The Cockpit Research

The Cockpit in Leeds is my favourite ever venue. I have never been disappointed at any gig or club night I have been to what they have hosted. The location is directly under the train station and a five minute walk from a bus stop to my flat so it is really convenient and not difficult to find either.


History:

The Cockpit is an independently run live music and club venue in the heart of Leeds City Centre managed by locally based promoters Futuresound Music. The venue is built underneath a series of three railway arches, giving the venue its distinctive curved ceilings.

The Cockpit opened in 1994 and was previously called The Cock of the North pub. The alternative live music venue was set up by Colin Oliver (still the main band promoter and owner at The Cockpit), while Richard Todd (who joined him a few months later) took charge of our alternative club nights and began the now legendary club, Brighton Beach.

Since opening in 1994, the Cockpit has attracted some of the biggest names in music to Leeds and has remained dedicated to seeking out the most exciting new bands at the very start of their careers. In the last 15 years we've seen Coldplay, The White Stripes, Amy Winehouse, Queens of the Stoneage, Flaming Lips, The Libertines, Mars Volta, My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco, The Hives, Elastica, Les Savy Fav, The Killers, At The Drive In, Fall Out Boy, Hot Chip and Bloc Party amongst many, many others take to the Cockpit stages for truly legendary performances.

Now:

Gigs take place on our three stages most nights of the week showcasing bands from the Leeds music scene to an international level. Club nights follow the live music on Tuesdays to Saturdays where you'll hear Indie, Rock, Electro, Guitars, Metal, Skate-Punk and much more.

I have done a fair amount of photography work there, best work coming from bands The Ocean Between Us, and Anchored By Avarice.

The Clubnights:

Slamdunk:

Slam Dunk celebrates it's ten year anniversary this year. If you are from Leeds or are into pop punk / emo / ska / metal, then the likelihood is you are already aware of Slam Dunk. If not, get to the Cockpit on any given Tuesday to find out what the fuss is about!

Not content with having the number one specialist music night in the country, Slam Dunk's ten years has seen the night grow into a brand, including show promotion, a record label, guest spots up an down the country and an annual festival that has gone from strength to strength over the years, cementing Slam Dunk as the foremost player in the game.

The Cockpit plays host to Slam Dunk every Tueday, providing three varied rooms of music for you to dance, mosh and pogo too.

Southern Fried:

Stereotypical 90's hip hop themed night with a wide selection of RnB, Hip Hop and Pop. Speciality drinks such as: Crunk Juice / Purple Drank / Double Gin and Juice / Double Vodka Orange Soda are available to buy on the night. And rather than 'Guestlist', you can get on the 'Pimplist' if you write a song request on the event page on their social network page.

The Session:

Every Friday at The Cockpit they bring you the best in floorfilling indie disco from festival singalong classics to the newest, coolest acts on the scene, as well as dipping their toes in the live music pond with all new 'The Session Presents...' events happening in the coming months.

The Garage:

Whether you're seriously into rock music, or seriously into having a bit of air-grabbing, guilty pleasured fun, THE GARAGE is on every Saturday night! This night brings everyone together in three different rooms playing a variation of rock music and mainstream pop too.

Overall, The Cockpit is a venue aimed at young people who enjoy an alternative night out to mainstream clubs and prefer a heavier range of music and a place to gather and appreciate local and international artists and bands play in a unique atmosphere.

Camera Research

For the past few years, my interest in cameras has increased and also changed a lot. I first started getting into it when I moved over here to England and befriended a lot of skaters in the Huddersfield area, one of them being very into his digital photography in the skate scene.

When I first publicised my new interest to my parents, my dad gave me his old SLR from when he was my age which was an Olympus OM2-Spot with the full kit of different lenses, extenders, filters and a flash. That's when film came into things and it started my interest as well as teaching myself everything about the camera and how everything worked.

After about two months of using this precious film camera religiously I knew everything about the relationship between shutter-speed, aperture, iso and the different lenses. With my first developments looking like this:

After learning all I could with film I started to save up for my first DSLR with a job I bagged at a spanish restaurant in my town. This lead me to purchasing a Canon EOS 450D with an 18-55mm lens on ebay for £320

This became one of my essential things to take around with me when I was out and about along with phone, keys and money. I would always look out for moments and opportunities to use my camera and get as much as I could out of it.

