Builds Blog

No synthesisers—

Michael — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:12:54 +0000

Twins (click image for larger view).
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B-Boy Boat (click image for larger view).
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Fencers (click image for larger view).
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Beekeeper (click image for larger view).
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GP-B2.
Photography by Jason Tozer.
Styling by Katy Ingram.
Art direction by MCP/Build.
For Generation Press.
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Notes from behind the scenes of the Generation Press ‘B2’ campaign.
We approached Jason (Tozer) to do the photography for the B2 shoot, after discussing the concept behind the shoot we got talking about photography, in particular authenticity, craft and the age pre-Photoshop. We decided to approach the shoot following a principle of ‘No synthesisers’, i.e. no retouching of the shots, no post-production, no re-touching…everything you see in the first 4 shots is as it was in camera.
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This from Jason about the B2 shoot—
I remember being told once that Queen on their first album had printed ‘No Synthesisers’ on the sleeve of their first album, as some listeners had mistaken their elaborate vocal multi-tracking and guitar effects as ‘just’ synthesisers. I’m sure in printing that, Freddie, Brian, Roger & John were revealing a dented pride in their musicianship & studio craft. Maybe those ego’s were a little put out to hear that electronics were taking the credit for all their hard work.

Virtually every photograph you see today whether its an advertising poster or a magazine editorial in the dentist’s waiting room has been manipulated in some way. It’s been a steady unnoticed creep towards perfection, a universal flawless everyday perfection.

Mind you, I’m no luddite, for the last 10 years most of my work’s had at least a cursory brush of the retoucher’s pen.

Michael & Katy & I were discussing this in the pub one evening & the ways that people are now using to try & make their pictures appear more authentic, ‘more real’. Leaving in the leads of the studio equipment or the edges of the background, grainy effects to appear candid, & other such things. But these are in the main constructs too, same as all the retouching.

When I was an assistant & for the first 5 years of being a photographer too, at the end of the job we delivered… A Sheet of Film, (& usually one a nudge darker & one lighter) & that was that. — “This is it. This is the shot. This is the best it can be with all of our equipment & our skills & our little tricks.”

Before our conversation I hadn’t realised that i missed those days, that there was pride in that ‘no safety net’ necessity of getting it all right in one exposure. There used to be skill! & of course there still is, but great photography, styling, hair & makeup, composition even, is too easily talked down as just good retouching. The credit’s being hijacked. We”re none of us true believers anymore. The magic of Photoshops’ miracle eraser had unknowingly dented my professional pride.

So, time to claim back a few points for craft. These 4 pictures mark a genuine return to authenticity; there’s no photoshop, no retouching. Photography, styling, lighting, set-building all like we used to do it, without a safety net.

It was a very satisfying reminder of what we lost by having the opportunity to ‘sort that bit out later’. What you see is what we shot. It took a little it longer to make them, but was all the better for it.
— Jason Tozer, 2012.
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(below) Behind the scenes at the shoot.
Big thank you to our models Joe & Rich Luxton.
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Joe & Rich Luxton, our fencing, snooker playing, table tennis stars!
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(below) Behind the scenes at Generation Press.
Big thanks to Scrub, Chris, Kevin, Graham, Kate & An&!
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Birds, Bees and Blooms—

Michael — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:31:41 +0000

Grass Finch
John Gould: The Birds of Australia
London: 1848—1869
Sp Coll n1-a.1–8
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Special Collection: Birds, Bees and Blooms.
© University of Glasgow Library

Found at Hello You

Symmetry—

Michael — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:15:22 +0000

Nave, St. Mary’s Church, Pirna, Germany, 2008.
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Chapter House, York Minster, York, England, 2006.
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Nave, St. Anne’s Church, Annaberg-Buchholz, German, 2008.
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Beautiful series called ‘Vaults’ by photographer David Stephenson from his book ‘Heavenly Vaults — From Romanesque to Gothic in European Architecture’ (2009) published by Princeton Architectural Press.
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Found at the brilliant — But Does It Float.

Website refresh—

Michael — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:16:58 +0000

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We’ve just done a bit of early spring-cleaning on our site, which we hope makes the experience much better. It’s now easier to navigate, you can now filter work by type (work), find us that bit easier (contact) and keep up-to-date by joining our new mailing-list (more).
Link: wearebuild.com
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Build

Toby Neilan—

Michael — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:46:24 +0000

Studio Build, Walthamstow E17.
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Our new studio has been ‘drawn’ by the very talented Toby Neilan as part of his ‘Studio XX’ project which launches later on this year. Click on the illustration for a bigger view.
Love it, thanks Toby.
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Wordplay competition winners—

