from Portsmouth Football Club and Fratton Park. In addition to this we also have a what’s on guide for Portsmouth; giving you information on many local events on inMarch and April. If you want us to publish your event in inSYNC next month, just contact us on our website (details below). Its all free to advertise on the what’s on guide. Our featured article this month is on Samsung’s newly announced flagship smartphone,

the Smasung Galaxy S5 (page 26). Take a look at Ring; the next advance in wearable tech that allows you to type on your smartdevice in mid-air, and make contactless payments (page 6). This month we also have three gig reviews: Sweedish DJ Avicii - Live at Earls Court (page 8), small band Twenty One Pilots - Live at the Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth (page 23), and Foals - Live at Alexandra Palace (page 32). Make sure you check out our Spotify inSYNC Top 30, with some of the hottest music on. Take a look on Spotify, and follow our playlist to get out latest playlist. Editor’s Pick: I suggest reading the small story on byte-size news about the news .london domain. The .london domain is being launched next month for local London-based businesses to have specific domain names. Enjoy your read, and check back in four weeks for inSYNC - Issue 6, April 2014. Keep up-to-date with all the latest technology news inbetween issues, at www.insynctm.com. Also follow us on Twitter @ insyncmag. We are also on Facebook, Google+, Blogger and Instagram.

George Hall, inSYNC Editor Twitter @geogeohall

www.insynctm.com | Twitter @insyncmag | insynctm@gmail.com

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

Byte-Size News music | Book OutKast

OutKast

With excitement building for OutKast’s 20th Anniversary Reunited Tour, and their headline set at Bestival it is surprising that you can literally book the award-winning duo directly on their website. Filing an Entertainment Request Form online will allow you to obtain a quote for your event. I’m sure doing a form will be a bit of fun to see what they would say. But, I’m sure the price won’t be something to laugh at! Although, the duo have been on hiatus since to 2007, ‘til now, they did resign to Epic Records in 2011, and rumours of a new album have been circulating for ages.

Amazon, last month, delivered a customer a brand new Nissan Versa Note, which he bought online. Becuase the car was delivered in a giant box, everyone presumed that this was a hoax to make people believe Amazon was now delivering vehicles. Turns out this was no hoax. We found out that this was real, after the recip-

something unusual | Man Lost In Dubai Mall Dubai: One of the richest cities on the planet, with the record-breaking buildings at every turn. Dubai Mall is officially the World’s Largest Mall. A man last month has described his ordeal of being lost in Dubai Mall for 13 months. The Italian tourist, who claims to be 29 and called Benison Zento, recently turned up at a remote customer service desk saying that he had been living off fast food whilst trying to find an exit. Zento is believed to have gone into Dubai Mall for a one-day shopping trip with a fellow tourist, but was supposedly distracted by a shopping festival and a trip to the Dubai Aquarium, which is situated within the Mall. According to Zento, he lost his partner 3 months into the ordeal after she refused to eat anymore Baskin Robbins. However, UAE authorities are trying to figure out the legitimacy of the Italian’s story, with experts saying how could someone have survived for that long. Especially, with none or very little money. Not to mention the fact that why no one noticed he was missing, no one spoke to Zento or a member of staff did npt pick up on it. Also, I don’t know about you, but if I got lost in a public place I would speak to someone. Especially in the biggest shopping centre on the globe. But Zento, who is due to be reunited with his family, still managed to show a trace of humour despite his nightmare. “Who knows, perhaps I’ll come back again,” he joked from his hospital bed. “I hear the next summer surprises shopping festival will be the best one yet.”

technology | Go Pro Dropped From Plane Survives

technology | .london Domain Launching London are launching a .london domain name for London-based business, starting from April 29th. According to a recent survey, 1 in 4 London business are likely to sign up for the new service. The .london domain was secured last year in a deal with ICANN, who will roll out more than 1000 generic domains.

A women called Mia Munselle was cleaning out her farm’s pig pen when she stumbled across one very dirty GoPro Sports Camera. And, of course, being curious decided to watch the footage that was on it. Well it was a great find when it turned out that the camera had been lost from a skydiving plane, and after falling hundreds of feet, and lying in the pen for 8 months it had survived. When the camera hit the floor, it did not take long for the pigs to find it and try to make it their dinner. This pig actually turned off the GoPro with its snout.

London wanted to be the first city in the World with its own domain name, but were beaten to it by Berlin - .berlin - and Vienna - .wein. However, London will get its personalised domain name before New York gets its .nyc domain later this year. London will have a 3 month priority sale period, which begins on 29th April. This will allow businesses to reserve their .london domain name before it goes on general sale on July 29th.

This is great publicity for the camera-maker, as it proves that GoPro can be dropped from a flying aircraft and survive!

Gordon Innes, Chief Executive of London & “This is an incredible response from London’s

Trademarked companies line to snatch the

Partners, said: small business

community which sees .london as an opportunity to claim an exciting new web address that is uniquely associated with our city’s powerful brand.”

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

will be appropriate

first in domains.

technology

The Next Piece of Wearable Tech: Ring

Got a Kind

The army of wearable tech continues to grow with SmartWatches taking off and Google Glass not far behind. The new Ring is way more than a fashion item; allowing you to control smartdevices with gesture controls, text transmission , and even pay for things. The new, innovative input device with builtin gesture controls offers users a more convenient way to control your smartdevices. From the first images of this new piece of wearable technology, we can see that Ring is a small, thick silver ring that can be worn with ease on your index finger. The device has builtin BlueTooth 4.0, and this allows the Ring to connect to your smartphone or tablet. You can control compatible devices with the Ring. The Ring also features an optional Ring Hub that can send Infrared or WiFi to compatible devices, allowing you to control extra devices, like home appliances, that were previously incompatible with the Ring’s current software.