In my second year of college, I decided to enrol into an extra AS - level in Photography to see if I could extend my knowledge any further. Most of what I developed on that course was how to analyse photographs and use theory to my advantage as all of the technical aspects had already been covered by myself the previous Summer.

When I got to university, photography became more of a hobby than anything else, I'd have a good time going out and exploring places I hadn't been or doing shoots for my business but a more able camera was needed if I wanted to carry on my hobby properly so I sold my EOS 450D and invested into an EOS 60D through work for £700 with an  external flashgun too.

By this time I already had a f/1.8 50mm lens which I still favour as my best lens and absolutely love taking photos with it. Since upgrading my camera I have developed my interest in digital photography as well as starting to play with film and video as I now have the equipment to make that possible. Here are some photos I have taken with this camera. 

History:

The history of the camera is a very long one, from Joseph Niepce taking the first photograph to the Kodak roll film camera to the c.d. being used as a digital image storing device.

Below is a detailed table which will take you through the development of the camera.

Date	Event
1814	A Frenchman called Joseph Nicéphore Niépceobtained the first ever photographic image with his “Camera Obscura”. This image was taken by having the shutter left open for eight hours ad faded shortly after.
1837	The French artist Louis Jacques MandéDaguerre took the first fixed image on his Daguerreotype. This image did not fade and took less than thirty minutes of exposure.
1841	William Henry Talbot patented the process ofCalotype- which involves the first negative-positive printing process making it possible to make multiple copies of a picture.
1843	The first advertisement using a photograph is made in Philadelphia
1851	The Collodion process is invented by Frederick Scott Archer. This requires only two or three seconds of sunlight exposure for the image to be captured.
1859	The panoramic camera is patented In Sutton.
1871	A man called Richard Leach Maddox invents a gelatin dry plate silver bromide process-negatives are no longer needed to be developed immediately.
1880	Eastman dry plate company is founded.
1884	Flexible, paper based photographic film is invented by company “Eastman”.
1888	Eastman has another invention, the Kodak roll film camera.
1900	The turn of the century brought around the first mass marketed camera “the Browning”.
1913-1914	The first 35mm still camera is developed
1927	Electricity company General Electric invents the modern flash bulb which enables the photograph to be brighter or taken in dark areas and seen clearly in the finished picture.
1935	Eastman Kodak starts selling Kodachromefilm on the market
1941	Eastman Kodak introduces Kodacolournegative film
1948	Edwin Land markets his invention, the Polaroid camera.
1954	Eastman Kodak develops hi-speed tri-x film.
1960	EG&G produces a camera that can withstand extreme underwater depths for the U.S.navy.
1963	Polaroid releases instant colour film.
1968	The first ever literally “out of this world” photograph is taken. And we receive an image of our planet taken from the moon.
1973	Polaroid develops one step instant colourfilm, shoot and print with one click.
1978	Konica invents the point and shoot auto focus camera
1980	Sony publicly gives a demonstration of their newest addition to the original camera, the camcorder.
1984	Four years later canon demonstrates their next big thing for many years, an electronic still camera.
1985	Pixar releases a digital imaging processor.
1990	Eastman Kodak develops the photo cd as a digital image storing device.

Below is the first photo ever taken on a camera.

Below is the famous "Camera Obscura":

Camera Basics:

A film camera is full of mechanical, optical and some electronic circuitry for automatic systems aimed at producing an image on film. A digital camera replaces the film with chip circuitry, otherwise usually the remaining features of lens, shutter and aperture, remain the same. Despite these differences in image capture and storage, all other processes, principles, techniques and accessories are identical in photography.

A camera can be thought of as nothing more than a light-tight box with a hole on each side - one side has a lens attached, the other side has a holder that accomadates a strip of light sensitive film or a sensor. To enable an image to be formed, a series of optically ground lenses transform objects in front of the lens into a sharp image on the film or sensor.

The focus is often managed automatically in the camera. Focus depends on the distance between the lens and the film or sensor. When you change the focus, you are moving the lens towards or away from the film/sensor.

The exposure is the amount of light passing to the film or sensor and this is modified in two ways; the diaphragm which controls the qualityof light by opening or closing the aperture; and the shutter which regulates the amount of time the light is allowed to pass through to the film or sensor.

