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AW13 BRANDBOOK

Berlin52.5233° N, 13.4127° E

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CONTENTS

WARSCHAUER STRAßE 04

SCHLESISCHES TOR 10

OBERBAUMBRÜCKE 18

BEN RAYNER 22

BEDDING DOWN IN BERLIN 23

EAST SIDE GALLERY 24

ALEXANDERPLATZ 28

KREUZBERG 38

FISHER AND MAGEE 44

Photographer: Ben RaynerFilm Directors: Dan Magee & John Fisher

Art Direction: Mark GregsonMen’s Stylist: Daniel Cook

Women’s Stylist: Cat WoodsHair: Katrin Wespel

Make-Up: Patricia Piatke

Special thanks to: Ellie, Alison, Pia, Misha, Tiziano, Aristea, Norbert, Klaus, Glenn, Kat & Gemma

Nice one

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These pages are a call out to our longing for freedom.

To the inherent and insatiable need in all of us to ex-

plore, to journey, to see new things. And to sharing the

experiences with friends and strangers along the

way. This is a rallying cry to uncover the unseen and

to discover new sights, whether they’re hidden on the

streets we’ve walked down a thousand times or those

we’ve never set foot on before. Our AW13 campaign

celebrates the energy and community spirit of cities the

world over - a nod to the fast-paced and active lifestyle

of metropolitan living. Whether on the race to work or a

mission to track down new places to hang out, our latest

collection is designed to be on the move, with purpose

built pieces for the dynamic people who wear them.

Taking a journey of our own we headed to Europe’s

cultural capital, Berlin, to capture the energy of city life.

A bustling and ever-changing place, with a rich and

tightly-woven history, the streets of Germany’s capital are

packed with undiscovered gems, hidden corners bursting

with new scenes, and it’s on these streets that we shot

our beautiful new look book and campaign film. Bench

AW13 is a call to be adventurous, to go one step further

and know your city. To explore the colours and sounds of

the places around you. Because life, and the world,

is simply what you make of it.

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Warschauer Stra eWarschauer S t raße is a s t ree t in the

Fr iedr ichsha in loca l i t y o f cent ra l Ber l in ,

the cap i ta l o f Germany. I t l inks the

Oberbaumbrücke, a landmark doub le

deck br idge across the R iver Spree ,

w i th Frank fur te r Tor.

Warschauer Straße52.51658°N 13.381°E

Dress: BLSA1493 GLAISTER5

Jacket: BMKA1610 QUAFFShirt: BMAA1122E MALIN E Denim: BMMA0232-10 SNARE 10Bag: BMXA0731 LOUIS

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Jacket: BLKA1711 UNCOUTHJacket: BLKA1718 FOOLHARDYSkirt: BLDA0966 OUTSELL

Jumper: BLEA3296 INJECTIONT-Shirt: BLGA2685 VERASSIC

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Jacket: BLKA1711 UNCOUTHJacket: BLKA1718 FOOLHARDY

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T-Shirt: BMGA3114 STREET BEATSSweat: BMEA2297 NAUGHTDenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7Bag: BMXA0731 LOUIS

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Schlesisches TorIn the Bohemian quar te r commonly known as

SO36 (named a f te r i t s fo rmer pos ta l code) .

The s ta t ion is named a f te r one o f the

fo rmer c i ty ga tes o f Ber l in bu i l t in the ear ly

18 th century ; the road tha t ran th rough i t led

southeas tward to the prov ince o f S i les ia .

Schlesisches Tor52.5008° N, 13.4417° E

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Dress: BLSA1504 GLOUNDER

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Jacket: BMKA1618 RAINSTORMKnitwear: BMFA1195 QUIETDenim: BMMA0228-6 WAH WAH6Hat: BMWA0539 LAXARGloves: BMVA0255 LAURRUS

Jacket: BLKA1745 EXPRESSDress: BLSA1504 GLOUNDER

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Sweat: BMEA2300 ORIENTT-Shirt: BMGA3121 WRISTBANDDenim: BMMA0542-11 SNARE V11Hat: BMWA0542 LUCREBag: BMXA0738 LATCHFORD

Sweat: BLKA1726 WOLFISHKnitwear: BLFA1219 HALSALLDenim: BLMA 0254-12 PICK V1214

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Jacket: BLKA1726 WOLFISHKnitwear: BLFA1219 HALSALLDenim: BLMA 0254-12 PICK V12

