Where mens file is very clean cut and simple presents an opportunity to showcase the images very simply in the design template, as all their spreads are very minimalistic, using a lot of full bleed and double page spreads. This plays into my hand as I too am a minimalist in this way and I find it makes composition quite simple and intentional. However, my personal work is far more dirty and much less middle class for lack of a better word, and I will need to steer away from the filth I am usually interested in to meet the goals of the brand image, but I can already think of multiple ways that I can tone down the intensity without loosing the grit, I'll just have to go soft grunge rather than hardcore. The stories are all quite narrative driven regardless of subject, which will be where the challenge lies, as this is not just editorial but also a task in continuity and storytelling, which I find lends itself on focusing on a subject and building a world around them, also paying attention to fine details such as chronology within the sequence. There is also a lot of homage to mid century artists/masters but I don't find this to be a problem, as most of my work is derived from similar time periods, but this is rarely done in a more candid way men's file is a very stylised magazine, but I want to try and find a balance between images that look well together, but retain the intimacy and vulnerability of a candid picture of someone. All the stories feel personal both from the perspective of the photographer and the subject, which tells me that whilst I should try and branch out with picking somebody interesting to photograph; it will be prudent to use someone I already have a rapport with as this will provide both their story and mine. Max would be a good candidate for this, because we have a lot in common artistically and he fits the aesthetic of the magazine in terms of his personal style. There will be some pictures of him below. 

For this brief I would very much like to focus on presenting what is left of the old London and surrounding areas but with the authenticity of somebody who has lived there their whole life. I would also like to bring in aspects of the things I was brought up with, as my parents were both born in the 60s so a lot of their cultural references align with the periods of the magazine quite well. This will also make for something a little bit different to the other files as I want to mix high styling with quite humble environments where I can play with the moodiness and mystique of the setting particularly in black and white. But just as much as I will be taking from my own life I will be using culture that I know fits the client to deliver something they will want, so film noir etc will also be referenced in my work to make it appropriate. Below are some mood boards that will be discussed during the class 27/9

Subject to testing and results, the idea is to have a mix of studio/psuedo studio images, mixed with location as well as a mix of monochrome and colour, as this brings a lot of room to draw in the eyes of the onlooker by using contrast but implement consistency using lighting and mood and tone. I think this will also help me mix modern and mid century styling, as b/w tends to age any image slightly especially when I do film replications on capture one. I would like to take my subject to do some typical things, such as have a coffee, go for a walk etc in addition to a few portraits of them at home, where they are most comfortable. Then we will go to some more scenic locations like Battersea park, forests etc and finally finishing with some pictures taken at my local pub, which very much represents the coming together of the old east end and the new one. Each location will be supplemented by some still life and personal affect images. This will leave me with a lot of material to play around with to build strong mini sections that sequence into each other, as well as having plenty to show the client to ascertain what they like and dislike. This also should provide some contingency for avoiding shooting at the last minute should the feedback require amendments or changes content wise. Doing things this way will also mean that shooting can be done more pragmatically over the course of a few weeks when my models are available, as most people are in full time work, also meaning I can get week by week reviews from the tutors etc. As for styling I would like to stick to suits for the more indoor scenes, and workwear for the outdoor ones. This is for two reasons, 1 being that I have the means to procure a nice selection of garments in this vein and 2 they are a nice contrast with each other, both in terms of look but also their social implications presenting the subject in a multifaceted vein. Finally this will also work with the spirit of the brand very well as they are all about traditional menswear. The story aspect of this assignment will become apparent with the use of activity in some settings, as well as the lack of it to show the emotional side, where using places that are relevant to both me and the subject will bring about a sense of setting and context all through implicit means. 

As for the film I would like to create a super 8 which will follow the spread in chronology but allow the subject to provide some narration/monologue which will be written collaboratively. Rather than this being active narration of what's going on, I would like them to talk more abstractly about what represents them as a person, and as an artist and touch on the things that are dear to them. As the speech meanders, so will the film from places to place in 5-6 second clips that will be cut as if they were actually made on super 8 film. This will hopefully be a smooth sailing way of putting things together, as I can film in an intuitive way, and place the clips together as I go, I will use a more rudimentary camera to film this, as I want it to look quite 'lo-fi' like a home movie would, as I find this to be concurrent with the softness of the magazine itself and also something everyone finds familiar in the same pleasant way. Finally it plays into the idea of hanging on to antiquated technology and style because it is beautiful in its own way. 