Diagram of a 35mm Single Lens Reflex:

Diagram of how a digital camera works:

Cameras Today:

Today there are many different types of cameras on the market. Cameras have developed a lot since the first camera was invented. Film cameras now compete with digital cameras which are now very popular especially for beginners and amateur photographers. Good quality digital cameras are very expensive.
Computers have changed the way cameras are used. By using a digital camera the advantage is that many shots can be taken and then deleted with only the best to be kept. They can be stored on disc or printed.

Main Types of Cameras:


Following are the main types of cameras available today.

1. Advanced Photo System (APS) (1x240) camera- Light-weight "point and shoot" rangefinder compact camera or SLR camera with interchangeable lenses. Formats can be changed mid-roll. Produce excellent results and ideal for beginners.

2. 35mm compact (point and shoot) camera. Simple all-in-one camera with the minium of accessories. Automatic focus and exposure control. Excellent first camera for young and beginner photographers.

3. 35mm rangefinder camera. Subject is viewed through a separate viewfinder. Variety of models available. They are high quality ones and are easy to operate.

4. Digital viewfinder camera. Looks like a 35mm rangefinder camera, but records images digitally.

5. 35mm SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Very popular camera with many attachment available. The subject is viewed through the lens. Some brands and models are highly sophisticated.

6. Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. Has the appearance and features of a 35mm SLR camera, yet records images digitally. These cameras are improving very rapidly. Digital cameras are now available up to 36.3 megapixels which is close to a film camera image which is 18 megapixels.

7. Range-finder medium Format camera. Takes pictures 6x7, 6x9, 6x4.5 cm formats. They use ISO 120 or ISO 220 film.They are portable and good for big enlargements.

8. Panoramic Cameras. Available with rangefinder systems and have either fixed formats or interchangeable backs.

9. SLR Medium Format cameras. Takes pictures with many formats and are good for big enlargements.

10. Large Format Cameras. Thes are used by commercial and specialist photographers.They use 5x4 or 10x8 inch sheet film and produce amazingly clear enlargements.

11. Instant and Polaroid cameras. Photograph develops instantly due to chemicals in the film. Can be adapted to take ISO 120 or ISO 220 film. Some models accept either 5x4 or 10x8 inch sheet film.

12. Stereo Camera (for 3D photography). Available in rangefinder only. Produces 3-dimensional image by taking two pictures, one 63.5 mm from the other.

Cameras have changed an developed in many ways since the first camera and in the years to come will continue to develop. Cameras are noe also available in mobile phones and many are very small but the quality on some can be more impressive than a normal digital camera.

Pop Punk Music Research

The reason I chose to research Pop Punk was because I have always had a very keen interest in it. I have always listened to it and in a way it just feels part of my identity because growing up listening to it has definitely shaped who I am and how I think. The reason for this is the upbeat sound, funny or relevant topics discussed in the music and it always makes me feel motivated and happy.

Going to a Pop Punk show is always an amazing time because everyone else there has a mutual love of the music and atmosphere it creates. Most of it has a very raw and untampered sound unlike a lot of music nowadays which is very overproduced and auto-tuned to sound perfect. 

The whole aim and atmosphere of pop punk is fun, below I have attached a video of a show put on by The Wonder Years where a guy started swinging punches and the singer goes mental because people are being aggressive at their show when its supposed to be kids enjoying themselves. Skip to 1:50 for the part discussed.

Origins:

The origins of today's pop punk can be found in the music of 1970s New York band The Ramones. Loud, fast and technically primitive as it was, the music of The Ramones was also grounded in the bubblegum pop of The Beatles and the groundbreaking productions of Phil Spector. They were distinguished from other, artier CBGBs acts like Television and Patti Smith due to their focus on simple, catchy melodies and pop song structures. On top of this, the lyrics of Joey Ramone were less provocative and more upbeat than those of other CBGB mainstays such as Richard Hell and Talking Heads. For this reason, the New York New Wave music of The Ramones helped provide the blueprint for the pop punk movement that would follow a few years later.

Lookout! Records:

In 1988, Lawrence Livermore started a record label called Lookout! Records. Based in California, the label initially specialised entirely in a sunny, upbeat take on punk rock that both strongly recalled the thrashy bubblegum pop of The Ramones and stood in oposition to the Hardcore punk movement that had ruled the North American punk scene in the early-mid 1980s. With the breakup of several notable hardcore bands and the rise of REM and college rock, many people in the punk scene were crying out for a more accessible, less violent take on punk rock music.