Jacket: BLKA1739 MERRIMENTSweat: BLEA3313B KLAR BTrouser: BLNA1375 OILPAINTING

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Jacket: BMKA1621 ONSIDET-Shirt: BMGA3112 BEE LOGODenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7Gloves: BMVA0231 HENRY#LIVETHECITY17

OberbaumbrUckeThe Oberbaumbrücke is a doub le -deck br idge

c ross ing Ber l in ’s R iver Spree , cons idered one

o f the c i ty landmarks . I t l inks Fr iedr ichsha in

and Kreuzberg , fo rmer boroughs tha t were

d iv ided by the Ber l in Wal l , and has become

an impor tan t symbol o f Ber l in ’s un i ty.

Oberbaumbrücke52.5019° N, 13.4456° E

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Jacket: BLKA1725 TIGERISHT-Shirt: BLGA2658 AMBELCOTESweat: BLEA3323 JADISTrousers: BLNA1376B MASHABOO BScarf: BLVA0314 LANYA

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Jacket: BMKA1639 RAYNERSweat: BMEA2384 RANGDenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7Hat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS BEANIE

Dress: BLSA1512 RAINBIRDJacket: BLKA1747 JOSHER

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Knitwear: BLFA1218 HALDANET-Shirt: BLGA2688 TRINITYGRITTYSkirt: BLDA0964 GARSDALE

Shirt: BMAA1122D MALIN DDenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7

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An Englishman in New York via Berlin

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Ben Rayner i s fas t becoming a fami l ia r, and f r iend ly,

face on Bench shoots . Hav ing shot our S S13

campaign in New York las t year we asked h im th is

t ime to leave the B ig App le , journey across the A t lan-

t ic and jo in us in the c i ty a l i t t l e c loser to h is home

town. For the most par t , the l i fe o f a fash ion pho-

tographer i s spent in the wa i t ing lounges o f a i rpor ts

hang ing around fo r a p lane to the nex t shoot a rmed

wi th a bag o f equ ipment , a co f fee and a scrunched

up copy o f the ca l l sheet . Rayner has seen h is share

o f c i t ies a round the wor ld and aga ins t the backdrop

o f Ber l in he captured the beaut i fu l shots tha t make

up our AW13 campaign imagery.

What ’s Ber l in l ike as a backdrop for a shoot?

I ’ ve been here a coup le o f t imes , a lways fo r work

ac tua l ly. I t ’ s ex t remely versa t i le and you rea l ly do

get a lo t o f scope and var ie ty by jus t mov ing around

s l igh t ly. You can fee l tha t i t ’ s evo lv ing rea l ly qu ick ly

but i t s t i l l fee ls qu i te nos ta lg ic in a way. Ber l in i s

g rea t .

How much are you on the move?

I t rave l a t leas t once a month , somet imes th ree ,

somet imes abroad and somet imes w i th in the US.

On one hand t rave l l ing keeps s tu f f in te res t ing but

somet imes you ’ re so busy tha t you rea l ly don ’ t fee l

l i ke you got ten to know a c i ty a t a l l tha t you ’ve

t rave l led to .

What are the best and worst p laces

you’ve been to?

Aust in , Los Ange les and Tokyo are the bes t .

There ’s no wors t rea l l y ! The ‘wors t ’ wou ld probab ly

re la te to product ion d i f f i cu l t ies on the job i t se l f , no t

the p lace .

Are there any p laces that you haven’ t been to

yet that you’d l ike to shoot a t?

The loca t ion is a b ig par t o f a shoot , o f course . I t

can rea l ly make some shoots rea l ly more

in te res t ing than they wou ld have been had i t been

somewhere e lse . There a re lo ts o f p laces in the

S ta tes I ’d l i ke to shoot a t , there ’s so much

versa t i l i t y in one count ry. Co lorado, Montana,

Texas , the deser ts a re amaz ing. Oh and a lso ,

South Amer ica .

Since you’ re constant ly crossing borders , where

do you consider home?

New York fo r sure! Even though I ’m a proper Lon-

don boy.

Where’s the dream hol iday?

Def in i te ly South Amer ica - Argent ina , Braz i l o r

Peru .

What are your top t ips for surv iv ing on the road?

