CUB Issue 539

539

Tom Stevenson editor Tal Davies london Anna Matheson and Omer Hamid features Amelia Jefferies and Lauryn Murdoch arts Bethia Stone and Keeren Flora photography Angel Lambo and Ryan Ramgobin music Amy Bowles and Lucinda Turner fashion Mark Birrell and Kamilla Baiden film Bryony Orr qupid Lauren Mason, Maria Sowter and Robert Pritchard sub editors Maria D’Amico cartoon Cover image courtesy of Dawbell

@cubmagazine.co.uk 3 London Why I’m going to miss this town.

Our photography series from page 6 to 12 includes the best from Paris Fashion week.

4 We Shall Do Such Things The opening ceremony of the Olympics will cost a staggering amount of money. This is why it’s worth it.

5 A Gentleman’s Game?

We ask why football seems to bring out the very worst in people.

6-7 I Just Called Them Up

and Said: I Want Your Blood Our Arts section interview the illustrious artistic photographer Tyler Shields.

8-9 CUB’s EYE Image by Lucinder Turner

10-11 Industry Exposé: The

Music Photographer

What to do this week The International Chessboxing Championship (March 10th) Whoever said that brains and brawn must forever be divided? It’s certainly not true of this competition.

Yes, it actually is boxing and chess.

The Pale Seas (March 12th) The Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green is hosting the single launch for the Pale Seas. Guitarist Graham Paul is a current Queen Mary student.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade (March 18th) St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated in London in the traditional way. That’s right, a parade starting in Trafalgar Square; what were you thinking?

We find out what it’s like to take pictures for some of the biggest publications and organisations in the music industry.

12 London Fashion Week

In our Fashion Week special we report from one of the biggest events of the year.

12 Paris Fashion Week

Our special continues with the best images from Paris Fashion Week.

14 In Defence of the

Screenwriter

Marilyn in Exhibition (March 23rd-)

We show our support for those most reviled of figures.

It’s been 50 years since Marilyn Monroe graced the face of the earth. Westfield’s Getty Images Gallery is holding an exhibition with some excellent items to mark the anniversary.

15 Satan Sells

The Leisure Society (-March 31st) Model Agyness Deyn is starring in this well received version of the Leisure Society at Trafalgar Square.

You should be working for us! To get involved with writing, photography, interviews or cartoons email editor@cubmagazine.co.uk

The danger behind the rise of the devil as cinema’s numer one villain.

16 Qupid

The latest lovebirds to be struck by Qupid’s arrow...

Cathryn Parkes

Why I’m Going to Miss This Town: Memories of a QM Student With the release of exam timetables and events such as Merger Cup looming it suddenly dawned on me that as the second semester was coming to an end, so was my time in London. So it seemed only appropriate for this LQMDON to be a memoir to the time I and other final year students have had here.

The first time I came to London was slightly before QM; I was spending a month living here and working with the National Youth Theatre. It was here I stumbled on the reason I wanted to come to study in London – it was exciting and vibrant. My favourite part of London was, and has always been, the strip of the river between St Paul’s and Westminster. It was inspirational; stooped in so much history, which as an

I remember for “ weeks on end never leaving campus, and if we did it was only to go as far as Budgens, and that was usually to buy alcohol rather than food.

”

English Student, made me giddy. Shakespeare, Milton and Dickens had all walked in this area. I was so determined to come and study in London and I made sure it happened.

First Year – I’ve never been more grateful that QM was a campus uni, because it provided such a safe environment (and by that I mean stumbling home across campus blind drunk was safe or at least safer).

However, didn’t we all live in a bubble! I remember for weeks on end never leaving campus, and if we did it was only to go as far as Budgens, and that was usually to buy alcohol rather than food. The Haiti earthquake came and went without a blink of an eyelid from us students, mainly because we were all too drunk/hungover to bother checking the news. We all lived on top of each other, flat parties in abundance and my friends and I recalled a 14 day period prior to Christmas in which we drank for 13 days out of 14, and heavily at that.

However, there is one aspect of QM that I have failed

to mention, which not only characterised my first year, but had a fairly heavy influence on my second and that was Drapers. Whether it was Monday’s Calling, more commonly known as Pound a Pint (because I promise, in my first year it was!) or whether it was Hail Mary, the memories only continued to be made. Wednesday nights in my first year remind me, largely, (because who actually ever remembers being at Drapers) of rushed pre-drinks whilst getting ready and then walking arm in arm with three of my best friends (supporting each other cause we couldn’t walk in our heels anymore) singing ‘Wonderwall’ at the top of our voice as we strolled across campus. Oh yes, we were cool.

Second year – You’d think everyone would be grateful of the privacy second year meant. However, this was certainly not the case. We were all too lazy to go visit each other, to go out. How we all managed to get our work done in first year I do not know because reality hit hard in second year. It was immediately much less fun. So the tales of going out are nowhere near as eventful as first year, or as plentiful. However, I had joined Boat Club this year and there is one particular favourite memory I have, which I’m sure most of the girls will remember. I used to love having to get up at the crack of dawn because it meant you always saw the sunrise.

Though, there was one occasion which we never did get to see the

sunrise and that’s because the ground was completely blanketed in snow. What on earth possessed us to go out and row in the snow I’ll never know, but it was really very calm and quiet – serene. In the hustle and bustle that is London I’d never seen anything like it, it was quite picturesque.

The same Drapers memories continued, although we had to walk a lot further in our heels that just to the student village. We’d always end up at someone’s house; think it was a great idea to cook things like chicken dinners rather than going to Dixie. It’s amazing we didn’t end up with food poisoning (although I’m sure Dixie would have been worse). The work had definitely started to suck the fun out of uni. Oh, and also the fact we were always broke.

Third Year – my experience of third year is probably very different to everyone else’s because I had joined the commuters of the country, somewhat prematurely and was commuting from Birmingham to London for lectures. I certainly saw a different side of the ‘London experience’ but there are a few features I’m sure everyone will recognise. Whilst I might have sauntered up to the train in Birmingham, the second my foot stepped off the train at Euston I hopped in line to the London march. I’ve never understood why but everyone seems to be in such a rush; time is money I guess. I used to know that it could take me exactly 40 minutes to get home if I caught the right connections. Not that I was rushing home for anything, but you get caught up in the momentum and speed; silly really.