The Ring also has very precise letter recognition software that allows users to type letters anywhere and at anytime. You can type Tweets, post of Facebook and more. Its social networking in the air. The Ring also allows users to make remote payments via GPS or iBeacon. All you have to do is trace the number with your finger or gesture a checkmark at the current participating stores. The internal batteries give users approx. 1000 finger gestures before a recharge is neccessary. The team developing Ring are currently trying to raise funds with Kickstarter, and pledging $165 will get you a Ring of your very own, to try and tinker with. If you’re interested in this next piece of wearable tech then get onto Ring’s Kickstarter page. The big question with the future of Ring is, however, will it be a wearable tech 5-minute-fad, as Air Gestures become more and more relevant in everyday devices or is the Ring here to stay, to work alongside our existing devices. | Tobi Stidolph

Read inSY

Available from the Amazon Kindle S

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

technology

f.lux: The New Software to Help Your Sleeping

dle Fire?

YNC now.

Computers and mobile smartdevices are designed so that the screen emulates sunlight. To lookl at sunlight during the day is fine, but when it gets to 10pm or 2am then this can cause problems with your vision and sleeping pattern. f.lux is a piece of software available for PC, Mac, Linux, iPad and iPhone, for free, that makes the coloursof your computer’s or smartdevice’s display adapt to the time of day. This means warm colours during the night time and like sunlight during the day. From a health point of view, it is fair to say that if you do a lot of computer work at night then the bright computer or tablet display could mean your staying up way too late. Your screen brightness could be causing you to stay up later than normal; this is a physcological effect of the brain. f.lux’s two main functions, are to help you sleep better and to make your computer screen look better during hours of darkness. f.lux also makes your any of your devices’ screens look like the room your are situated in. The software functions on your computer or mobile device twenty-four hours a day, regulating the screen colour and brightness. When you first download the program it will tell you your exact location, which you can confirm. It does this so that it knows when sunrise and sunset is where your are. This means the night mode will not kick in at 5pm in the summer month; and it won’t kick in when you’ve already had 5 hours of darkness in the winter months. f.lux can also tell whether you are inside a building or outside. This is particularly handy when f.lux is being used on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. You can also tell f.lux what kind of lighting your house or office contains. This will regulate colours according to the room. Once your set up, it easy, you don’t have you do anything else. f.lux will work constantly, in the background, ajusting the colours of your display! If you think that f.lux is another typical, boring piece of software, think again. This can really help you when using your computer or tablet, and can also give your screen an awesome night-time, coloured tint.

Store and at www.insynctm.com.

Download f.lux now for you Mac, PC or Linus from www.justgetflux.com. Or download it on your iPhone or iPad from the Apple App Store. | Tobi Stidolph

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

music

AVICII

Live at Earls Court Avicii - DJ Set So 2013 was an excellent year for one of the World’s top DJs. Swedish man Avicii had gained World fame in the last 12 months working with an endless list of names throughout the music industry. inSYNC took a trip to see Avicii’s DJ set gig at Earls Court in South London at the end of February. This is Avicii’s first major tour; showcasing his debut album True. This may have been his first but Avicii definitely knows how to put on a show; confetti, fire, indoor fireworks, smoke and streamers, with the effects going off at certain points, all timed to the music. The DJ headed out to an 8,000-strong crowd, opening with his hit single Hey Brother, which has been a huge song for the DJ/Producer. Hey Brother got to Number 1 in Austira, both of Belgium’s Charts, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, all 3 of Hungary’s main charts, 2 out of 3 of Holland’s main charts, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK’s Dance Chart and the US Hot Dance Club Songs Chart. Avicci had an awesome DJ setup with the front of his equipment acting a small screen, with a larger LCD screen behind him. This bought what was going on in the background into the foreground too. It added to the atmosphere. Lasers and strobe lighting was plentiful, and if your thinking that Avicii can’t possibly have enough songs to cover a 2 hour set, you’d be wrong. He played about 6 of his own songs from the True album, but mixed together some of the World’s hottest songs. Bingo Players, Disclosure, Rihanna and Actic Monkeys were all added to make the gig one for excitement and anticipation. The crowd were definitely not short of energy, and joined in the popular hits going down. The Swedish DJ also player his two hit singles You Make Me and Addicted To You. Not forgetting the song that made him famous; Levels. Avicii then returned to the stage for the one-song encoure, grand finale. He played his hit Wake Me Up, that features American Soul singer Aloe Blacc. Blacc became World famous in 2011, with his global smash hit I Need A Dollar. Wake Me Up took the world by strom at the end of last year, and did even better than Hey Brother. It reached the Number One stop in Australia, Austria, both of Belgium’s top charts, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, the Euro Digital Songs Chart, Finland, France, Germany, both of Greece’s top charts, all 3 of Hungary’s top charts, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Holland, New Zealand, Norway, both of Poland’s top charts, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK Singles Chart, the UK Dance Chart, 4 out of 7 of the USA’s top charts and in Venezuela. I was pleasently surprised by Avicii’s gig. Usually the mainstream artists do not put on such a good show, but I would definitely go again when Avicii is next in London! I would receommend it, if you get the chance to see the DJ. | Tobi Stidolph

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

music

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

gaming

The next gen game with the superhero Batman: Arkham Knight As we progress deeper into 2014 and the next generation of games consoles, we are seeing more and more games come to the systems. Not surprisingly, this announcement was for the anticipated new Batman game, from WB Monreal, after they took over from game-makers Rocksteady. According to VideoGamer.com, this game is the “Explosive finale” to the Batman Arkham game series. So what can we expect from the game that is due to be

released in Autumn of 2014? Well, we can expect a multiplayer game, much like what we saw in Batman: Arkham Origins, a game, which really helped the series progress.

their website, which apparently told people to expect the game in October 2014. Batman games have defined video games over the past few years, and beating titles such as Assassins Creed in creativity and different thinking, definitely shows us that the makers know how a great game should work. The games have impressed thousands, and whilst I have had my issues with Batman: Arkham Asylum, the

series has progressed, and come on in leaps and bounds in its popularity; especially in the last three years. Thats all the information we currently have really about Arkham Knight, as this is a new announcement. We hope

This time the Batmobile is meant to be a part of the “Core gameplay”, in this frachiseending game. UK video game retailer GAME have taken down a listing from

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

to have more information in the coming months. Get upto date with all gaming news at www.insynctm.com or follow us on Twitter @insyncmag. | Jack Whiteaway

