A creation shot in under 90 minutes or so.

Does anyone ever watch a film and ultimately feel cheated out of last 10 minutes as the story line didn't go as you imagined? Well...if you don't then you're either not really watching the film or you're just plain boring.

See, I'm one of those people that become attached to the characters in both films and novels and I find it difficult to grasp a bad ending to either of them. It genuinely frustrates me to the point where I lose faith (in this case the author) in anything they yet to write. 

I just recently subscribed to another free trial from Netflix which is great for me as I never really get the time to a) go to the cinema to see films b) watch TV and c) find time to just sit down and do anything bar sleep/college/work. Yet as I have two weeks or so off from college, it's nice to just watch the occasional film that will help me sleep. So anyways, scrolling across Netflix's menu bar I came across a film called Like Crazy directed by Drake Doremus. 

At first I thought it would be one of those typical romantic dramas where they stereotypically fall in love and then one drama and boom, they're back together again.... Funnily enough, it was more or less like that. It starts off with minor detail about the characters, Anna was an exchange student from England and Jacob,  a local young man who met as they were both studying in Los Angelese. The story continued with them both becoming so in love with each other that when Anna's visa ran out, she decided to stay in the country unlawfully. Eventually, she had to return back to England for some distant relatives wedding ( as us British do) to then not be allowed back into LA due to the fact she breached the regulations the last time she was there. Yaddagh yaddagh yaaarh... The story then drabs onto the pairs emotional distress without each other and their flings with other people. 

.... I feel like I'm ruining the film

However, despite the conventional plot it was a good film minus the last 10 minutes of it which I wish happened differently. In my opinion, it was just silly and I can't think of a better word to describe it. It was just pathetic. After everything, they still drop everything for each other?! ITS NOT HOW IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED.

Don't get me wrong, I love a film with a happy ending but I think Like Crazy needed a twist in the ending to make it memorable. If you haven't watched it then I suggest you do and maybe, just maybe you feel the same as I did with the ending. 

Ginger is a way of life

So once again I've dyed my hair... I've become an addict when it comes to hair colouring as well as styling etc Yet, after cutting most of it off due to damage from heat styling products as well as a dodgy perm I'm finally taking care of it. 

Up to now, I've been pretty good with my 'no hair dye' ban but when it comes to ginger tones, I just couldn't resist. 

Whilst shopping I came across this gem which appears to be a new range from L'Oreal called Prodigy. 

As you can see the colours looks beautiful and I couldn't help myself. It claims to be ammonia free and uses micro oils in order to make such natural looking colour. 

It's pretty easy to apply like most hair colourants it comes all bottled up with instructions to which bottle needs to be poured into the other.... 

Whilst applying the colour, I was a little nervous for the outcome as in the bottle it was a salmon colour. I still ventured on praying for the best and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. 

My hair before the colour was quite dark with hints of reds at the tips but the product has lightened it all to practically the colour on the box. I'm extremely impressed. 

It has also blended well with my natural hair colour (I have an undercut style) pretty well and makes it look like a professional job. My hair is super soft and doesn't feel damaged by the dye whatsoever! There's lots of tones that you wouldn't expect from a box dye but I would definitely recommend the product and 100% would use it again. 

Folder full of magical things

Whilst trawling through old files on my computer I came across these gems...

Here's links for my mini interviews I did whilst at the Roundhouse in 2012

http://soundcloud.com/roundhouseldn/roundhouse-rising-rising 

http://soundcloud.com/roundhouseldn/un-convention-voices

This was my first time interviewing people, so obviously I wasn't exactly fantastic

I got to meet, Mz Bratt and even Cassetteboy 


I've also got print screen from reviews I did too whilst on the project

Monty: a friend for Christmas

Earlier in the day I went to Brent Cross Shopping Centre and in the John Lewis store there was a lovely set up following their TV Advert. 

Many of you have seen it: Young boy has a pet penguin and all the penguin seems to want is a female companion and the little boy acknowledges that. So later on Christmas Day, the boy gives the penguin a present of a female penguin. We then see it from the mothers perspective too that the penguin is in fact a stuffed toy and the boy has a wild imagination.  

The real message behind this heart warming advert is "give someone the Christmas they've been dreaming of"  whether they find that  at John Lewis or not is a different story.... 

That annoying moment...