We all thought the workload that hit in second year was bad, but that was nothing compared to final year. I know I’m not the only one who’s been completely overwhelmed by it. But then, I know, that compared to most of my friends from home, my first year was markedly better than theirs, so there had to be a catch and I guess this was it. However, it doesn’t mean my memories of QM are not fond.

Whether it was hoping you’d get a good coffee from ground, because it always depended on who made it, to hoping your favourite sandwich was in The Village Shop, there are so many distinct features of QM that you know your time there in London was unique. An experience that I know I’ll never forget.

Cathryn Parkes is a final year English student. If you want to be the next LQMDONer then email the editor Tal Davies at london@cubmagazine.co.uk

3

We shall do such things

Words by Omer Hamid

image by yggg (via flickr)

O

n the 27th of July 2012, the eyes of the entire world will be focused on Stratford, East London. If that isn’t a thought that makes you wince just a little, then you’re a stronger person than me. While I hate to be a naysayer, I was in Stratford just a few afternoons ago. It’s not a place that I’d write home about just yet.

Let’s think about the scale that we’re working on here. An estimated 15% of the world’s population tuned in to watch the mind-blowing spectacle that was the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 15% of the world was captivated with a display of discipline, of a sense of purpose, of the sheer scale that China had envisioned in a ceremony – and delivered. The Telegraph reported that nearly 16,000 performers were involved in the ceremony, which gives some scope of what we saw on our TVs. China pulled out all the stops; one can only imagine what we can do to comfort ourselves.

If that wasn’t a near-full capacity spectacle then I shudder to think what is.

Many of the performers were drawn from the People’s Liberation Army song and dance corps, a talent and discipline pool that (let’s be frank) China can afford to dip in to. Despite the controversy that some aspects had been filmed beforehand, the ‘08 Opening Ceremony was an incredible thing to witness, surely a once in a generation

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display of strength. And in just a few months time, at least that 15% will be flitting their judgemental eyes over to a somewhat dingy corner of our island home. Uh-oh.

I remember as soon as the Beijing Ceremony had culminated in several huge firework explosions, showering the Bird’s Nest Stadium in colourful sparks, there was a comment from a London 2012 official. He had said to expect the London Games to be a much “quieter, more intimate” affair. That I can believe. We are many things, but

“oohs and aahs” culture. What can we expect? A mash-up of Adele’s album and David Beckham’s best free kicks from atop one of Ken’s bendy buses?

Maybe somebody will finally remove Boris Johnson’s toupee.

Apparently not. You see, I had worried very seriously about our Opening Games. Many nights were left sleepless. Lord Coe would apparently not take my calls after I called him Sebby on our first meeting, so there was little I could do. But then, somewhere along the chain of command, a deci-

“ I was in Stratford a

few afternoons ago.

It’s not a place to write home about just yet

”

we are not a nation known for making a big fuss. We are not a nation easily impressed by bright lights and loud noises. But, when it comes to the XXX Olympiad, it would seem that we will have to entertain a population of the world that is. With the civilised planet watching, Britain will have to court the

sion was made to bring in an expert of sorts. Enter Mr Danny Boyle, who commented in The Guardian on the nature of the Opening Ceremony with him at the helm. “Be not afeared. The isle is full of noises” he said, quoting Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Boyle’s ceremony will reportedly feature a tribute to

the NHS and no shortage of British wit and humour, among others. There are few people in the world I would believe could weave together a spectacle along those lines. Danny Boyle is one of them.

The Opening Ceremony on the 27th of July was projected to use about a third of the overall Olympic Budget, though both are now expected to be higher. To put it mildly – so what? We don’t often get to impress, because we are not often the type that feel the need to. We are British – one does not flap one’s arms simply for attention. But the XXX Olympiad puts us in a tricky position.

We must be inspirational, we must be impressive, we must - for perhaps the only time in many of our lives – move to the forefront and dazzle. The world will be watching Britain. The Olympics will surely become a referendum on the British state of affairs, a measure of the British people from the sneering corners of the globe. What will they see? In China we were stunned by the growth of a new world power seeking to awe from a silent disposition. But the British are one of those nations that, sadly, the world does love to poke fun at. What had Mr Boyle got in mind for us? He’s on the right track with Shakespeare if you ask me. “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, others achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.”

Or, who knows, maybe he has something else in mind.

FEATURES

A Gentleman’s Game?

Words By Nick Graham

A

h, football. A sport that brings out the best in players, where honour and sportsmanship have always trumped petty arguments and handbag swinging. Is that fair to say? Unfortunately not. If only we lived in a world where I was always right.

So let’s dispense with the hypothetical and get straight to the heart of the matter.

On the 11th of February when Manchester United hosted Liverpool in the Premier League, the 2-1 result was somewhat overshadowed by what I, in all my wisdom, am naming the Handgate Scandal. Simply put, Patrice Evra approached Luis Suarez for a handshake, which he denied. Cue total chaos. Liverpool and Manchester United are no strangers to conflict; small scraps and disagreements are part of a tie between two of the best teams in world football. These discrepancies are something of a given. But why has such a simple refusal – by a man whose hand has already made headlines in a not-so-desirable fashion (see Uruguay vs. Ghana last World Cup) – outshone the contest between these two teams? Why is a symbol more important than the game?

What have these men’s hands got to do with their feet?

For me, it comes down to two things.

A lack of mutual respect between players and referees and the paramount role of the media. Respect between sportsmen seems to have been eroded through scandals and off-field gossip. Football is being plagued by a disease; the lives of the players off the field has greater importance than their actions on the field. The kicker is that it will impact on how they play come kick-off. Perhaps the old cliché of football being a gentleman’s game played by thugs hits the nail on the head. The likes of Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst aren’t grabbing headlines anymore; the modern game is now part of a parasitic, media-hyped society whereby a player’s image off the field bears just as much importance as performances on the field. Sport, it seems, has become politics.