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Increase your business or serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public outreach by advertising in inSYNC or at insynctm.com

We offer very affordable advertising solutions for businesses. You can show off your business to our many readers today! Contact us now for more details. | insynctm@gmail.com | 07414 715157 March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

film

The Lego Movie and The Lego Movie Game The Movie: The Lego Movie is the new stop-motion picture, bringing a family-friendly story to the world of Lego. Because the movie is stop-motion and not animated, it is like Wallce & Gromit, where each scene is built and the character’s positions are changed all by hand. This means nothing was done by computer and the film took 3 years to make and film. The film has been very successful with adults and children enjoying the wonderful world of Lego. The movie took around $360 million at Box Office, smashing the $60 million budget. The film, which stars Will Ferrel, was rated 90% on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. The movie boasts amazing Lego stop-motion animation, lots of big names for the voice cast, including Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman, and to be honest, a surprisingly thoughful, and well thought-out storyline. The way Lego have diversified in the 21st Century has been clever; designing videogames, and now a movie, that children can interact with. Especially as, although the colourful building bricks are still incredibly popular, videogames have taken over the modern world. Backed up by the fact a three-year-old can, for some reason, function an iPad better than some people’s parents. Read on the find out about the new Lego: The Movie videogame, that was released alongside the movie. The Game: Whether your aged five or fifty, Lego has been enjoyed by all for over 80 years. Lego’s possibilities are endless; giving you the ability to build literally anything from designing a mad house all the way to creating a spaceship that has been thought up in the imaginary minds of children who dream of going beyond the stars. The latest instalment of Lego madness comes, this time, with a blockbuster movie. And, whilst this technological era has brought about a new form of virtual Lego, the imaginary possibilities are still endless. Alongside The Lego Movie, Lego have release The Lego Movie Game. The new Lego game doesn’t disappoint, with levels that boggle the mind and make you never want to put down the controller. But, whilst the game is amazing, there is something missing; something beneficial to the game, something Lego should always be. And that’s Creative. Games such as Banjo & Kazooie take pride in the creative elements and possibilities within. From designing any vehicle you want, you can travel the virtual world, in the weirdest and wackiest of vehicles. The Lego Movie game lacks this. Lego should always be mad, and don’t get me wrong, it is, but there needs to be a free-play or sandbox mode. This should be where you can design and build anything, and take yourself back to your childhood. When I was a child I never put the stuff down, and played for hours with, non-stop. It’s clear everyone wants a game similar to this. Just look at Minecraft, and the roaring success that the game has enjoyed. Personally, I believe the

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

gaming

game would benefit greatly from a new mode that entices you to bring out your inner-child again. But there is something the Lego game does very well and that’s appeal to a very wide audience. For ages now Lego games have been bought by children and adults alike, but with this game there’s something new, something fresh, that makes people want to buy it. Whether that’s simply because of PS4 and Xbox One games being a very small market and the moment or not, it just seems to be appealing to everyone. The game takes place in the depths of the movie, and you play levels linked to it. The game hasn’t lost any of the Lego humour or fun and takes these elements to a new level with the new game. The game works well on the next generation platform, and I believe the developers have used the Xbox One and PlayStation4 as a base to work on. However, whilst the game is very good, there is a lack of something that makes it just that extra bit special. The other games had it spot on from comedy to gameplay, but there’s definitely something missing. However, I don’t believe that this is the game developers’ fault; but its not the usual Lego console game we see! We will have to wait and see how this fairs against the other much anticipated title expected later this year. | Jack Whiteaway

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

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inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

technology

Meet the $25 Smartphone... The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month did not just see the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S5, but also Mozilla’s new $25 smartphone. Mozilla talked about its O/S plans for the next year and also announced a line of budget smartphones that will be aimed at lower income persons and emerging and developing countries. The smartphones will be HTML5-powered, and the chip will be built by Chinese fabless semiconductor designer Spreadtrum. The company has developed a trio of chipsets that are built around the ARM Cortex A5 processor. This makes the, cheap and reliable. Although the $25 smartphone is nothing compared to the likes of Samsung’s latest flagship, Mozilla is starting to position its newest products at a target audiences, that, currently, can only afforda standard/feature phone. This said, it means that Mozilla’s new phone is a step up for emerging markets, rather than the step down that some of us who can afford high-powered smartphones think of it as. Firefox does not have a huge market share in the smartphone industry at the moment, but with this new budget device, it could propell the company forward greatly. This year will bring Firefox O/S handsets on to the smartphone market in greater numbers. Phone-makers Alcatel and ZTE are both going to start producing budget smartphones featuring the Firefox O/S. In 2014 Alcatel will be bringing out three new handsets. The highest-end Alcatel phone announced is the Alcatel One Touch Fire S, which will boast a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and a nice 4.5-inch 960x540 resolution screen. The lowest-end of the phones is the One Touch Fire C, which has a 1.2GHz dual-core proce ssor, which is still good for a phone of this price, and a 3.5-inch 480x320 resolution screen. The other phone manufacturer, ZTE, is bringing out two phones this year. These are of lower spec than the Alcatel models, however. They both will feature a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and will be available with either a 4-inch 800x480 resolution screen or a 3.5-inch 480x320 resolution screen. Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei is also joining the Firefox O/S platform this year, when it announces its upcoming Ascend Y300 smartphone. To make smartdevices ever-more available to the developing nations of the World, Firefox has also said that there OS will be available for tablets in the coming future. Mozilla has been working together with hardware companies to create a tablet design. VIA has made a 7-inch tablet, sporting the Firefox O/S and Foxconn has designed a 10-inch device.