Lookout! Records were in a enviable position as they arrived at the right time to capitalize on this desire for catchy music with a hard edge and punky attitude. Some of the Lookout! bands broke through into the mainstream in the 1990s after the release of Nirvana's major label debut Nevermind in 1991 proved that punk rock bands could shift millions of units and get onto commercial radio and MTV.

Green Day and the First Wave of So-Cal Punk:

By 1993, Green Day had sold 55,000 copies of each oftheir Lookout! albums. This level of sales was enough to attract the major labels and the band signed to Reprise Records with their major label debut Dookie being released the following year. The record was a huge commercial success, both in terms of sales and exposure on commercial radio and MTV. The Offspring's breakthrough album Smash arrived a couple of months later, selling more than 11 million copies and becoming one of the biggest selling releases of all time on an independent record label.

Though both these records appeared to come out of nowhere, both bands had been playing for many years, touring reguarly and releasing records. Their breakthrough albums were more or less what they had been doing for years in the underground punk scene. NOFX had been together even longer and also broke through into the mainstream in 1994. The style became known as So-Cal punk, a variant on The Ramones-style pop punk that incorporated different tempos, angsty teenage-minded lyrics and anthemic choruses. There was also more emphasis on humour, especially in the case of blink-182, though they were still obscure at the time.

blink-182 and the Second Wave of So-Cal Punk:

In 1999, blink-182 released their breakthrough album Enema of the State. Whereaes Green Day and their contempories had not really altered their sound during the move from indie to major label, blink-182's breakthrough record boasted a radio friendly sound and slick production when compared to the more thrashy, trashy sound of their independently released recordings. The album disappointed some fans who accussed them of selling out, blatantly softening their sound in pursuit of major success and playing the major label game by the book.

Despite this, Enema of the State became the bands most commercially successful release to date, garnering much radio airplay and the mainstream exceptance of the bands pop-parody video for "All the Small Things". Their next album, Take off Your Pants and Jacket continued their commercial success and was similar in style to Enema of the State, alternating thrashy choruses with chuggy verses and combining the catchy melodies and anthemic choruses of Green Day with American Pie style humour. Following the success of the album, major labels began signing pop punk bands left, right and center.

Bands such as Good Charlotte and Sum 41 had hits on both sides of the Atlantic following this mass signing of punk bands by major labels. These, as well as lesser known bands such as Bowling for Soup, became prime targets for criticism. They were perceived as adding little-to-nothing to the pop punk sound that already existed and were criticised from certain quarters that viewed them as pure careerists, apeing a sound that had reached its conclusion years ago purely to become rich and famous.

Pop Punk or Punk Pop?

In 2002, the debut album by Canadian singer/songwriter Avril Lavinge was released. Released on June 4, 2002 by a major label, Arista Records, it sold 4,000,000 copies within six months of its release. It topped the charts around the world and, at just 18 years old, she became the youngest female to top the charts in Britain. Though her punk rock credentials are debatable, Lavinge was aggressively marketed as a "skater chick", both because of her image and the hit song "Skater Boy".

For many people in the punk community, Avril Lavinge represented the final co-opting of punk rock by the major labels and the mainstream in general, a heavily diluted, highly radio friendly version of punk rock music with just enough fake angst to appeal to both pop kids and young kids just getting into punk rock. Some claimed she was just Britney Spears in punk rock clothing with marketing that was even more complex and highly controlled than Britney's and that her punky sound was a highly cynical marketing pose on behalf of her label and nothing more. Whatever the truth, longtime punk fans rejected Avril Lavinge wholesale, with some even starting anti-Avril Lavinge websites.

In Britain, Busted filled a similar role to that of Avril Lavinge. Their music appealed largely to young girls just entering their teenage years, though it was rejected or/and laughed at by everybody else, and their sound was very similar to that of Avril Lavinge. An indentikit band, McFly, became popular just after Busted's success and, with an identical sound and image, got to #1 on the British official album chart. Despite the fiendish marketing, the difference between pop punk and punk pop were obvious to anyone with any knowledge whatsoever of punk rock music and many of the bands associated with the pop punk label grew up, both musically and lyrically and went into the new millenium with a greater sense of maturity and sophistication. Thankfully for the future of pop punk, the fans grew with them.