Of course, any sportsman who is watched by millions and looked up to by so many, should in turn behave accordingly. Role models are vital to society. But essentially,

we can’t forget that they are sportsmen. That has to be at the top of any list. And sportsmen shake hands, it really is that simple.

The last few years have seen too many instances of this. Looking past a missed handshake or a good night out on the town, sex scandals and relationships are at the forefront of the public eye. Adultery can have a player enjoying a million pound sponsorship deal one night, to a scheduled appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show the next. But we do tend to look back on the ‘good old days’ through a rose-tinted lens. Take the example of Peter Storey, a prominent Arsenal footballer in the 70s. Mr Storey didn’t refuse a handshake, nor bed another player’s spouse. No, what sent his career spiralling into a string of convictions was a different kind of vice, so to speak.

It transpired that he had been running a brothel at the same time that Arsenal won the double of 1979. Hard to imagine how he thought he was going to get away with that. But in short, if you’re are planning on a career as a professional athlete, don’t run a brothel on the side, even if it’s just your way of escaping the spotlight.

All jokes aside, to be a successful sportsman these days a number of rules need to be adhered to off the pitch, in order to sustain a life on the pitch. Times have changed, but in the wisdom of JK Rowling’s Gilderoy Lockhart: “Celebrity is as celebrity does”. The media seems intent on always being preoccupied with John Terry’s boxer shorts and David Beckham’s unusual choice of children’s names. But for the dying breed of sports lovers who understand that the game is bigger than any one player, Handgate makes us want to clap a palm to our foreheads and sigh. It shows that we can’t teach men to be honourable any more than we can teach them to be faithful. It shows us that the beauty of modern sport and its instant replays brings with it the tabloid fodder. Long gone are the days when off the field didn’t matter. Handgate is an example of the simple things that used to matter being ignored to make a point. Whether the point is throwing the toys out of the pram, I can’t say. But from ignored handshakes to very, uh, specific extra-curricular activities, it seems you can never be too careful.

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Arts

mouth with glitter by tyler shields

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Gallery • Dance • Comedy • Campus • Print Events • Art • Poetry • Photography • Theatre

Blood is “ something

that everyone on the planet has in common.

Everybody has it, everybody has seen it and people always seem to have an opinion about it. It’s one of the most famous commodities in the world yet most people are afraid of it.

”

CUB writer Victoria Beech meets future photography icon Tyler Shields at the opening of his latest London exhibition at the Imitate Modern

... I just called them up and said “I want your blood!”

I

must confess that I have very little knowledge of photography. I am the type of person who will sit, nod along, and pretend to understand, while my more ‘cultured’ friends have a discussion about such things. But even I had heard of Tyler Shields. At only 29 years old, he is fast becoming one of the most talked about and controversial artists of his generation, most famous for his striking shoots with the likes of Lindsay Lohan, covered in blood; Mischa Barton, chewing on raw meat; and Heather Morris sporting a black eye.

Therefore, understandably, I was feeling ever so slightly nervous as I strolled into the Imitate Modern Gallery one afternoon to interview the man himself ahead of the launch of his new exhibition Beyond the Gates. However, whatever nerves I had slowly disappeared as he greeted me enthusiastically and, within two minutes, I had been led down to what he called ‘The Barbie Room’, named for the many pictures of Barbie engaging in activities such as cradling a bottle of Jack Daniels, snorting cocaine and decapitating her life partner, Ken. Beyond the Gates is his second show in London in less than twelve months, but the young photographer is not short of material. He began by telling me that the last time he was in London, he was out shooting every night, describing the city as “visually awesome”. When deciding which of his works to include in the exhibition, he informs me that he ended up simply destroying things and setting them on fire. This is in reference to the photographs which depict a Louis Vuitton bag set alight and a pair of Louboutin shoes cut in half. Interestingly, it took six powerful saws to even make a dent in these fashion must-haves; girls, if there was ever a strong enough argument to invest in a pair, then their sheer durability would certainly be it.

It seems remarkable that, at the beginning of his career, he didn’t even own a camera. Starting out as a music video director, the first picture he ever sold was one that he had taken with his roommate’s camera: “It’s kind of funny because I didn’t really become interested in [photography] until I was already making a living out of it.” Discovered via his MySpace profile, where he posted a lot of his early work, Tyler has fully embraced the power of the in-

“

ternet and what it can do to aid the careers of aspiring artists. “I think that, without the internet, most people’s careers would not exist the way that they do. For me, if it had been the eighties or the nineties then it would be virtually impossible for me to do what I do.”

How he came to work with numerous high-calibre celebrities appears to be as casual as his shift towards photography in the first place. “I just meet these people through friends of friends”, he says casually, which given that he resides in Los Angeles isn’t too hard to believe. The manner in which he casually mentions his good friends almost makes me forget that they are some of the most famous actresses of this generation. After being introduced to Lindsay Lohan through a mutual friend, they have since collaborated on over sixty shoots.

Five minutes into our conversation, Tyler’s agent makes an appearance asking us to wrap up soon as he has the Daily Mail waiting on the phone. However, while I am panicking and thinking about all the questions I have yet to ask him, Tyler asks that they be kept on hold for as long as possible as he was enjoying our conversation (CUB: 1, Daily Mail: 0).

After just five minutes of researching Tyler Shields in my own time, it became obvious that blood is a heavily recurring theme in his work. When I ask him about this, he says, “Blood is something that everyone on the planet has in common.

Everybody has it, everybody has seen it and people always seem to have an opinion about it. It’s one of the most famous commodities in the world yet most people are afraid of it.” After being asked, on numerous occasions, if the blood he used in his work was real, Tyler decided that he wanted to do a blood painting.

Initially he planned to use his own blood but, after realising that this would take months, he decided to call upon 20 of his celebrity pals including Emma Roberts and Glee’s Jenna Ushkowitz. “I just called them up and said ‘I want your blood.’ We had a party with sugar cookies, people were coming in and out just donating blood one after the other...