Alcatel, alongside their budget smartphone also announced the One Touch Fire 7, which is a tablet with a 7-inch display, 960x540 resolution and a 1.2GHz dual-core. To also help revenues, Mozilla is aiming for a low-end and mid-range model. smartphone. Firefox’s new O/S will have some upcoming software updates to introduce a new look. Google has also launched a beta development program in Chrome on Android to allow developers to get their HTML5 apps on Android as well as the Firefox O/S. | Tobi Stidolph

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

film The 86th Academy Awards seemed to offer something very different in the World of film. Humour and excitement was an adament part of 2014’s Oscars. Rivalry, selfies, photobombing and pizza seemed to sum up the Oscars banter, not to mention the amazing choice of films to were nominated for this year’s awards. American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years A Slave and The Wolf of Wall Street were all nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Lupita Nyong’o won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Patsy in 12 Years A Slave. 12 Years A Slave also won Best Picture. Nyong’o was also in Liam Neeson’s first film of the year, Non-Stop. Lupita also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, including Best Supporting Actress.

inSYNC’s VIEW OF THE 86th ACADEMY AWARDS 2014

Matthew McConaughey won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his part as Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club. Leonardo DiCaprio remains for one the best regarded actors of all time who is yet to win an Oscar. DiCaprio was nominated for his role as Jordan Belfort in the controversial Box Office smash hit The Wolf of Wall Street. The other nominees for Best Actor included Christian Bale for American Hustle, Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Chiwetel Ejiofor for his role in 12 Years A Slave. Leo DiCaprio’s co-star Jonah Hill was also nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street. The sci-fi film Gravity starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock did the best at this years’ Oscars picking up 7 awards, including, Best Cinemaphotography.

The 2014 Oscars were hosted by chat show host Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen has be famed for hosting her own show, and talking to many celebrities about their work in Hollywood. Hosting the Academy Awards is the icing on the cake; and has allowed her to become even more famous globally. Hosting the Oscars has meant that Ellen’s years of chatting to the biggest celebs was not all for nothing. Not to mention the DeGeneres made a packet out of Samsung’s Oscars advertising campaign. Ellen has done extremely well in getting herself to where she is, and being picked to host the Acadmey Awards. We can’t wait to see who will be up on the stage in 2015.

film

AND SAMSUNG’S ADVERTISING SECRET BEHIND BRADLEY COOPER’S FAMOUS OSCARS SELFIE

Best Film 12 Years A Slave Best Actor Matthew McConaughey Best Actress Cate Blanchett Best Supporting Actor Jared Leto Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong’o Best Animated Feature Frozen Best Cinematograhy Gravity Best Costumes The Great Gatsby Best Directing Gravity Best Documentary 20 Feet From Stardom Best Documentary Short The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life Best Film Editing Gravity Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty Best Makeup & Hair Dallas Buyers Club

Go to insynctm.com to see the full list of Oscar Winners

The famous Oscar selfie that we’ve all been hearing about recently was actually a pre-planned publicity stunt by Samsung. Host Ellen played with a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 during the Academy Awards broadcast and then handed Bradley Cooper the phablet device for him to take a selfie. As well as this product placement, Samsung also forked out an estimated $20 million for adverts to run during the breaks. While the selfie seemed to be part of the fun, it wasn’t entirely spontaneous. Samsung and their media buying company Starcom MediaVest got the device integrated into the show. Samsung saw the opportunity to advertise their latest products, as so-called ad-skipping is not really present at an event like the Oscars. This is because the majority of the viewers watched the ceremony unfold live. And although the South Korean tech-giant declined to comment on the cost of their advertising at the Oscars, ad tracking firm Kantar Media estimates that ABC were charging advertisers $1.8 million for just thirty seconds of live TV time. This means that Samsung could have spent upto $20 million.

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

The Simpsons; one of the best, most loved, most respected and longest running TV cartoon show of all time. Trust Matt Groening to get involved with popular culture and create this image of Cooper’s Oscars selfie, whilst kicking Homer out of the picture. Of course we see all the celebs drawn in Simpsons form.

Above is the image, that was taken by a professional photographer at the Academy Awards, of Bradley Cooper taking the selfie, with the other celebrities and the well-placed Galaxy Note in the forefront of the picture.

Benedict Cumberbatch won Best Photobomb of the night at the Oscars, when he imposed this arieal takeover of U2’s photograph. U2 remained posed in the picture, whilst Cumberbatch initiates the bomb in the background. Second to this host Ellen DeGeneres also joined in on the photobombing fun, in which the picture broke the record for the most retweeted photograph to date.

music

UK Festival News Check out what has been happening in the uk in february. below are all the current lineups for some of britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best and biggest festivals.

V Festival Top - Middle

Reading & Leeds festival - Above Boomtown Festival - Below

Wireless Festival Middle sle of wight festival Bottom Middle Latitude festival - above download festival below

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

what’s on: Portsmouth

Find Out What’s Happening In Portsmouth (10th Mar - 08th Apr 2014) - Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games on the Big Screen Portsmouth Guildhall Square 07th Mar - 16th Mar

- Rich Dad, Poor Dad Workshop Marriot Hotel, N. Harbour 20th Mar

- Bombay Bicycle Club Gig at Portsmouth Guildhall 10th Mar

- London Symphony Orchestra Gig at Portsmouth Guildhall 21st Mar

- Love Southsea Market Palmerston Road, Southsea 05th Apr

- Unveiling of Cockleshell Heroes Memorial Plaque Rose Gardens 23rd Mar

- Family Activity Area HMS Warrior 05th Apr

- Pride & Prejudice Kings Theatre 26th Mar - 29th Mar

- Local Famers’ Market Palmerston Road, Southsea 16th Mar

- Sarah Millican Portsmouth Guildhall 27th Mar

- Macbeth Groundlings Theatre 17th Mar - 18th Mar - The Circus of Horrors Kings Theatre 18th Mar - The Feeling Gig at the Wedgewood Rooms 20th Mar

- Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Bruckner’s Ninth Portsmouth Guildhall 03rd Apr

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

- PortSunny Waterside Market Port Solent 06th Apr - Camp Adventure Portsmouth Watersports Center 07th Apr - Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit Gig at the Wedgewood Rooms 08th April - Commonwealth Day Flag Raising Ceremony Guildhall Square 10th Mar

podd.io

For inSYNC Issue 5, we teamed up with the good folks at podd.io to bring you some more exciting technology and movie news. To see more of podd.io and catch up on the latest science and culture news visit www.podd.io now.