I'm sure everyone has experienced that horrible, annoying and cry worthy moment when your computer crashes and you didn't save your work. Well, this has just happened to me as I was half way through a review of an album launch party that I had worked solidly on for 4 hours. The worst part is, Microsoft Word let me down by not even auto saving my document. 

To fill you in a little more, I was invited to Ronan MacManus' album launch in Ealing for his new release Elephant In The Room. It was a fantastic evening, I got to interview Ronan as well as Mark Hillary a well respected journalist for The Huffington Post and author.... This was all in my review which was lost in the world of computers so hopefully my rewritten version should be up within the week.

The "Inner Emo's" Dream

I've just applied for a work experience placement at Kerrang to work on the editorial side of the magazine. Having previous experience from my coursework, I have created my own magazine and this year, put myself forward to managing the college's magazine which is run by the media students.

My work that I did for my own magazine can be seen in previous posts. This includes an interview with Ellie O'Sullivan who is a singer/songwriter, reviews on two live gigs, album reviews and  a feature article on festivals.

This experience will definitely expand my portfolio and possibly open up opportunities for me in the future.

Fingers crossed!

Keep Calm

I haven't forgotten to upload, yet college work as well as the biggest decision I'll make with university is vast approaching *cries* :(

I am feeling it a bit of a challenge as I want to be 100% with what a choose but I'm sure there's many young people out there like myself, panicking over our options but we have to remember not to stress!

It doesn't matter if you do not know what you want to do as many people don't at the age of 17/18/19 or even 20. In fact- most people don't know what they want to do until they're 30. 

As the famous saying goes... "Keep Calm and Carry On" 

My lack of a iPhone 5s

I've been a fan of iPhones for a few years now after converting from a Blackberry to an iPhone, you realise just what sophistication is.

The iPhone is a work of art. It's slick, its shiny and it fits perfectly in your hand. It's not just its look that get such high sales, it's also the software which has been engineered to be worked by humans, not robots.

I was reading an article that was about the launch of the iPad mini a few years ago, and the writer commented on the way that whoever picked up a device, instantly knew how to use it without even being shown (he had interviewed a few people who had said it was their first time using an Apple product) To me- that's pretty impressive.

In my own experience, I've owned an iPhone 4s and a 5s and I personally would never even dream of switching to a competitor such as Samsung. Maybe I'm lazy in that I depend on a phone that offers me exactly what I need without having to do much. I download an app and it's there on my phone, no extra settings, nothing. When in comparison to a Android phone, there's always adjustments to be made, but hey, reprogramming your phone to work how you like might be your thaaangg' but for me, I'd rather have a phone that work and was able to use as soon as you turned it on (Flash backs to first blackberry that took at least two hours to set-up)

The real reason behind this review is that I dropped my beloved iPhone 5s down the toilet. If Apple could make their phones waterproof, then I think they'd put the phone industry out of business. I'm currently using an old Blackberry of mine, a curve 9800? Or something similar... I'm finding it quite difficult to switch back to something that seems to ancient in comparison to what i had only a few days ago. The apps are slow, the keyboard is plasticy and difficult to type on if you haven't got elf fingers and it just appears to be a lot more complicated than my (now water damaged) iPhone.

My iPhone and I went through a lot to be fair. I will admit, I have dropped it countless of times and I tended not to use a case for it as the phone is a lot more prettier and prestigious without it.So yes, there was quite a few minor dents and scratches but it worked good as new. Many people have said that the phone is a nightmare to have as it is so prone to damage but lets be real here... It is a phone with a glass screen... If you drop it straight onto concrete or whatever people throw their phones on, it will crack- and that's across phone brands, not just iPhones.

At the end of the day, I'm phonesick and stuck with a Blackberry that died out back in 2012.

Glass Animals

For fans of Bombay Bicycle Club and Everything Everything

Oxford born, quirky rock, Glass Animals has known one and other since the tender age of 14. Despite university commitments, the band promised themselves to join together to make music after hearing what Dace Bayley (lead singer) had been making alone.  In 2012, luck struck when they met with Paul Epworth, an English music producer and were later signed to his label Wolf Tone.

Zaba was released in June 2014 with a tour announcement starting in October and finishing in early 2015.  Zaba has mixtures of tropical tones and synthetic infusions to create a bizarre masterpiece. Bayleys husky tones craft a soothing flow of creative lyrics that make you feel alive. It’s an album you can’t help but bob-a-long to.