It was fun!” This work was a feature in his Life is not a Fairtytale exhibition in Los Angeles. Tyler Shields wants to convey in his work that celebrities are just like us; they are human beings and bleed just like everybody else. This is one of the main themes of his book, entitled

I think that, without the internet, most people’s careers would not exist the way that they do

”

The Dirty Side of Glamour, which he has clestone). Meanwhile, I try my best not described as “the never ending project”. to stick out like a sore thumb. However, Due for release at some point in the near I feel that all my efforts to blend in come future, this book has been in the making undone as soon as I ask the bartender for years and Tyler seems really excited how much for one drink, to which he rethat it will soon plied that it was a free be made availbar with a look that able to the pubseemed to say, “You’ve lic. “Will you buy never been to one of a copy?” he asks, these before, have to which I replied you?” Despite the high that I definitely calibre of guests, the would (depending on the price and how event felt friendly and welcoming with kind Student Finance has been at the a fantastic atmosphere. The food was time). specially created by Getti and the drinks Nicholas Cage and Keira Knightley are created by Movida. As Tyler made his two people with whom he would most entrance, he was surrounded by a sea of like to collaborate in the future, but he video cameras as the exhibition launch makes it very clear that he does not ap- was being filmed for E! The launch was proach people; they approach him. This a huge success, with many pieces sellis not for want of making some snobby ing out before the official opening. As artistic statement, but merely because someone who easily gets bored in an he believes it to be important that people art gallery, I can highly recommend this know what his art is about, and therefore exhibition. The photos are visually stunknow what they are getting themselves ning, tell a story and allow you to come into. Tyler’s other projects include a set to your own conclusion with regards to of three novels, written over a course of the meanings behind them. four days; the first of which is entitled, The Smartest Man and is available to Beyond the Gates is open to the public download from the Kindle store. He is until March 17th at the Imitate Modern also producing a reality show about his Gallery girlfriend’s family, (his girlfriend, Franc- For more information please visit: esca Eastwood, is the daughter of Clint). http://www.tylershields.com/ To end our discussion, I ask what ad- http://imitatemodern.com/ vice he would give to our readers who may be interested in a similar career. “I always get emails from people asking how to become a famous photographer. But my immediate reaction is stop if that’s all you’re interested in, because the chances of that happening are very slim. If you want to be a photographer then you just have to take pictures; you just have to take the best pictures that you can possibly take and that’s it. You will never make it if you have any other motive than to just take awesome pictures.”

A few hours pass and the gallery is packed out for the exhibition’s official launch. The gallery is full of all kinds of people, from socialites to art critics (guests included Caprice and Tamara Ec- Image by Pete Mariner, courtesy of Imitate Modern

“

If you want to be a photographer then you just have to take pictures

”

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CUB’S EYE

“PIT” IMAGE AND WORDS BY FLORA BARTLETT

Fashion Week is a time when all eyes are on the clothes: whether they’re being shown off on the models, or the wannabes circling Somerset House hoping to be pulled aside for a street style or several.

No one would see any of this, however, if it was not for the huge number of photographers attending London Fashion Week.

They document the new designs gracing the catwalk, the front row outfits and the backstage goings-on throughout the week.

For those in the pit, this can be a hectic job of constantly snapping the models as they approach. Although nearly all of the pit photographers will get an incredibly similar image, there is still enormous pressure to get the perfect shot and have it sent to the magazines as soon as physically possible to run alongside the show reports.

This is the pit at the Jena Theo show at the Embankment Gallery Show Space at Somerset House. Although it is perhaps assumed a catwalk show is an exciting event, a few of these photographers look downright bored, potentially demonstrating that being in the pit is not a particularly fun job for every photographer.

It is, however, a view of Fashion Week that is not always observed; as everyone is focussing on the clothes, no one takes much attention of those who bring the new designs to the mass audience. Without these individuals, Fashion Week would be a hidden, exclusive and fairly pointless venture.

Industry Exposé: Stuart Leech -The Music Photographer I had the pleasure of meeting Stuart Leech, a freelance twenty-something photographer whose clients range from NME to Artrocker to The Fly and everyone in-between. Here he shares a few words on how to get in, get on and go up in the world of photography.

Getting In

A BA in Photography is not going to be your immediate route to success. Magazines and PR companies are all looking for more than that paper qualification.

In a society where it doesn't pay to practice what you preach, be prepared to work for free. “I just spent all my time emailing people, asking if I could do stuff. I’d see a gig that I wanted to go to, I’d email their promoters or PR. I never call, you always sound more professional over email, and they usually just say yeah. They’ve got nothing to lose.”

Finding work after graduation is not a pleasant affair, so anything offered that is remotely associated with your field of interest should not be turned down. “I graduated in 2008, when the recession hit, and I went into web design... you have to be flexible.” What you do upon graduation is not the be-all-and-end-all of your future career. Sticking at what you want and being willing to do it for little to no money seems to be the only way to get in. “I spent 4 years emailing NME before they finally asked to see my portfolio.” No matter what stage in the game you’re at, you will always have to put yourself out there. Sending out emails will always be a part of your job.

Success comes in the most unlikely avenues, but tools such as Flickr or Tumblr are all good starting points to getting your stuff seen by people other than your mum and cousin. “I did a shoot for Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and the pictures only got big because the guy killed himself not too long after. You get exposure through the strangest ways. You can't always plan it.”

Freelance vs. Contract

The term 'contract photographer' doesn't seem to exist in this day and age. Everyone that shoots photography is on the freelance payroll. “From what I've noticed, most in-house photographers have been fired. The NME may have two or three on a contract, if any... a contract could be a dream job if you're on a wage and you need the steady income but with freelance you don't know what you're doing next, that's the excitement.”

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Artistic Input

“Usually, either the magazines or PR decide the feel of the shoot. You always have a limited amount of time with the band so I don’t tend to have an elaborate set-up. This is why working with natural light is easier because you’re not wasting the time you could have had creating a rapport with the band by setting up lights and reflectors.” This rule really shines through in his work as most of Stuart’s portraiture is very naturalistic, while he incorporates natural shadows which adds texture to the images.