Nicky — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:25:31 +0000

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Congratulations to our Wordplay winners!
Cian Markey
Paul Hicks
Ruth Anderson
Thanassis Tsalkos
Jacek Deputat
Barbara Abbes
Naomi Dodds
Mike Sliwinski
Dominic Rugman
Michael Kirkpatrick
George Hay
Kasia Olejarz
Jonathan Turner
Frosyni Bairaktari
Deborah Clerkin
Benji Holroyd
Dave Merrilees-Kelly
James Bray
Adam Irwin
Matt Dunne
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Your poster sets + postcard packs will be sent out next week.
Thank you also to all of you who entered, better luck next time!
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Build x

Wordplay competition—

Nicky — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:37:14 +0000

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**COMPETITION CLOSED!**
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Nokia-Wordplay 13 poster set.
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Nokia-Wordplay postcard pack.
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We recently completed a great project for Nokia called ‘Wordplay’.
Wordplay explores language and the written word– phrases that are familiar, funny, silly and thoughtful–things. Thirteen localised versions of the Dalton Maag designed Nokia Pure font that may inspire you to learn a new language, or to discover places, both near and far.
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Info about the project can be found on our site here.
Watch the Wordplay animation here.
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We’ve teamed up with Nokia to give you the opportunity to win some some beautiful pieces of print.
For your chance to win one of 20 Poster sets + Postcard packs all you have to do is answer this simple question!
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**COMPETITION CLOSED!**
What is the name given to a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet at least once?
Is it:
A: Wigwam
B: Pangram
C: Claude Van-Damme
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~~Send your answer to: blog (at) wearebuild (dot) com~~
Winning entries will be drawn and notified on Thursday, the 22nd of March, 2012.
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Good luck!

Campaign—

Michael — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:28:47 +0000

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New campaign for Generation Press launching soon (featuring a Bee-keeper, Fencers, a Galleon and a set of Twins…oh, and a skull)…
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Edgar Martins—

Michael — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:06:30 +0000

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Edgar Martins — This Is Not A House.
This is not a House formed part of an assignment for The New York Times Magazine, one that turned into an international controversy. The US sub-prime mortgage crisis, which has its roots in the closing years of the twentieth century, became apparent in 2007 and exposed pervasive weaknesses as well as deep-rooted inequalities within financial industry regulation and the global financial system. In the winter of 2008, Martins produced a series of photographs that explored the collapse of the US housing market. He photographed abandoned homes, golf courses, ski resorts, hotels and other building projects in sixteen locations, across six separate States.
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When the work was finally published in the summer of 2009, it became the focus of a heated debate as a result of Martins’ decision digitally to re-shape a select few images. What was a riveting polemic about deception and misrepresentation for some, was to others the re-surfacing of a tiresome, age-old, ontological, epistemological and moral chasm between Art and journalism. However, the public reaction to this article, in Martins’ view is better understood and contextualized when, against the backdrop of uncertainty, ruin and bankruptcy, journalistic ethics and woes, one also considers the resonance and imagery of the ruined shelter throughout US history.
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According to the author Peter D Osborne (who contributes and essay to the book of the project), America is a “Settler Nation” and so any disaster that involves the shelter or the settlement, “extends immediately into metaphor for a whole historical process.” Osborne elaborates, “ The history and imagery of the ruined shelter or settlement are required to furnish the continuing epic of travelling and moving on that is the USA, an epic of disasters endured and overcome for sure, but one ever attended by a sense of America’s precariousness, of its own brevity, its own uncertainty about where and if it belongs.”
This is the real context in which This is not a House appears, the ruins of the house–economy.
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UK readers of our blog can see ‘This Is Not A House’ at The Wapping Project (info below).

‘This is not a House’ by Edgar Martins 18 January – 04 March 2012
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall,
London, E1W 3SG 00 44 207 680 2080
Opening times: Monday – Sunday from noon to 10.30PM, Except Sundays to 5.30PM.
Admission free.
Nearest tube: Wapping.
Bus: 100

Desks for sale—

Michael — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:48:51 +0000

**THE DESKS HAVE NOW BEEN SOLD**
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We have 3 beautiful Oak desks for sale. The desks are 4 years old but are in really good condition and each has a very neat cable management system. They are very stylish, and would suit a design studio, or individual.
The desk is held together with wooden pegs and is easy to assemble/disassemble (so can be flat-packed for easy transportation).
Must be collected from our studio in Walthamstow, East London E17 4QP.
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Desk shown above is the same construction/wood/style but is the smaller 120x60 version, ours are the longer 160x80 ones.
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Info:
Material: Oak
Model: Linchpin
Manufacturer: Unto This Last
Size: 160x80cm
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**THE DESKS HAVE NOW BEEN SOLD**
Each table new costs £385 (£335 for the table + £50 for cable management) new.
**Our price £200 for each table, or £550 for all three**
~~Please email us at inform you (at) wearebuild dot com if you are interested or have any questions.~~
**THE DESKS HAVE NOW BEEN SOLD**