APPLE ANNOUNCE CAR PLAY

N++ Demo Announcement N++ trailer posted, playable demo planned for next month! Developer Metanet Software have today shared more details on N++, the action platformer that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, N+. The new game has been conﬁrmed as a PS4-exclusive, which is interesting given that N+ was only available on the Xbox Live Arcade. The series originated with the free browser game N, which is available to play on its creator’s website.

“THE NINJA MOVES WITH AN EXAGERATED SENSE OF INERTIA” In N++, as in previous games, you control a small ninja in a 2D environment, and your goal is to reach each level’s exit. You’ll dodge countless hazards such as mines, high falls, and a battalion of murderous enemy drones, collecting gold along the way to add time to your total.

Author: Tim Warburton

Author: Harry Zolobajluk

FOR DAILY TECH & GAMING NEWS VISIT: http://podd.io/

REVIEW | TOMB RAIDER: THE DEFINITIVE EDITION

Author: Tom Gardner

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

gaming

South Park: The Stick of Truth The new South Park game It’s simply amazing that for the past 17 years, the South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have managed to keep to the crude humour and ridiculous antics that is still appealing to us after all this time. Whether they and game developer Obsidian (creators of Fallout: New Vegas), could fit the magic of the TV show into a 13 hour game it was a tall order to create the game. But, I found myself stopping Nazi zombies from destroying the town, going through turn-based JRPG battles, fights or being shrunk to ‘gnome’ size and crawling through Mr. Slaves’ orifices to try and disarm a nuclear bomb. And, whilst all this was going on I kept laughing constantly. The story is clever, and it allows all

of the best South Park jokes, and people to be stuffed into the lovingly crafted open world of South Park. It does all of this through a child’s imagination. The huge LARPing session was setup through last year’s ‘Black Fridays’ trilogy of episodes, which places you in the role of the new kid in town. He joins Cartman or Kyle, all whilst dressed in fantasy-style clothing.

weapons, items and patches can be equipped be any class though. I was also thrown out of the experience by the constant frame-rate drops of the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

This said, the Stick of Truth has the amazing creativity of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, through and through, and should be played, and enjoyed by people who are just The games gives you the choice of casual watchers or hardcore fans of playing as four different the TV show. classes; warrior, mage, thief or Jew. I played as the mage, and I was PROS: happy to see that classic spells like Fire Blast had been replaced with Looks like the TV show your character holding a roman Easy to learn combat system candle in the face of your Constantly funny enemy, and watching them burn. Every class in the game gets to CONS: learn special magic ‘farting’ spells (a clever nod to Skyrim Dragon Not much replay value Shouts.) However, I was Frame rate drops disappointed that the special abilities were the only real | Jesse Price differences with game from its predecessor. Items such as

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

business

Bill Gates To Return To Mircosoft

It has now been six years since Bill Gates stepped down, and retired from Microsoft, the company he founded. His active role was Chief Software Architect, and witnessed his business struggling to become a major player in the fast expanding smartphone and tablet markets. He has, for just over half a decade, now watched as the technology industry has changed around him. A mere onlooker like the rest of us. The PC era that Gates and Microsoft to ably dominated in its heyday is now beginning to fade, arguably down, partly, to Gates now not being Microsoft’s Chief Exec. Not to mention the huge focus on mobile devices and cloud computing. In his retirement, Gates has become interested in different, and somewhat, unusual technologies. In a recent article he wrote for US tech magazine Wired, he stated, ‘I am a little obsessed with fertiliser.’ But, Mr. Gates shocked the tech world last month by saying that he would be rejoining his former company as a Product & Technology Adviser to Satya Nadella, the firm’s latest CEO. However, this has raised questions at how much Bill Gates, now 58, can actually bring to the table at Microsoft in terms of a new generation of technology. But, despite criticisms, one thing is very clear; Gates has not lost his passion for the business through all his charity work. He has kept himself up-to-date with the goings on at the company, receiving information four to six times a year from Microsoft Managers at Gates’ private offices in Kirkland, Washington, not far from the World Microsoft HQ. These so-called ‘Demo Days’, typically last from 4-8 hours, and feature products from Microsoft and its competitors. Can Microsoft really improve with Gates coming back? Whilst Gates was CEO of Microsoft, the company’s strong

Microsoft products that Gates worked closely on was Windows Vista. And it was hated by consumers and critics for early technical software problems. At the moment, we can’t tell whether Bill Gates returning to the firm, alongside Satya protection of the Windows O/S brand Nadella will see Microsoft finally move caused problems when developing new technology, and this weakened Microsoft’s on from the Windows past. But, one financial position, and its position against suggestion made was the development its biggest rivals like Apple, Samsung and of Microsoft’s Office software for mobile Google. So can Gates finally accept it and devices. Rumours emerging about the upcoming Office for iPad have made this stop jumping in front of Windows? This more of a prominent subject. will help Microsoft no end, and could make Gates look good, and give people positive things to say about his return. But, Microsoft have stated that Gates will be involved with rethinking of the there is no doubt that the man is more company’s strategy, while still being than qualified, after dropping out of controlled by Nadella. And this is Harvard in the 70s to write computer software. And look where that has got him. apparently Gates’ best position, and will Gates was, officially, the World’s first, and suit him the best; stated by some of Microsoft’s former employees. Gary for a long time, the only trillionaire. Flake, a former Microsoft researcher wrote, ‘Unlike almost anyone I’ve ever So where did Bill Gates’ story begin? He met, Bill has the ability to quickly wrap attended Lakeside School in Seattle, his head around an extremely complex Washington, which had a Teletype landscape that will include much more connection to a computer upon which than just product features.’ Flake also Gates learnt to program. This was very said that Gates’ distance from Microsoft, unusual for schools in the late 60s and and his recent travels could help bring a early 70s. When Steven A.Ballmer took new era, and new perspective to the tech over as CEO, and Gates became Chief Software Architect Microsoft missed quite giant. He added by writing, ‘I expect that a few opportunities to evolve and innovate; any tunnel vision that he may have had prior to leaving full-time status is now partly the reason why they are now completely replaced with a new desperately trying to catch with Apple, appreciation for how others view the Samsung and Google. I don’t think Microsoft realised the investment that was world, and what is really important to require to keep up, especially, for example, them.’ Only time will tell how Microsoft will fair in the coming future of the about creating search engine that can technology industry. | Tobi Stidolph compete with Google. One of the last

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

music On the 26th February, band Twenty One Pilots hit the Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea, Portsmouth on their ‘Trip for Concerts’ 2014 Winter Tour. With three albums behind them, the duo were fluently able to pack the set with crowd favourites such as Migraine, House of Gold, Holding On To You - all from 2013 album, Vessel, as well as Addict With a Pen from their self-titled album released in 2009.