“There’s a trend now with harsh flashguns, which is what Q and Vice seem to have been doing lately... the problem is that once you start getting fake lights you need help and you can't afford to pay for that help.” This immediately brings up our current debate of injustice in internships. The people that are in a position to give the help don't have the funds to maintain it, which is why the music photographer is seen as such a solitary figure in an industry that relies so much on others for success.

Getting Technical

Giving each band an individual feel must require varying equipment. Who provides this for you? “You're never provided equipment, you're expected to have acquired enough to work in all conditions.” This is why going into photography requires a large investment in an industry whose money tree has shrivelled up and died. Stuart admits that before he could waste his student loan on clothing or alcohol, he'd go out and buy another piece of equipment.

Any aspiring photographers out there can’t expect their arsenal to be fully stocked in a couple of months, there is no “photographer's pack” that you can purchase from Jessops. Over the years your own particular tastes and needs develop: whether you prefer your pancakes over your fisheyes, or your ISOs over your sensors, only time can tell. As with all things technological, equipment quickly becomes outdated. As Stuart advises, “a camera should be regularly upgraded but not everything else. A good lens is a good lens and it will last you

years. Such as my 24-70mm 2.8 Canon.

It's so useful, especially for gig photography.” When you've got a good thing going, go with it - cameras are changing all the time but that shouldn’t mean you should just purchase any upgrade thrust at you by Nikon. So what are you using at the moment? “A Canon 5D Mark II. Most music photographers tend to use the Nikon D3s because of its ultra large sensor.”

Making Life Difficult

Who don't you look forward to photographing? Without a moment’s hesitation he replies, “New York bands, eugh!

The New York band! They try and act like they're so cool, so they don't communicate and they don't listen. They act like they don't want to know you. I’m just doing my job.” There was a distinct and discernible pain in his eyes as the shadow of a trendier-than-thou, dressedin-ripped-black band passes across his memory. It's not always an easy job, photography requires people management skills as bands that are hungover (which is habitual) are difficult people to work with.

B&W & Film

There is a growing resurgence of black and white photography at the moment.

Whether it be inspired by hipsterism or a pure love for the monochromic form, besides editorial work and art photography there isn't really space for it in the live music scene. Do editors still want black and white photography? “No magazine publishes in black and white any more.

Nobody. Haven't you noticed? If you do find an image it'll only be of dead people.” It's true, after a quick memory recall it was difficult to pinpoint any time of late where I had not seen an image in bright, garish technicolour. It turns out that black and white photography is not a simple case of playing with desaturation on Photoshop, you can only properly achieve it with film or attention to detail in post-production. However, this

raises another problem, as film photography is no longer the practical solution.

You can be sent out to do a midnight shoot on Thursday and the editor will want the images 10am on Friday. This violent crave for immediacy is what is killing professional film photographers, they just don't have the time to get things developed. So then why are some of your images in black and white?

“When lighting in a gig is flat and boring is when I convert to black and white. It makes it punchier. It gives it a timeless feel. Like one I did of The Strokes. But even though the magazines don't like it, the bands do. It just makes them look more epic.”

Do You Have What It Takes?

The first law of a career in photography is that you've got to love everything about it. Like a spouse, you've got to love their baby photos, their time as a moody adolescent and in death. Just like photography, you need to love every stage of its development. There's a lot of stigma associated to types of film and camera, production processes and results but Stuart claims that none of this should matter. “If you've never been in a darkroom or loaded a film you cannot call yourself a photographer. I don't understand how you ever could. People have their opinions on Lomo, that it's just trendy and it's fake photography, but its status doesn't matter - at least it's keeping you in contact with film. Also, it's pretentious to say you don't use Photoshop. It’s about what comes out at the end, not how you got there.” Stuart ends by warning aspiring photographers that “it’s not a job for people that want to be friends with famous people. Usually it is your reputation that makes a difference, bands and people come after you and want to be friends once they hear that you shoot for someone like NME.”

Music

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Backstage at LFW AW 2012

Zennie Thomas and Francesca Marotta

Hanna Ibraheem and Ashley Isham

Lottie Kingdon and Bernard Chandran

Sarah Harrison and Miriam Lehle

Lucinda Turner and Truus & Riet Spijkers We were lucky enough to go backstage at various London Fashion Week venues to chat to the designers about their AW12 collections. Check out www.qmessenger.co.uk/fashion to see full length interviews with all of these talented designers.

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London Fashion Week AW 2012

Cub Fashion Editor Lucinda Turner’s guide to London Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter 2012-2013. From outlandish prints to late night parties find out what goes on inside London’s most stylish week...

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he tent had been assembled, the fridges filled with vitamin water and we’d crammed our feet into the highest, most uncomfortable heels we owned.

It could only signal the start of London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012.

The courtyard at Somerset House was a hive of activity. The first big show of the season was the much anticipated Corrie Nielsen in the BFC show space. What was presented to us was a hybrid of late 90s Vivienne Westwood and late 2000s Alexander McQueen. There was drama, there were facemasks and there was a whole load of tartan. It was a very powerful and wonderfully British start to London Fashion Week.

PPQ managed to continue the British theme towards the end of the first day.

However, they decided to look back at British fashion in the 40s. Elegant hats, fitted coats, bright red lips and even bicycles on the catwalk. It was all centred on a colour palette of browns, creams and greys with flashes of emerald green. The result was a very grown up, chic collection from a label who have lacked a serious edge in the past. The collection also gave us a hint of the 40s glamour trend that we would be seeing across LFW. Zoë Jordan’s collection received rave reviews. With Poppy Delevinge closing the show in a beautiful floor length dove grey dress, the Vogue Fashion Fund nominee cemented her place as a true fashion great.

Day 2 started with a very traditional collection from Daks, with trenches, dresses and trousers all in their classic check pattern. Henry Holland gave his usual display of slightly tongue in cheek fashion to a star studded audience including Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof and Nick Grimshaw. He told us that the girl he designs for has become a woman and the collection reflected that. The hemlines were a little longer but the sense of fun was still there with bright clashing colours galore and a fantastic orange furry monster coat.