Common Misconceptions about Pop Punk:

Pop punk is sometimes associated with the label Emo. Emo is a form of Hardcore punk that places emphasis on emotion instead of the usual politics. Pop punk is associated with emo because of bands like the Jimmy Eat World & Get Up Kids who sing about emotional things and occasionally use odd time signatures and the like borrowed from the more hardcore origins of emo. This association is a very common misconception.

Another common misconception is that bands like Less Than Jake, Rancid, and Reel Big Fish are pop punk bands. They are originators of the ska punk genre, which is more influenced by English Two-Tone bands like Madness and The Specials.

Another misconception is that bands like Weezer and The Vines are Pop-Punk bands. They are actually Power-Pop bands.

A couple of Flemish pop punk bands are Nailpin, Silverene and Flatcat

Many Australian punk rock bands could also be considered pop punk, such as 28 Days, Area-7, Bodyjar, Frenzal Rhomb, Lash, The Living End, Motor Ace and One Dollar Short.

A New Age of Pop Punk:

Around 2009 onwards started introducing a new age of Pop Punk which came influenced from fun aspects of life, crappy relationships, life goals and pizza. Musically it still varied as there were heavier louder sounds coming from bands such as The Story So Far and Four Year Strong and softer easier listening sounds coming from bands like Man Overboard and Transit.

Blink-182 released their sixth studio album, Neighborhoods, in September 2011 and it debuted at no. 2 on the Billboard 200. New Found Glory released Radiosurgery in October 2011 before embarking on the Pop Punks Not Dead Tour with This Time Next Year, Man Overboard, The Wonder Years, Criminal Collection and Set Your Goals. Man Overboard started a campaign during the release of their self-titled album, to "Defend Pop Punk". The campaign has been highly popular, selling a lot of merchandise, and along with the success of their self-titled album, Man Overboard, has propelled Man Overboard to the forefront of the new wave of pop punk.

The Story So Far released their second LP, What You Don't See, on March 26, 2013. It debuted at No. 46 on the Billboard 200. On May 14, 2013, The Wonder Years released their fourth full-length album, The Greatest Generation. The album charted considerably well at No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Man Overboard released their third full-length studio album Heart Attack as well on May 28, 2013 charting at No. 46 on the Billboard 200.

Visually, pop punk has evolved through many phases in regards to logos, album artwork, tour posters and merchandise. The styles can be generic or completely unique but always good partners with the music they represent. I have some examples below:

Research Decisions

To decide what to research over this summer I brainstormed what came to mind when I thought of each category below, I also highlighted the one which I was wanting to follow through with:

Hobby/Interest:

Screen Printing, Fixed Gear Bicycles, Technology, Fashion, Photography, Pop Punk Music, Hardcore Music.

Invention/Discovery:

Pizza, Cameras.

Person/Place:

Dry Dock, Joshua M Smith, Bar Burrito, The Cockpit.

I will publish my research about each research point in separate posts in this blog.

To Do List

Over the course of my second year of studying Graphic Design at Leeds College Of Art I would like to develop myself independently as a person and as a designer in the following ways:

• I would like to try stitch methods of book binding to broaden my knowledge in publication development.
• I would like to experiment with the processes of laser engraving and learn when it would be suitable and appropriate.
• I want to try the different outcomes of embossing and debossing on different materials and also learn when they are suitable and appropriate to use.
• I'd like to advance my knowledge on web design and development as it is something that could prove useful and interesting.
• I want to learn and develop my methods of research to make them more time efficient and effective in my work by using a wider range of sources and using them to my advantage.
• I would like to develop my drawing skills further in my own time through the use of my sketchbook and wacom tablet.
• Software use can always be improved with consistent use so I would hope to be more knowledgeable of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere and Dreamweaver.
• I have always been very much into my photography and that has spread to videography too so I would like to use those skills to my advantage and get better at them.
• Essay writing has always been a challenge to me as I have never had much experience in them, I definitely want to of increased my essay writing skills in preparation for my dissertation.
• Time management must of improved drastically, plan is to do all work during the day as soon as possible and try and take time out in evenings to rest and repeat. Saturdays should be spent wisely experiencing something and Sundays are spent earning money with my job.
• I have always been interested in the business I started up in college but I am feeling the urge to change, develop something new, productive, creative and fun. I want to create a new concept to either start this Academic year or in the summer of 2014.

Summer Brief: What Interests Me?