A few words to sum the album up: dark noises sprinkled with glitter.

Top tracks from the album: Gooey and Love Lockdown (Kayne West cover)

Create an album for media coursework

Inside booklet

Front of booklet

Backcover

Article for media coursework- Interview

It’s not just sharing O’Sullivan as a surname and witty charm that made me notice Ellie; it was the fact that she was everywhere. Growing up in the same school, it was hard to miss Ellie. From folk guitar lessons with a disastrous teacher (which we both suffered through) to singing in the drama productions, you name it, Ellie did it.


Yet sitting in her lounge with her dog bounding up and down the kitchen, Ellie is still as down to earth as she ever was. I always found that despite the 4 year age gap between us, she was always more mature than the rest of her peers. Going to a private school like we did, it was difficult to become your own person as it became apparent they tried to mould us into the same “ideal young woman” yet Ellie and I had the same rebellious streak.


At school, she performed in productions such as Grease. However despite not being the star role it didn’t stop Ellie from shining talent wise in the singing and dancing roles. “I liked acting at first but I liked it when people were clapping for me, so I didn’t other stuff to get me attention” so went on to learn guitar despite her mum wanting her to learn the violin and responded with “ do we look like a posh family?!” and made the decision at a young age that she was “going to be all Irish and acoustic”. And this started led on to her writing at the tender age of 10 yet wrote songs worth listening to at 13.


Ellie quickly realised that she didn’t fit in at school. “They actually all hated me (girls in her class) they were all wannabe’s and I just wasn’t. I used to hang around with girls in the year above because they were fun and had a bit of banter, which the girls in my year lacked.” After the high school we attended closed down (long story short, it wasn’t making enough money so shut down…) Ellie changed schools leaving her past behind and starting fresh in a brand new school.


Ellie of course is tres hipster as she doesn’t listen to chart music and says she’s very “old school rock”. Her taste in music is definitely old school “I listen to like The Stranglers, The Ramones… stuff like that. Oh and I love the Arctic Monkeys”


You’d think that being a such a young age, someone like Ellie would have an idol- someone she aims to achieve just as well as. But she surprises us again “I kinda look up to James Arthur but I kinda’ go for my own thing. I don’t want people to be like ‘oh she sounds like blah blah blah’ I want people to listen and think ‘wow she has her own style- her own thing’”.


Ellie now works alongside Harrow Arts Centre where she helps set up for gigs there as well as perform her own stuff. “I had a friend at Stage Coach who works closely with Harrow Arts and just offered me a slot at one of their open nights to perform- I was in the newspaper for that too.”


Apart from her music life taking off, she still has her feet placed firmly on the ground. “In terms of the future, I’ve got everything planned out (chuckles) I’m very organised. I’ve just chosen my GCSE’s but I haven’t chosen music purely as I’m not good at sight reading At 6th form I want to do performing arts, keep up with my French and obviously do some other academic subjects.” Ellie’s even gone as far as University plans “I want to go to Liverpool as I’ve heard they’ve got really good performing arts courses and that’s always what I’ve wanted to do.”


I feel like this young teen has much more of her life planned out that many of the people my own age and that says a lot.


To check out the photo shoot head online to RONDO.COM/PHOTOSHOOTELLIEOSULLY






Finished layout

More page layouts for media coursework- Reviews

This is my first draft of my album review page. I again followed my house style and kept the red banner with Rondo Reviews written across it with a sound wave behind the text. I also used an advert of Jack Daniel’s whiskey which I decided to use as from research, i saw that many magazines advertise alcohol such as Jack Daniels in their magazine. This advert gives the page more of a realistic feel to it. I again used a star rating to keep up with the conventions in reviews that I feature in my own work.

Article layout for media coursework- Reviews

This is my first draft and I quite happy with the overall outcome. I attempted to create a iconic house style by making Rondo Reviews more of a logo itself as Q magazine does. Red is quite common in music magazines so I used my knowledge of research and tried to incorporate that into my own work. I’ve used my own photography throughout my magazine bar a few images on the front cover of celebrities and the advert which is on the album reviews page. I feel that using my own photography has made my work more authentic as magazine generally take their own images. I decided to make the name of the bands I was reviewing in a handwritten look type of font as i felt that this made my work more original. This font would also become part of the house style if this was going to be published on a weekly basis. I also used a star rating system as this is a common convention across reviews not just in magazines but on online formats.