By midday Somerset House was buzzing. It was the battle of the Rochas, with father John and daughter Simone both scheduled to show on the same day within hours of each other. Whilst John Rocha presented us with incredible sculptured dresses in his classic black and gold palette, it was rising star Simone who stole the show. Her super cool collection of white blazers, silver leather tops, over-

sized black silk coats and peplum dressThe day progressed with innovative es (another key AW12 trend) was so ef- knitwear from Mark Fast and confetti fortlessly chic it had the fashion world rain at Burberry Prorsum, but the highin awe. Every woman in the room want- light came from another British fashion ed Simone Rocha to dress her when they house coming back home. Just like Stelwalked out of that show, which is defi- la McCartney, Alexander McQueen show nitely an achievement when half of the their ready-to-wear collection in ParVogue editorial team were in attendance. is, but this season they decided to treat From a new talent to one who we us to their diffusion line McQ. Everyone thought had left our shores for good. was ushered into a room designed to reWithout a doubt the most covetable tick- semble an autumn forest and sat awaitet of the whole of London Fashion Week ing one of the most spectacular shows of was Stella McCartney’s Special Presenta- the season. It was quite simply stunning. tion. Whilst she still shows her main line Dress after dress came down the catwalk, exclusively in Paris, Stella came back to each one of them causing the audience LFW for one night only to treat her guests to sigh a little at the beauty. Lace, velto an evening of dinner, dancing and Al- vet, leather and even a few male models, exa Chung being hypnotised. The clothes it was catwalk perfection. The front of the were beautiful as ever and were present- ‘forest’ exploded at the end of the show to ed by models ballroom dancing around reveal all the models standing in a line, the room. The guests, including Kate showing off the spectacular collection in Moss, Rihanna and Anna Wintour, were all its glory. given a vegetarian dinner before the show The last day of womenswear kicked off began at 11pm. The most incredible fash- with designer du jour Mary Katrantzou. ion week party ever? Yes, I think so.

Her floral prints were the star of last seaWhilst they may have been out dancing son and her follow up collection did not past midnight, the fashionistas still made disappoint. It seems that London Fashit up in time for Mulberry’s 10am shows. ion Week decided to give us all a masThe theme was Where the Wild Things sive infusion of colour with the last day Are and the guests rivalled even Stella’s of women’s shows. Choosing to put Holly presentation (Lana Del Ray, Olivia Paler- Fulton, Meadham Kirchhoff and Ashish mo, Elisabeth and Anna Wintour). Eve- on the same day was definitely a shock to rything in the collection was very brown our colour deprived systems. Holly Fuland furry in a spectacular way, it seems ton gave a marvellous collection of fuchEmma Hill is still unable to put a foot sia and turquoise art deco prints, Meadwrong. ham Kirchhoff was as over the top as ever This very British institution was fol- and Ashish, well, let’s just say it was not lowed by another. The Topshop Unique to my taste, but a bucket load of colour show offered up a brilliant medley of util- nonetheless. itarian coats, dungaree dresses and velvet Menswear day comprised of some fanjumpsuits. It was sensible, wearable and tastic collections from Oliver Spencer, fun, just what you’d expect from the king Christopher Shannon and James Long. of the great British High Street.

The overriding theme of the day, howevSunday was finished off by the Mat- er, was what was to come. London has thew Williamson show at the Royal Op- been given its own Men’s Fashion Week era House; an exceptional venue that was in June, to fit in with the existing Paroutshone by an even more exception- is and Milan shows. We were given a al collection. Standing out from a day of speech by the menswear chair of the BFC the wonderful (yet colourless) collections and promised days devoted to showcasof Marios Schwab and Nicole Farhi, Wil- ing the exceptional menswear designers liamson’s collection was floaty, floral and that London has to offer. Very exciting fantastic. stuff.

Monday morning was brought in with And that was it. The cobbled courtyard a slightly under whelmed sign at Chris- of Somerset House left empty for another topher Kane and a rejoice at the brilliant season. London Fashion Week had once prints at Peter Pilotto. I was checking out again shown us the talent and vision of the collection of up and coming design- our great designers. We were left looker Sophie Hulme; this fantastic collec- ing forward to oversized fur coats, flashes tion based on toy dinosaurs and grandad of winter brights and wearing red lipstick jumpers accompanied by a Bloody Mary everyday (well that, and not having to was a great start to my Monday morning. wear 7 inch heels for another six months).

Paris Fashion Week in Pictures

FASHION

Before the fashion elite had time to recover from the hectic weeks of New York, London and Milan, there was one more pause on the whistle stop tour that is fashion month. As one of the fashion capitals of the world, Paris will always bring in a well dressed crowd. Whilst they dashed between Chanel and Dior and were chauffeured from Yves Saint Laurent to Celine, Cub Fashion’s Lucinda Turner was there to capture their stylish looks.

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A FEW GOOD WORDS In defence of the articulate screenwriter words by Omer Hamid “In my house, someone who uses one word where they could have used five just isn’t trying hard enough”, wrote Aaron Sorkin for his wildly successful television series The West Wing.

Sorkin is potentially one of the most powerful screenwriters of our day, a man who understands the drama and rhythm that a good script espouses. A playwright, not a hack. A champion of oratory, not special effects. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of movies no matter what the genre, and the closer I inch to adulthood I’m starting to adjust to the idea that not everybody agrees with me. But I can’t help but feel frustrated, nay, betrayed when I see so many films that don’t seem to respect the power of a worthy script.

The Artist scooped Best Picture at the Oscars this year, not to mention at countless other award ceremonies. Fine. Great. It was their year and the team that breathed life into a forgotten genre deserve the respect they’re getting. But let’s have a quick glance at the other nominees for the same award. Five out of the nine that were flagged for the ultimate honour were adapted screenplays from novels: The Descendants, War Horse and Moneyball (co-written by Sorkin himself) among them. Adapted screenplays are effective because the novel has already painted a vivid world, the difficulty is in keeping the tale original and re-mastering it. And yet despite the abundant literary talent in the pool, the Academy voted in favour of silent film The Artist. Talk about a snub for screenplays.