Recent work that may be beneficial to understanding me: 

Based on my feedback from my initial meeting with Matt, I am on more or less on track and my work is "inquisitive and interesting" enough for the magazine, he also liked my willingness to take risks and put myself into my work. However I need to hone in on making a more obvious story out of my 12 pages, and making it more clear that it is a Men's File spread. I can think of two ways to solve these issues, firstly I want to focus on Max's dual life as an electrician who moonlights as a very promising signed musician, and to push 70's vintage fashion in all of his outfits. For this we will go from very intimate shots of him doing every day things in his work wear like his morning routine etc and then progressing this to him in the studio fully suited and booted as human the moon, as requested by Matt I will use my King Rule references for styling and composition, as well as David Bowie in The man who fell to earth, finally the story will end with Max as himself again in our local pub enjoying a pint with some friends. I have all the clothing required for this using, visual queues to progress the narrative. 

Since talking to Matt for the second time, my working relationship with the model has hit some barriers, which have led to the cancellation of the shoots we were meant to do. In light of this I have had to revise my ideas to something simpler, and will not be relying on one person to complete my work for this unit. I think this will also require me to challenge myself to try and bend what I can shoot into the mensfile aesthetic, but that is less important than bringing forward work that will be useable in my portfolio. To make up for this idea I have chosen to focus around work wear, and skateboarding as these are two core interests of mine and both have a lot of reference material to work from, that I think can be incorporated in to the more modern aspects of the magazine, for example when they have showcased collaboration with carhartt, and Matt himself showed me work he shot in California of a female skater. I also think that I can still take ideas that are not content related from my original planning such as shooting style, lighting and editing. This will also effect my moving image idea, in which I will now be be making a 1 minute skate part featuring my friends as well as some B roll stuff. 

In addition to the original reference material, I have chosen to look at Jason Dill for my revised work as a main point of reference, as I think his work is close to being suitable for mens file, particularly the things he has shot for New York clothing brand and skate shop Supreme. As an ex professional himself, he also provides an eye into the world of skating as someone who lives and breathes it, which I think is also important, as he has had to take the time to cultivate relationship with the people that he photographs and see the value in them as subjects. I also think the simplicity of his style and use of more point and shoot driven cameras means he focuses on creating interest by capturing a person, rather than being intensely technical as an artist, whilst still being a very accomplished 35mm photographer himself. He also has quite an old school style personally, which would fit into the revivalist 50/60s working mans bracket, wearing a lot of white vests and boiler shirts etc. The exciting part of thinking about Dill, is that is not afraid to challenge of push boundaries that have been set by the industry, and he trusts himself as a tastemaker both with who he hires for the team but also in his vision for style and art. This is shown in his success in creative direction for mens fashion in supreme, and his ownership of Fucking Awesome skateboards which has a similar cult following even amongst those who don't skate. Below will be some more references for his work in a more commercial setting. 

To talk about Dill without mentioning Terry Richardson would be wrong, as it is where Dill got his technical inspiration from. Richardson is a very accomplished portrait photographer also from the states and involved in a lot of fashion/subculture including that of skating. His questionable practices with his subjects should be made clear, as I want to point out that I am aware that it is not just skill that makes a photographer valuable, as the ability to be a professional is just as important as technical skill and Terry Richardson seems to be a bit of a c***. Nevertheless in terms of analytical thinking he should be talked about alongside dill, as they have worked together for a long time on supreme and more recently FA. Richardson loves a clean striking hard focus on a white background, or more active candid shots often with some sort of absurdity to them. He is also a fan of very lush red, blue and green colours that really pop off a gloss print or a bill board, he like Dill also has a keen eye for casting. He is mainly a Yashica T4 user when it comes to film, but in the last 15 years he has also used a lot of digital Cameras that I imagine are really high end. By looking at these two, I am not so much trying to get an exact recreation of their style, but more using them as a guideline for how to shoot something that you know is meant to be for publishing in print and online, and also has a lot of personality and unique appearance as a whole.

Finally for research it would be wrong to do a project that is focused around skating, and not talk about Thrasher and Jake phelps. Thrasher has been in publication for over 40 years, and is probably one of the worlds best magazines at holding its reader base, as it is still by far the biggest skating magazine in the world, and they distribute to most countries that have a free press. Thrasher has a very broad subject matter, but is always tied into skateboarding in some way, there is a heavy presence of pictures in every issue. Jake Phelps was the editor of thrasher until his passing in 2018, and he was behind all of the issues that I would of grown up reading, especially from a creative direction standpoint. As another pro skater himself, he knew the industry inside out, and had all the connections he would need to see his vision make it to print. He also proved versatile, as thrasher is quite a topical magazine, which see's a lot of special issues, like SOTY, Black Lives Matter etc. This has all required different approaches to shooting the issue to get the point across. Like MF Thrasher has very strong branding that knows what the reader wants to see out of each issue, and also features a lot of product placements, but without the bull that comes with a lot of advertising rather it focuses on being creative. On the more palatable end I think there is even some crossover between phelps era thrasher and MF, a sweet spot I will try to hit with my own spread. 