Twenty One Pilots Live in Portsmouth

Since their last studio album, Vessel was released in September last year the majority in attendance were more than familiar with each and every track. The Wedgewood Rooms, however, was by no means sold-out. This could well have been expected due to their fairly unknown name in the UK at the moment. Tyler Joseph (vocals/keys/ukelele) and Josh Dun (drums) immediately injected a mass of energy, racing on stage to a reprise of perhaps their biggest track Trees, before moving fairly quickly on to Fake You Out. It was incredibly easy to lose count of the amount of times the duo changed clothes during the show. Tyler and Josh came on stage wearing full Halloween skeleton costumes before changing into - in no particular order - night gowns, extremely baggy vests, balaclavas and ‘normal’ clothing. The stage setup reflected the energy of both the music and the crowd. Three long led panels at the back of the stage, many perfectly in-time spotlights and the occasional injection of lazers, most notably during Semi-Automatic portrayed one of the most amazing light shows imaginable in such a small venue. Despite such a formidable light show, the most important aspect of any music concert is obviously the quality of music that is being produced. And I think it’s safe to say this aspect was absolutely top notch with Tyler Joseph not missing one of his seemingly impossible high notes and Josh Dun not missing one beat on the drums the whole night. Something else that was incredibly noticeable was how much Tyler Joseph engaged the crowd in conversation about the songs and their journey. This meant their was never that ‘awkward silence’ between tracks. The highlight of the gig was during the final song of the Encore, Trees. The duo showed tremendous trust in their fans by bringing out two boards and two huge drums and putting them into the crowd adjacent to one another. The two then climbed upon the boards and rounded off the night with a memorable drum duet,

giving a completely unique experience and a new meaning to crowd surfing. Support for the gig was Prides and Honours. Both of which got the crowd more than warmed up for when twenty one pilots came on. | Tobi Stidolph Setlist: Trees (snippet) Fake You Out Ode To Sleep Migraine Screen Trees (reprise) House Of Gold Brown Eyed Girl Trees (reprise) Addict With a Pen Holding On To You Semi-Automatic The Run and Go Car Radio Guns For Hands Encore - Truce Encore - Trees

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

Category

www.dividephotography.com facebook.com/dividephotographyco 07414 715157 dividephotographyco@gmail.com

December 2013 | inSYNC Magazine

gaming

Samsung Gala

OUR IMPRESSIONS OF SAMSUNG’S NEWEST FLAGSHIP SMARTPHONE

inSYNC Magazine | February 2014

gaming

axy S5

February 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

technology So the Samsung’s next-generation flagship smartphone is here. The S5 was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month at Samsung’s fifth Unpacked event on the company’s history. It was pretty certain that Samsung was unlikely to deviate from the S prefix, and so here we are with inSYNC’s view on the Samsung Galaxy S5. All the major companies seem to have product life-cycles of around a year now. This does make it easier for us to predict when the next launch will be, but it does take away the excitement of an anticipated product. Some of the rumours that have been circulating in since the beginning of 2014 suggested that Samsung would bring the S5 release forward to February but we have not found out it was a mere announcement; the actual release will come later this year. The rumours started because the S4 sold less units than predicted in 2013. Samsung was supposedly told to also tone down their launch and make Android more of the headline, rather than it being so much about the handset. The launch was made official when the South Korean tech-giant released the Unpacked 5 Event Invites to the press in January. The ‘5’ evoked the release of the 5th generation flagship phone. For some reason Samsung has never brought the amount of hype over launches as new Apple products do. But, a toned down S5 launch was more than likely after it was rumoured that Samsung were to lose the ammeter dramatics from their next handset announcement. To be honest, though, Samsung may be a little too late, with last years cringing Galaxy S4 unveiling. But where Apple and Samsung do vary is that you will be waiting a little longer for the S5. Samsung are not doing the classic Apple one or two-week turnaround. The release date for the S5 is set for April this year. As for a price; it is not official yet but we don’t reckon that there will be much of a discount. With Samsung becoming quickly like its Cupertino arch-rival, the S5 is expected to be around £540 ($800) if you don’t decide to take up a contract.

elements from the Note added in. The metal surround to the phone is identical to the Note 3, but the back is quite different. Although the back of the S5 is still plastic, it fells much better in the hand, and does not have a tacky, shiny, plasticky look. There was also early rumours of Samsung getting rid of the Apple-like bezel, and moving to a modern edge-to-edge design. But, we soon found out that this was not the case for this year anyway. The S5 is bigger compared to the S3 and S4. There is a lot of the Note in the S5 than previously though, and one of Samsung’s biggest achievements, which could turn Apple fans toward Samsung, is the fact that the device is now waterproof. The S5 now comes with a waterproof and dustproof features as standard, and this brings the phone up to Sony’s standard.

future software change for Samsung, with the S5 they have kept Google’s Android. The new Galaxy comes with Android’s latest software, Version 4.4.2 KitKat. Android KitKat was launched in October last year so is the prime choice for Samsung, but it is not the only O/S on the S5. Samsung have integrated their TouchWiz interface over the top of KitKat. Rumours have said that their are big software design changes imminent, or at least that is what has been seen from leaked images. From rumours and what we can see the Notifications bar is the biggest change to the software layout. It looks a lot different to the standard TouchWiz that we have got to know over the past couple of years. There are now quick links to S Finder and Quick Connect, which allow you to get through the S5 are a greater rate. S Finder is basically a Google Search but with more info pulled from the web. Quick Connect has also been upgraded; it has moved Samsung’s versions of Apple’s AirPlay and AirDrop all into one place. This will make the new Galaxy a central hub device.