Deaf Havana- Roundhouse Camden

Big Sixes are a small band from Chesham with their own special enticing approach to music that just makes your ears melt. We were lucky enough to attend the Old Souls album launch party in Camden at the Jazz Café where acoustic performances by both Big Sixes and Deaf Havana were made. From that evening onwards we became fans of Big Sixes. Big Sixes invited the Deaf Havana boys on stage with them during their set to harmonise with them on their track ‘Love Let Me Go’ before handing us over to Charlie Simpson, better known for his past role in Busted and Fightstar. He played a collection of tracks from ‘Young Pilgrim’ and treating us to a few new ones dedicating them to his fiancé.


Opening with the first single off their new album Old Souls, ‘Boston Square’ put into perspective just how far this talented band has come. James’ tireless croons become lullabies with dark meanings behind them- Deaf Havana’s newly become trademark. The crowd screamed every single lyric to every song back to this band, songs off Fools and Worthless Liars all the way through to Old Souls. Track by track, you could see from James’ face how much we as fans mean to bands, mean to him in particular.


The boys covered a track by The Cure, ‘Friday I’m In Love’ which in our honest opinion was a bit disappointing as the crowd themselves didn’t appear to know it and James gave the impression that he didn’t either. Yet this minor dip in the atmosphere enabled the smooth transition into their famous ‘Hunstanton Pier’; an emotional ballad capturing at heart, their coming of age.


Throughout their set, the Gilodi brothers kept praising the audience for their continuous support throughout the years, as without us, they wouldn’t be where they are today. James made a promise to write ‘true music’ as long as he shall live. The band finish with ‘Fifty Four‘ which was the ultimate send off from a band that has started off as a small post-hardcore band to a grounded alternative rock band. Some fans expected music from their first album Meet Me Halfway, At Least (2009) yet were clearly disappointed has none of the hits from that album were performed as they are far from what that era was, as Ryan Mellor (screaming vocalist) departed in 2010 to focus on other projects. They’ve simply moved on, grown up and reformed.


Deaf Havana sing about real life and the struggles they’ve been through growing up and losing friends without sugar coating it.


True music from a true British band.

Article and layout for media coursework - Music Magazine

FESTIVAL ARTICLE

Across the summer months there are many music festivals happening across the UK, from Reading Festival to V Fest. Here’s our guide to make sure you have the best weekend of your life but also staying as safe and healthy as possible.


Helpful Tips


1. PACE YOURSELF- Don’t drink your body weight in booze!

It’s probably hilarious at the time to down your pints with your mates chanting you (at this time you more than likely feel like a god) but think of tomorrow. You definitely will not feel fantastic the next day and you don’t want to miss your favourite band from feeling crappy. So drink sensibly and don’t forget to keep yourself hydrated with bottles of water.


2. Showerless-1

We aLl know that our main fears at festivals are that lack of showers. If you’re camping for 5 days or even just 1, it’s nice to have a shower but as there’s none around you’ll have to make do with baby wipes. Baby wipes are literally the best thing since sliced bread at a festival. They’re disposable, packed in a little packet and are handy to clean with.


3. Showerless-2

If you’ve got long hair or short the tip to looking a little cleaner is dry shampoo. Like baby wipes, this is your must need for your weekend. A can of this beautiful spray can be found it pretty much every supermarket and can be bought for under £3. Just spray it on your hair and comb through. You can get those coloured to suit your hair colour but if not make sure you brush the white out- otherwise you’ll look stupid.


4. Sunshine

Sun cream is vital to your return of looking somewhat human when you get home. If like me you have fair skin, coat on that sun cream. Using a sun cream that SPF 15 or more will do you a lot of good. Your skin can get extremely damaged from sunburn and sleeping in a tent and then having others touching your burns isn’t fun.


5. Water

Don’t be daft, if it’s a hot day take a break from the booze and drink some water.