Don’ t ge t je t lag . Dr ink tonnes o f water. Don’ t t ry

re -dress yourse l f a t the end o f the X-Ray mach ine

; )

What ’s are the s taples in your hand luggage?

My iPhone fo r sure , because podcasts send me to

s leep wherever I am. I love them. I jus t got in to

no ise cance l l ing headphones too , wh ich are grea t

fo r p lanes . And a lways take a sweater on a p lane,

even in the summer!

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As one o f the top des t ina t ions on

the cont inent , Ber l in we lcomes

mi l l ions o f tour is ts every year who

f lock in to town to soak up the h is -

to ry and the a tmosphere o f th is

in famous c i ty. As w i th any th ing in

Germany ’s

eccent r ic cap i ta l , the p laces ava i l -

ab le fo r the weary

tour is t to s leep are w i ld ly d i f fe ren t .

Beaut i fu l , edgy or downr ight rau-

cous - there ’s a type o f p lace fo r

anyone to ca l l home, a lbe i t tempo-

rar i l y as they pass th rough.

Here a re our top 5 most - innovat i ve

p laces to c rash when you ’ re h i t t ing

the s t ree ts o f Ber l in .

1. HOTEL MICHELBERGER

Warschauer Straße 39/40, 10243

Ber l in

Hote l , bar, g ig venue and occas iona l

cho i r p rac t ice room, the Miche lberg-

er i s much more than jus t a p lace

to s tay. Se t up by en t repreneur Tom

Miche lberger, th is buzz ing and v i -

b rant env i ronment i s run by a

pass ionate group o f f r iends who se t

about to c rea te someth ing genu ine ly

un ique. W i th a range o f

Miche lberger sp i r i t s and the i r own

coconut water,

Founta in o f Youth , they a re de ter-

mined to bu i ld a

f r iend ly, bu t de termined, empi re

f rom the i r Kreuzberg manor.

Our base fo r the dura t ion o f the

Bench AW13 shoot , the i r e f fo r t less ly

we lcoming serv ice and bas ic , bu t

ach ing ly coo l , rooms means tha t a

t r ip to the Miche lberger i s l i ke s tay-

ing in your s l igh t ly p re ten t ious (but

we l l mean ing) f r iend ’s spare room

for the n ight . Exposed concre te ,

v in tage fu rn i tu re and a programme

o f events to r i va l an ac tua l mus ic

venue, the Miche lberger i s the per-

fec t hub fo r the cash, ye t cu l tu re ,

consc ienc ious .

2. NHOW BERLIN

Stra lauer Al lee 3 , 10245 Ber l in

Bi l led as the wor ld ’s f i r s t ‘mus ic

hote l ’ , nhow Ber l in i s cer ta in ly a

lo t to take in . Sa t p roud ly on the

banks o f the r i ve r Spree i t ’ s a dea f-

en ing s igh t o f curves , co lour and

p las t ics , thanks to the in te r io r ’s

des igner Kar im Rash id . Bu i l t in the

c i ty ’s par ty d is t r ic t and loca ted

r igh t by Un iversa l Mus ic ’s German

HQ, the hote l i s the per fec t p lace

fo r the budd ing mus ic ian to res t

the i r vo ice . And because the insp i -

ra t ion fo r a h i t record can s t r ike

a t any hour o f the day or n igh t the

conce i rge o f fe rs e lec t r ic gu i ta rs

fo r use , de l i ve red s t ra igh t to your

bedroom door.

3. PROPELLER ISLAND CITY

LODGE

Albrecht -Achi l les-Straße 58,

10709 Ber l in

At Prope l le r I s land C i ty Lodge each

room is a

d i f fe ren t wor ld , and most o f these

wor lds a re not fo r the fa in t hear ted .

Whether you ’ re tucked up in a f l y -

ing bed, check ing out the ang les in

the room comple te ly wa l led in mi r-

ro rs or k ipp ing on a ra f t suspended

f rom the

ce i l ing w i th rope (no heavy bed

fe l lows a l lowed) , th is i s cer ta in ly a

hote l s tay you w i l l no t fo rge t in a

hur ry. Even i f you t ry to . Nes t led in

the western d is t r ic t o f

Char lo t tenburg , the rooms here

inc lude a pr ison ce l l , a c rypt o r

an opt ion to s leep in boxes on the

f loor wh i le your bed is suspend-

ed above you. I t ’ l l cer ta in ly g ive

you someth ing to ta lk about over

break fas t ( inc identa l l y no t inc luded

in the pr ice) .