The time has come for me to discuss my own work for the unit, which has taken itself on quite a journey though I appreciate it for what it is, and am in fact happy with how it turned out, as I think I am close to succeeding with it being Mens File appropriate, despite not being a revivalist type of jam, and there are a few images in here that would be portfolio worthy. In terms of planning and shooting for the assignment, I stripped back my process to just thinking about friends who I skate with personally, who are also supportive of my degree and asking them to come out for a sesh and also a mini photo shoot during the day. I tried to bring out their personalities and looks in each of their individual mini spreads, but keep the composition and eventual editing of all of them consistent, so the piece would flow nicely from start to finish. To shoot all of this I just took my DSLR, a 35mm lens and a flash, the rest was all carried out in editing. A similar approach was taken with the motion but I only shot motion with Kyle, as I have been filming him skate for a personal project with him, and this was a good opportunity to make a practice edit of him using limited footage. 

I shot Tai and Hamza on the same day, Hamza during the afternoon and Tai during the evening, I met them both in Deptford so as too be working in familiar surroundings for both, Apart from to two of Hamza on a white wall, I did not discuss the images with them really, we would just skate and talk and I would intermittently pick up the camera and take a frame whilst they were going about their day. I think this makes the pictures seem more natural, and means that we didn't have to go through the normal earlier phase of a shoot were the model needs to settle into their place in front of the lens. The portrait shots are for single pages, and the landscapes were shot with the intent of being double page spreads. The grading and edit was all done in capture one, by making a black and white that I liked, with a low amount of shadows, punchy but toned highlights, a high black point and then some grain that I have developed myself. I would turn this into a preset, paste it on the image and then adjust based upon the live lighting of the shoot. 

I shot the rest of this in the following two weeks after Tai and Hamza, each with a place in mind for the spread I also decided to go out in the snow with Kyle, as it was a rare opportunity to shoot with these backdrops that I thought would turn out really well in black and white. The remaining three were shot at bay 66 on a filming trip with the last in the sequence being intended to be the back cover of the spread. I carried out the same praxis for shooting, trying to keep it candid with the exception of the middle image, which I shot on polaroid with the intention of it being the cover of the spread. I actually did shoot that one by placing him in front of me and asking him to pose for it. I used the capture on preset I made for the previous shoots and I applied it to these raws, and the large scan of the polaroid, and then adjusted for lighting again. 

As for the making of the PDF version in spreads, I kept it quite simple with a 12 page a4 document with single pages at the start and finish. I then arranged to put DPS on pages 2 and six in order to give some structure but also as a way to introduce some narrative and setting. I then placed the 3 images of Kyle in, keeping everything full bleed as this fits the Mens file style of print. After page 4 I left a blank on page 5 where text could be placed, I saw fit for only one pure text page, as some could be placed on the final image, and because MF is not a text heavy magazine in my opinion. I then placed the images of Hamza and Tai in one after another, adhering to the same parameters I stated earlier, followed by the back cover. I then finished by adding a text header to the cover, and tidying up the pages, by pushing the images around in the frame so they were sitting perfectly for the composition. After this it was just a case of export. 

Despite the setbacks, I think shooting this went well and my initial ideas and research actually did help with the visual side of things, as it played into how I finished a lot of my pictures as well as how I went about shooting them. I also think I balanced the explicitly skating images with more personable shots well to make a spread that will hold a readers attention, I also tried to use composition to further the eyes across the page by paying attention to the direction the frame is weighted to etc. I enjoyed making this and it is work I am quite proud of, I hope it reflects well on Matt and the way I see his publication. 

To make my 1 minute motion, I went out and filmed with Kyle as we usually do for other side projects, upon approaching the deadline I reviewed the footage I had and decided to keep it to just two days of shooting, both not to compromise the future film we have planned and also because I could fit these two days nicely into the one minute time frame. so after selecting the clips that were landed etc, I trimmed them back to be as short as possible and placed them in order to be sequenced, after that I glued them together to transition at the correct timings. I then added some colour grading as well as a film simulation effect on all the clips, I put a more yellow hue on the first sequence and then a blue hue for the snow clips to match the vibe more. Finally I added a chopped and screwed version of a song from the original shaft soundtrack for music and some text in the necessary places. Again due to the drama that surrounded getting this project complete it wasn't my ideal film, but I didn't lose any love for the process as a result and I think the final product is quite satisfying, and also being a good building block for the future work I wish to do with Kyle. 

All in all I think this unit was a success for me and like anything in life, you have to work past issues in order to see the benefit of participating in it. Each time I complete a piece of work like this I am rewarded by gaining more understanding in how to represent myself in the field and how to reign in my ideas around the parameters that sell. Finally though taking risks and providing an authentic vision is the way you make a name for yourself in ay artistic pursuit, and nobody will get anywhere far by following the rules, so regardless of academic performance I will stand behind all the work that I think I have put real effort into. Going into the next year I just want to try and gain more motivation and confidence to pursue my ideas in the final stretch of the course and finish on a high note.