6. Clothes

Pack responsibly. Don’t bring nice designer brands and girls any stupid heels or footwear. Bring your oldest most comfy trainers that you don’t mind getting muddy and probably ruined. Bring a hoodie because when it is cold, it’s freezing. There’s no central heating in your tent or in your camp so at night wear warm clothes. And if it rains, try to stay as dry as possible. Bring a mac-in-a-sac or cagoule whatever you want to call it.


7. Sex

Don’t be silly, cover your willy. Might sound funny but it’s true. Nobody wants to be catching STI on a cheeky trip back to a tent. So don’t be dumb while having fun… (Sorry these rhymes are pretty fun) On site medics offer emergency contraception and sexual advice.


8. Keeping in touch

Got a fancy new phone? Leave it at home. Many thieves operate at music festivals so leaving valuables in your tent is just an easy job for them. Bring an older phone, brick phones like the famous Nokia will last you the full weekend on one charge and aren’t valuable so nobody wants to nick it! Drop a text or two to your parents- let them know you’re okay.


For more tips on surviving camping at a music festival head online to

RONDO.COM/FESTIVALGUIDE

Mayday Parade- Monsters Overseas tour 7/2/14

With support acts, Divided by Friday, Decade and Man Overboard.





Once again Mayday Parade return with a bang with their catchy, hopeless romantic songs. Playing Koko, Camden as their last UK show the band ended on a high.


First on stage was a suited and booted, Divided By Friday. This North Carolinian band of 3 took to the stage in hope to warm up the crowd for the Headliners, Mayday Parade. Despite not seeming to be the crowd’s cup of tea, they did put on a good show despite it being awfully short (a good thing in some’s opinion) and filled with song that just weren’t worth the cut. The impression that I was given was that they were newly formed as there just wasn’t the stage chemistry and it just didn’t work well, despite the band being together since 2009.


Next up was newly formed British pop punk band, Decade. With the sudden rise of pop punk in recent months, it was the perfect timing for the band to perform songs of their first full length, ‘Good Luck’ and getting the recognition they deserve. Opening with ‘Fools Gold’ the catchy guitar riffs and buzz of energy that the frontman Alex Sears brought with him made us all forget the disaster that was on before them. They follow the traditional love drunk filled lyrics mixed with fast paced rhythms of the guitar and drums giving the kick that pop punk is so famously known for.


Last of the supports is more well-known Man Overboard. This band could be better described as the nerdy take to pop punk. To say the least, this band knows how to put on a show and anyone would have thought that it was in fact a Man Overboard show and not Mayday Parade’s just from the crowd’s reaction. The band were full of laughs and jokes that clearly put them at ease after technical difficulties hindered their acoustic attempts of ‘Love Your Friends, Die Laughing’


Now to the headlining act. Opening with ‘Ghosts’ from their newly released album Monsters In The Closet the band set to the stage with a bang and it was amazing to see everyone singing along and even the photographers chipped in for the chorus. They then followed with Jamie All Over which is a classic from their first studio album A Lesson In Romantics allowed for their older fans to become their 13 year old self again and sing their hearts out.


Throughout their set, lead singer Derek Sanders couldn’t be more thankful for the fans support through the years and practically dedicated each song to them. Mayday Parades trade mark is the set list slowing down with Derek bringing a keyboard on stage to where hes known to perform tracks such as “Miserable at best” and “Stay” which makes the whole evening just that little bit more special.


For encore, the band performed for the first time, “The Last Something That Meant Anything” which is off their first debut album which just completed the whole evening taking it from an average 7 to a definite 10.

Deaf Havana- Old Souls

After the release of Fools and Worthless Liars, they set pretty high standards to beat in the makings of their 3rd album (especially if you listened to the alternative version of Fools and Worthless Liars which was utter perfection). Funnily enough, they proved everyone wrong and created something that was alone better than anything they had done previously. In addition to the newer sound, Deaf Havana took on 2 new members Max Britton and Matthew Veck-Gilodi (James’ younger brother Matthew who dropped out of college to play with the band on their festival dates at Reading and Leeds, since then has had a permanent place) Their first release off their new record was Boston Square which was an insight to where the band has moved musically to. With this track there’s elements of their older albums with the punky guitar riffs, which as the album leads on is lost and replaced with mature experimental sounds, featuring trumpets and choirs.


One thing with this band is that they can hide deeper meanings behind music that transports you to a better place. They might write lyrics that reflect their lowest points, but the music makes you want to belt out the songs wherever you are.