Processor: When Apple included a 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5S last year, it was widely stated that Samsung would follow suit when the S5 was announced. But, instead, Samsung have crammed in a 2.5GHz quad-core. Considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 only has a 2.3GHz quad-core, thats a load of power. However, the Note 3 does have 3GB of RAM and the S5 only has 2GB, but it does overrule the Camera: The S4 has a 13MP camera, and when S5 rumours phabet in processing power. started to circulate, it was mentioned that the next gen Screen: Samsung and Apple already have phone would have a 16MP camera. At Samsung’s MWC press event, the rumour was confirmed with two photoscreens on their devices that are have graphs that were claimed to have been taken with an S5, sharper resolutions than the human eye can detect, so why take it any further? The on a screen resolution of 5312x2988. So, basically, a 16MP new screen on the S5 is 0.1-inches bigger camera. As well as this, the new flagship phone sports a 2MP front camera, and the ability to shoot 4K video and than its predecessor at 5.1-inches, and 30fps. Not to mention video and image stabilisation, HDR it is a Full HD sAMOLED display. It has 415ppi (pixels per inch), which is a drop in and selective focusing. And, although this is great it still pixels from the S4, but this was expected doesn’t top the 20.7MP camera on the Sony Xperia Z1 or the 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020. So what has Samsung in a screen that has a higher resolution. claimed that the camera can do? It will apparently allow for Design: Rumours originally suggest that Movies look much better on the S5, a Samsung would opt for an entirely new given really as Samsung is planning to go a wider field of view, it will take better daytime and nighttime photographs, and it will ensure anyone in a photo will design for the S5, breaking away from to 4K for all of its devices by next year. the similar design of the S3 and S4. This Overall, what the S5 has is a 5.1-inch Full be illuminated by the flash. And, if Samsung has managed to pull this off, then it sounds like a bloody good camera. said, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a nice HD sAMOLED 1920X1080p display, But, we won’t know until we can get our hands on one. looking phone, mainly because the South which is IP67 certified dust and water Korean-giant knows how to construct a resistant. Pretty good for a smartphone. The Fingerprint Scanner: After Apple announced their device well, but just like Apple the design new fingerprint security scanner, TouchID, on the iPhone is pretty much the same as the S4, but with Software: Despite rumours of a possible

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

technology the battery sealed in. This would be an interesting move, though, as it would mean Samsung was giving up one it’s advantages over competitors. But this kind of design does give more engineering an design freedom. It would allowed different battery designs that can fill any space inside the phone, which could mean even bigger and better batteries being offered, all within a even slimmer and/or sleeker design.

technological progression. Like, Apple not including a docs drive in the newest iMac, but to be honest putting in a radio would make no difference to Samsung or the design to the S5.

What inSYNC Wants On The S5: Samsung has always been an innovative company, exploring new designs and technology within the industry. The S3 was a game-changing phone underneath, but the cheap, plastic feel that with it did put a lot of consumers off. And Smart Stay was not at all a waste of time. The problem was that when the S4 was announced last year, 5S last year, it was to be expected that these features were just too much. Smart Samsung would follow suit. The South Korean company has included an accurate Scroll and Smart Pause just added to much scanner that works when you wake up the complexity to something that could have S5, a step that Apple have made sure that been simple and beautiful. These were you don’t go through. You scan your finger features that were supposed to be part of the sales pitch that made the phone great, down the screen from top to bottom of the home key. It is not as good as Apple’s but instead, were quickly switched off by users. We hope that Samsung can tackle inbuilt, integrated hardware system. these problems, because if they do the S5 Rumours also suggested Samsung may will be extra special. bring an iris recognition system to the phone, but this was not the case. We continue to ask though; why must we start We want some better, raw power. Samsung has developed a 3GB RAM chip, which having to give DNA just to get into out could easily be incorporated. And a better mobiles? CPU, which is more intelligent, and isn’t just power focused. Battery: Whenever new devices are

We would love for Apple and Samsung to put aside their differences and just coordinate on one neat store. When both companies are trying to do music, books, films, TV shows, magazines, apps and more online it can get a bit tiring. Apple do this so well, as they give the impression the whole company is providing one service, and it’s not broken up at all. This would be a good move for Samsung if they decided to do the same. They could work together, more closely, with Google to streamline services for customers. But, this probably won’t happen as Google does not want to favour any one company, as it also has ties with American-based Apple. Not forgetting Samsung wants out, hence the upcoming Tizen software, which Samsung will use to replace Android.

released, your almost guaranteed that the company will talk about improving battery life. And very few actually live up to the battery life expectations. The Samsung Galaxy S5 boasts an impressive 2800mAh battery. Samsung have quoted this to be able to give users 390 hours of standby time and an excellent 21 hours of talk time. This can only get better when you start using Samsung’s new Ultra Power Saving Mode. This is now the third phone in a row, Samsung have upped the battery. The S3 had a 2100mAh battery, then the S4 had a 2600mAh battery, and now the S5 has a 2800mAh one. And, although that is a fairly big jump, it will probably still need to be charged once a day thanks to the brand new screen. But increasing the battery doesn’t always help. The HTC One has a power pack of 2300mAh, yet struggles to last longer than the iPhone 5 with its 1449mAh battery. Of course iOS plays a big part in this. One of best smartphones for battery life is the Motorola RAZR Maxx that has a 3300mAh battery. There has been speculation over Samsung moving to a unibody design, similar to Apple, with

Stereo speakers would make the S5 ever-better. HTC has captured this with the One’s BoomSound front facing speakers. The S4 was nothing special in sound quality mad considering Samsung is pretty much in bed with audio firm Bang and Olufsen you would have thought that they would come up with something better. Even the iPhone 5S speaker is fairly decent. So, Samsung, we want something better. Only a small thing, but an added bonus whilst using you phone; an FM radio. The S4 was the first Galaxy smartdevice not to be shipped with an FM radio. Samsung said that they purposely left it out of the S4 because more and more people are now streaming music through YouTube and other online services. Apps like TuneIn Radio do offer a good service. The main problem, though, with not having an FM radio means you need a constant Internet connection. And on a journey, especially to work, you are likely to hit a number of different signal areas. We know that firms like to make design changes, it all part of

Since Samsung has created Galaxy Bean last year, we would love them to incorporate that technology to a smartphone. If Samsung got rid of AllShare, they could turn the next. Galaxy smartphone into something everyone would enjoy. At the moment, the problem is, you need a dongle or Smart TV to share photos or videos. Beam would illuminate that.