4. HONIGMOND GARDEN HOTEL

Inval idenstraße 122, 10115 Ber-

l in

Easy on the eye and the wa l le t ,

the Hon igmond

(honeymoon) Garden Hote l i s

a beaut i fu l gem in the hear t o f

the cap i ta l . Once a dere l ic t and

abandoned bu i ld ing , the owner

Car l Loya l conver ted the p lace

in to

a e legant and homely 10- roomed

hote l . The

Tuscan-s ty led garden, comple te

w i th s ix cab ins , i s the jewe l o f the

c rown here and prov ides a re lax-

ing oas is fo r anyone worn out by a

48 hour s t in t a t Bergha in . Thanks

to a l i ve - in owner, th is ho te l has

a fee l ing o f home wi th gues ts

encouraged to pay in to a p iggy

bank fo r any dr inks they he lp

themse lves to f rom the bar in the

lounge.

5. CASA CAMPER

Weinmeisterst raße 1 , 10178 Ber-

l in

The one fo r the s ty le consc ien-

t ious , Casa Camper i s the second

hote l to be opened by Span ish

shoemaker Camper. Ch ic and

fash ionab le , the hote l ’ s c l ien te le

cons is ts ma in ly o f Europe ’s up-

ward ly mobi le fash pack and le f t -

th ink ing bus iness t rave l le rs . Far

f rom

wa l le t -bus t ing , the hote l i s s leek

and compact , and w i th b icyc les

fo r h i re f rom the recept ion i t ’ s the

per fec t base f rom which to ex-

p lore Ber l in .

EAST SIDE GALLERY

The Eas t S ide Ga l le ry i s an in te rna t iona l

memor ia l fo r f reedom. I t i s a 1 .3 km long

sec t ion o f the Ber l in Wal l loca ted near the

cent re o f Ber l in on Mühlens t raße in

Fr iedr ichsha in -Kreuzberg . The ac tua l border a t

th is po in t was the r i ve r Spree . The ga l le ry i s

loca ted on the so-ca l led “h in te r land

mauer” , wh ich c losed the border to Eas t Ber l in .

East Side Gallery52.5031° N, 13.4447° E

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Knitwear: BMFA1187 READINGDenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7Hat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS BEANIE

Knitwear: BMFA1190 PROWSET-Shirt: BMGA3117 GREAT WHITE

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Dress: BLSA1493 GLAISTERHat: BLWA0361 LAYTEN

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Knitwear: BMFA1176 RAMPTONDenim: BMMA0250- 16 SLIM RIFF 16

KNITWEAR: BLFA1223 GREGORYT-SHIRT: BLGA2688 TRINITYGRITTY

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ALEXANDERPLATZ

Alexanderplatz52.5233° N, 13.4127° E

Or ig ina l ly a ca t t le marke t ou ts ide the c i ty

fo r t i f i ca t ions , i t was named in honor o f a v is i t

o f the Russ ian Emperor A lexander I to Ber l in

on 25 October 1805 by order o f K ing Freder-

ick W i l l i am I I I o f Pruss ia . The square ga ined

a prominent ro le in the la te 19 th century w i th

the const ruc t ion o f the S tadtbahn s ta t ion o f

the same name and a nearby marke t ha l l , fo l -

lowed by the open ing o f a depar tment s to re

o f Hermann Tie tz in 1904, becoming a major

commerc ia l cent re . The U-Bahn s ta t ion o f the

present -day U2 l ine opened on 1 Ju ly 1913.

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Jacket: BLKA1735 SNOWSLIDEKnitwear: BLFA1225 PAILIESSkirt: BLDA0967 OLD SCHOOLHat: BLWA0362 LILIANNA

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Jacket: BLKA1746 UNFOLDING (Outer)Jacket: BLKA1730 WISECRACK (Inner)Dress: BLSA1491 CHAYTOR

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Knitwear: BMFA1202 PARTIEShirt: BMAA1128 MARINER

Jacket: BMKA1615 NANSEWSweat: BMEA2094B KARLOFF BT-Shirt: BMGA3129 CLUB TEXTDenim: BMMA0232-10 SNARE 10Hat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS BEANIE