Image courtesy of Boston Public Library

I get a little nostalgic when I think of films with that drama, that stand-out-from-thecrowd quality that is born in the screenplay. I can appreciate all aspects of cinema, but nothing cuts right to the core of what I want from a movie than a cutting script that oozes excitement, tension, and poignancy the moment it is handed to the actor who will have the challenge of bringing it to life. The moments in film history that survive the test of time are literary – you remember what was said rather than what was shown. “Listen – do you hear it? Carpe… Carpe Diem boys, seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary.” Or even look back just one year when Colin Firth silenced the Oscars with a beautifully woven tale about the emotional weight attached to words. The screenplay was intoxicating and masterful. With five adapted screenplays in the running for the highest accolade, this year’s Oscars underlined what I have suspected since the first time I watched A Few Good Men and my jaw dropped. A good writer must use his script as the laws of the world he will create. Writing is a chance for the ordinary man or woman to play God in a world entirely their own. I may incur a few enemies here but I’ll say outright that there are a lot of good films with good direction, acting, effects and so on. But there are no great films without a great script.

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Bring back the days of Paddy Chayefsky and his iconic 1976 film Network. Bring back the days of a Hollywood that didn’t appeal to the lowest common denominator but wanted to raise it. Martin Sheen, who played the President of the United States in Sorkin’s The West Wing wrote of a theatrical adage that says “If it ain’t on the page it ain’t on the stage.” Maybe I’m a snob, or maybe it’s because I’ve never thought of directing or acting as something I’d like to do, but film permeates through culture, etching itself into the minds of the people in a demonstration of the awesome power wielded by Hollywood.

You can’t quote a silent film over coffee; you can’t invoke special effects in a speech.

I think if you make a living out of the attention of the entire world, you’d better say something worth remembering. A great script doesn’t have to be at the expense of effects or gimmicks, but without it everything else is pretty pointless. It’s not about art, it’s about communication. It’s about vocalising an idea, a feeling, something that somebody once said was ineffable. As the father of scripts, Shakespeare, said, “Though this be madness / there is method in it.”

imagecourtesyofhughesentertainment

FILM

Satan Sells!

Do you fear the fires of hell? Do you lie awake at night dreading the decisions you’ve made in respect to Almighty God and whether or not, in his eyes, you’re worthy enough of His grace and mercy? Do you fear Satan? Do you fear the damnation of your eternal soul? No? Neither does Mark Birrell...

I

f you did happen to answer ‘yes’ to any of the above questions my sincerest advice would have to be stop reading. If you’ve been to the movies lately I’m sure you can’t have helped but notice the advertising storm for the next instalment of what I like to call the ‘Exploi-Satan’ genre.

Branded as “the movie the Vatican doesn’t want you to see!” (even though the Vatican condemns the secularism of cinema and therefore doesn’t want you to see any movies), The Devil Inside is the next slice of exorcistic, god-fearing, demon-thumping fun to hit cinema screens. By pulling the classic marketing trick of assuring audiences that this is in fact “based on true events”, it seeks to exploit the niggling fear in the back of the collective religious consciousness, the fear that somewhere there are invisible demons who WILL invade the bodies of your children and WILL make them do pointlessly creepy things like contort themselves into odd positions and say things in Aramaic. It’s already topped the US box office and, let’s be fair people, we’re hardly any smarter so it’s probably going to take a nice little profit here too. With an approximate budget of a measly $1 million and a worldwide box office of nearly $70 million already it’s not hard to see why this isn’t the first, nor will it be the last, of the Devil-centric horror movies. The question isn’t really “why are they making them?” but rather “why the hell are we watching them?”

Whilst I, obviously, give little serious thought to the prospect of being tossed into a fire-filled pit because I didn’t pray in the designated area, at the designated time, often enough there are people who would very much like me to give it serious thought, and not just because they’re the caring type. There are people who want the

idea of eternal punishment to fester in the back of my skull for so long that I’ll pretty much do anything to avoid it ever happening to me. The “anything” in that previous sentence of course preferably involves money and the giving of it to people who will make the worrying stop. It’s hardly new; people buy miracle cures for ailments that don’t really exist. Newspapers hype earthquakes into doomsday weather changes, and a bird getting the sniffles into the end of all life EVER, in order to sell more papers. Naturally a movie executive is going to exploit the dumbest fear that exists in the human consciousness for

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packs and they’ll do pretty much whatever they’re told to by their authorities.

Result? You can make religiously appealing movies for peanuts (budgets rarely exceeding $2 million), and a lot of the time they don’t even have to make sense, but people will flock to them instinctively.

But that isn’t what bothers me. A little bit of secular Machiavellianism I can deal with. I don’t mind newspapers going bananas over whatever it is that’s supposed to be destroying the very fabric of my existence this week, unless I buy The Guardian’s exclusive spreadsheet telling me how to prevent it, and I don’t mind

The Devil is fast becoming cinema’s number one villain, but unlike Lex Luthor and the Joker there is a gigantic population of fully grown, voting citizens who believe that he’s real and that something needs to be done to stop him

the smallest amount of cash. And as the collective purse strings of the filmmaking world tighten ever rapidly, studios seek cheaper and cheaper ways to turn a profit.

The last trend was Torture Porn (yes, that’s a real term), with the Saw franchise and the like. When that bubble finally burst, however, the geniuses at Hollywood HQ did some creative accounting and discovered that an increasingly panic stricken and fervently bible-thumping world was responding better than ever to the concept of biblical evil. On top of that, however, they made the same discovery that political strategist Carl Rove made over a decade ago, the discovery that fervently religious types move in large

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the travelling salesman selling his cureall. Because in the end people realise that the “epidemic” was bullshit and professional journalism takes another knock to its sales and credibility, and in the end the travelling salesman is always exposed as a fraud and run out of town. But organised religion is the true miracle scam of human civilisation; it’s the scam that never gets exposed, because you can’t disprove what can never be proven real in the first place.

And that’s the problem, making people believe that fiction is reality leads to a world in which you can be fed anything, made to believe in anything, made to buy and to do anything without a shred of logical evidence. But rather we buy all of it purely

on the basis that we think it sounds cool.