Since the Galaxy series of phones began, they have always been plastic; and have not lived up to the same quality expectations as Apple’s iPhones. The early rumours, that started last year, focused on the S5’s outer chassis, saying that Samsung would finally swap to a full-metal outer body. The iPhone 5S and HTC One have metal casings and look far more superior in terms of build quality compared to that of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Someone from inside the company apparently confirmed to the Android Geeks that the S5 would be announced with a fully aluminium case, and a new look, apparently name ‘Design 3.0’. This has been backed up by rumours. Rumours continued to hot up when it was made apparent that Catcher Technology Co had supposedly taken an order to make a metal chassis for the Galaxy S series. The problem, though, is that Samsung order many prototypes before the final product and this could mean that Samsung prototyped an S5 with the scenario of a metal body. A company called. Patent Bolt found a patent application by Samsung that showed a cropped, more square design. And another patent application actually hinted at the binning of the physically home button, in place of a ‘touch’ one instead. I think it is a way Samsung really need to go. When the S4 was announced, people didn’t even touch it before criticising the totally plastic façade. To be fair to Samsung, it does keep the phone light. But, Apple have managed to pull off a light phone with metal, and glass! And if Samsung were to pull it off, it would not only be better for consumers but it would annoy their American rivals even more. So now your up-to-date with the Samsung Galaxy S5, and what Samsung have got for us in 2014. With a low-down on all the features and a few things that we want Samsung to bring to their smartphones in the future. The S5 will be available in the UK in April, although a exact release date is yet to be named. The price is also yet to be announced, but estimates are around £440. | Tobi Stidolph

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

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inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

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on iPad and iPhone

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine

music We caught Foals at their Valentines gig on the 14th of February at London’s beautiful Alexandra Palace popularly coined ‘Ally Pally’. This was part of Foals’ second UK tour for their newest, and third album, ‘Holy Fire’. The band followed a strong set of support which came from ‘Cage the Elephant’ and ‘That F**cking Tank’. Yannis, the Foals’ frontman told the crowd how they had played almost everywhere, but all they wanted to do was come back and play here. Straight from the word go you know being at a Foals gig means you’re definitely in for a treat. Especially when the guitar begins to play for the instrumental Prelude, and then the drums begin as each member of the band comes on to the stage. You can feel the excitement building from across the crowd, as the song generates more and more energy. An amazing opening to what would be an amazing night. Foals then revived an old classic, ‘Hummer’ which has been absent in their set lists for the past couple of years, but it was a joy to have back and dance to. Highlights included the poppy sounding ‘My Number’ which surged excitement through the crowd right from the off. The primal sound of the guitar driven ‘Providence’ also got the entire venue exploding, especially when it hit the drops. ‘Inhaler’ was also another obvious highlight. The band also brang out some of the moodier songs such as ‘Milk and Black Spiders’ which got the crowd singing. “This song is for all the people on Valentines day alone, we’re here for you” announced Yannis before the dark and moody, ‘Late Night’, which features one of Foals’ best guitar solos. The band closed, as per usual, with ‘Two Steps Twice’ from their debut album ‘Antidotes’, however, no one was complaining. The build up to this song is monumental and it wouldn’t be right for them to end with anything else in my eyes. My only gripe with their performance is that it felt far too short. For a band, which is getting increasingly bigger, and even beginning to headline some of the UK’s biggest festivals, such as Latitude last year and Bestival this coming September, you should be able to expect them to play for more than just an hour and fifteen minutes at their own gig. | George Hall

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

Foals Live at Alexandra Palace

business

inSYNC Magazine | March 2014

business The BBC program Sherlock, which is based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has been incredibly successful. Series three of the program aired this January in the UK and was enjoyed by many as we saw how Sherlock Holmes faked his own death. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the detective Sherlock in 1887, in Portsmouth, where the author lived. £25 million ($41.6 million) has been set aside to build a theme park in Portsmouth that will celebrate the life of the fictional character. It is also known that Sir Arthur played in goal for Portsmouth Football Club from 1884 to 1896 under the name AC Smith. The planned theme park would feature rides and high-tech holograms of Doyle’s main Sherlock Holmes characters, whilst solving crimes and reenact Sherlock Holmes’ life on London’s famous Baker Street. Steve Pitt, of the Portsmouth Cultural Partnership, told the Daily Mail, ‘What we are talking about is a world class Sherlock Holmes experience. It would be very interactive and high quality.’ The Portsmouth Cultural Partnership is the organisation that came up with the idea, and has gained funding for the park. From the sounds of it, the park is going to be anything but elementary. Readers, watchers, tourists and fans could be able to wear Benedict Cumberbatch’s deer stalker in the new venture experience, expected to launch soon near the former home of the famous British writer. A proposed Sherlock thrill ride will allows visitors the chance to take the plunge like Sherlock Holmes. Fans will be able to enjoy thrills and play the puzzles of Sherlock themselves; all as the legendary fictional detective. There is currently no dates or a time scale of when the park could be ready, or where it will be situated on the island city, but it will be a world class multimedia experience. All being based on Doyle’s story plots from the books. Thrill rides and holograms will be the main attractions of the park. Sherlock first appeared in the late 1880s in national publications as short stories, and developed into a short series when the detective proved popular. A film series was produced in 1939, where Sherlock was played by Basil Rathbone. Robert Downey Jr. has played the detective more recently in the two films produced by Guy Ritchie. And Benedict Cumberbatch has starred in the BBC’s three TV series as Holmes. Portsmouth will be a great place for the park as there are so many ties around Holmes and Conan Doyle with the Naval city. There is also the legacy of Sherlock Holmes being born in Portsmouth.

March 2014 | inSYNC Magazine