We already complain so much that we’ve been brainwashed into thinking we don’t need to work because we’ll win a game show, that we’ve been duped by bankers and politicians into aiding and abetting the creation of a future that none of us wanted. It’s all part of this incredibly worrying trend in human psychology where we take escapism to whole new, ridiculous levels.

We slowly start to buy into this religious fervour and the power that the church can have to protect you from it, provided you submit yourself completely to whatever they tell you to do. I’m quite a bitter atheist, I’ll admit, but that last part is true; certainly truer than our calm middle class brains want to believe it is. At the heart of all religious media lies the concept of self-help. Self-help, of course, being one of those terrific nonsense terms of the modern age as the self-help programme itself, in accordance with the infamous Twelve Steps, requires you to accept that you cannot help yourself. I know, genius right?!

The truth is that modern organised religion has come to realise the incredible power of the God of Businessmen – synergy. The Devil is fast becoming cinema’s number one villain, but unlike Lex Luthor and The Joker there is a gigantic population of fully grown, voting citizens who believe that he’s real and that something needs to be done to stop him. Glorifying the idea of righteous and holy crusading leads only to further misunderstanding of the natural world, and isolated instances of children being physically abused and sometimes even killed due to mistaking a psychological illness with “possession”, such as the death of 8 year-old Torrance Cantrell in 2003 when his autism was mistaken for demonic possession and he died during exorcism.

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Qupid

Rachel Lennie

Drama and Hispanic Studies, 2nd Year “Crazy but perfect, known also as Madhead” -J. Laver

I am on quest radio for one hour every week talking about love on “the love show” but truth be told my love life wasn’t exactly going anywhere fast, and running out of things to talk about on the show , I thought the blind date would be brilliant for this and for my own personal experience.

One of my close friends has recently been on a Qupid date and he had a lovely time. Of course, the free food and drink were an incentive but I was hoping to meet my soulmate.

I had seen Jonny perform at An Audience With Sharon , so I recognised him and it was a relief that it wasn’t a com-

plete stranger. We had actually been in the same room as each other briefly when he came up to Edinburgh Festival... I had forgotten about that until we spoke again.

I knew it wouldn’t be awkward at all and thought it was interesting that we both study drama and a language, having this in common was a great starting point for our conversation.

We talked about loads of other stuff, and as I suffer from bad hearing in one ear I found most of what Jonny was saying hilarious, as I was constantly getting the wrong end of the stick. He gave loads of brilliant advice for my year abroad and I wanted to know if he liked Abba or not.

Not sure if either of us will have the time to see each other, what with exams coming up etc, but we went for coffee afterwards which was nice and agreed that we would perhaps go to the theatre soon.

Overall, I would 100% recommend this to anyone who is feeling sad , drinking tea and listening to Adele to get through each day like I used to. It’s a great chance to socialise with a like minded fellow and it proves that not all males are ignorant pigs like I was led to believe ! Johnny is a top laugh and I am sure he will make it big time !

Jonny P. Williams

Drama and German, 3rd Year “Funniest guy you’ll meet, with a laugh to match” -G. Davies

I was set up on the blind date by my mate, who has spent months trying to persuade me to take part. Having never been on a blind date before and with Cilla Black’s 90’s TV show as my only reference, I was understandably sceptical about it all. What we would talk about? What if it got awkward? What flavour of ice cream would I compare my personality to? Rum ‘n’ Raisin, Raspberry Ripple or something more adventurous perhaps? Would Vanilla be too plain? I opted for Neapolitan (a safe option, I think you’ll agree).

When I arrived, I was relieved that

Qupid’s Verdict When Rachel showed interest in going on a blind date I was worried that I would not be able to find a match for such a lively, somewhat crazy, but ultimately awesome person. It wasn’t until Ben, my workmate at Infusion forced his somewhat reluctant friend on me that I felt happy with the match. Having seen videos of Jonny and hearing about him from his friends, I realised that by putting these two comic geniuses together I could create a power that could conquer the world...

Or something to that effect. As it happens they both seemed to have had a great time. I was pleasantly surprised when I rang Jonny 4 hours after to leaving them to discover they were still hanging out but had moved to the more casual location of a coffee shop. That can only be a good sign!

comparing my personality to ice cream wouldn’t be necessary. Rachel arrived on time at 2 o’clock and we immediately had a lot to talk about.

We chatted about almost everything, from choices of British holiday destinations to our misunderstanding of the musical genre “Trip Hop”. Although she claimed not to be the most assertive of people, Rachel was the opposite: interesting, engaging and above all hilarious. I was particularly intrigued to discover that Rachel was studying Spanish and planned to go to Spain next year as a Language Assistant. Having worked in Germany as a Language Assistant, I was able to impart some words of wisdom.

After the veritable feast at Fat Cat, we went for a coffee at Roastar’s and could have seemingly talked and laughed for hours. However, as the end of term slowly rears its head, our respective essays were calling and we decided to call it a day. I’m not sure anything serious could happen, but it would be really nice to go out for a drink with Rachel again before she leaves for Spain. And in the immortal words of Cilla Black herself, I think its safe to say we did indeed have a “lorra lorra laughs”.

Dear Qupid

Dear Qupid, I need advice! Last Tuesday night I was cleaning my teeth when my house mate barged into the bathroom, started chatting and cleaning her teeth right next to me! I caught her eye in the mirror and blushed!

It was so embarrassing and awkward, I feel like brushing my teeth is an intimate and personal act but, yet I felt strangely good sharing this moment. Now I cannot look her in the eye as I remember that moment!

Confused student.

Do you want to be the next student struck by Qupid’s wandering arrow? You won’t only meet your potential soulmate, but you’ll get a free meal and bottle of wine at the rather lovely Fat Cat Cafe. If you’re interested email Bryony Orr at qupid@cubmagazine.co.uk

Dear Student, Firstly, try locking your door! Secondly, maybe this is what your friendship needed to take it to the next level. However, it seems like your house mate didn’t make much of the event? Perhaps she brushes her teeth with lots of different people? Don’t jump the gun and make more of the event than it is. Maybe play it cool for a while!

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