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Shirt: BMAA1129 MARTIANT-Shirt: BMGA3138 TAKING OVERDenim: BMMA0232-7 SNARE 7

Jacket: BLKA1741 JUBILANCEKnitwear: BLFA1237 MASO

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Knitwear: BMFA1225 RAGGEDDenim: BMMA0232-10 SNARE 10Hat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS BEANIE

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T-Shirt: BMGA3113 INSTA BENCH

Knitwear: BLFA1229 IDOWNShirt: BLEE0948 HONEYBUNDenim: BLMA0250-1 FRET V1Hat: BLWA0367 LAVENDAHGloves: BLVA0317 LEYKO

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Knitwear: BLFA1238 OLDBURYDenim: BLMA0254-12 PICK V12

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Jacket: BMKA1602 PUTNEYDenim: BMMA0542-11 SNARE V11

Hat: BLWA0369Knitwear: BLFA1226 MICKWELL

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KREUZBERGKreuzberg has h is to r ica l l y been home to the

Ber l in ’s punk rock movement as we l l as o ther

a l te rna t i ve subcu l tu res in Germany. The SO36

c lub remains a f i x tu re on the Ber l in mus ic

scene. I t was or ig ina l ly focused on punk

mus ic and in the 1970s was o f ten f requented

by Iggy Pop and Dav id Bowie . In those days

the c lub r i va l led New York ’s CBGB as one o f

the f ines t new-wave venues in the wor ld .

Kreuzberg52.5233° N, 13.4127° E

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Dress: BLSA1488 IZIOHat: BLWA0366 LORYANBag: BLXA0731B LAKKOTTA-B

Knitwear: BLFA1215 MEERS

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Sweat: BMEA2304 OBANHat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS

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Knitwear: BLFA1214 GALATREEDenim: BLMA0250-1 FRET V1

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Jacket: BMKA1629 PANKHURSTSweat: BMEA2315 PATTERSON

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Knitwear: BMFA1206 OFFERTONDenim: BMMA0232-10 SNARE 10

Rucksack: BMXA0731-B LOUIS BKnitwear: BMFA1201 RADLETTHat: BMWA0551 LOKUSS BEANIE

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46

DanMagee

From the skate parkto the directors chair.

From the skate parkto the directors chair.

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48

When Dan and John met over 10 years on the

s ide o f ska te park , they never expected the i r

f r iendsh ip to take the tu rns tha t i t has . Then 17

years -o ld , John was r id ing fo r the UK’s B luepr in t

Skateboards , where Dan was team manager and

crea t i ve d i rec tor. I t was wh i le tour ing the coun-

t ry, showing a t demos and s ign ing autographs ,

tha t they each in tu rn p icked up a v ideo camera ,

to document the i r l i ves and ant ics on the road.

Fas t fo rward ten years and they ’ve come a long

way f rom f i lm ing ramp t r icks on Super 8 . Accom-

p l ished d i rec tors , now they spend the i r t ime t rave-

l ing the wor ld , c rea t ing b ig h i t t ing campaign f i lms

fo r the l i kes o f O2 and BBC Rad io 1 . We asked

them to once aga in to pack up the i r k i t bags and

h i t the ta rmac, head ing to the s t ree ts o f Ber l in to

d i rec t our AW13 f i lm.

After 10 years , how did you and Dan get to the

point where you are today?

John: I don ’ t remember too much about the f i r s t

t ime I met Dan. I must have been about 17 and a t

the t ime Dan was runn ing a London based Skate -

board company ‘B luepr in t Skateboards ’ . I was a

ska teboarder myse l f and was approached by them

as a sponsor. A t th is po in t I was main ly in f ron t o f

the camera th rowing myse l f down s ta i rs a t Dan ’s

command, wh i ls t he h id beh ind the camera mak-

ing the f i lms . A f te r a fa i r l y shor t l i ved ska teboard-

ing career, I ended up head ing towards the f i lm ing

aspect o f th ings . I was mak ing my own ska te f i lms

and teach ing myse l f the bas ics o f v ideo cameras

and ed i t ing . A t the t ime i t was main ly a hobby but

I dec ided tha t a f te r sk ipp ing co l lege and work ing

dead-end jobs , I may as we l l go to un i and get

some sor t o f a degree in th is ‘hobby ’

I wou ldn ’ t say un i taught me much on a techn i -

ca l s ide o f th ings but I fee l i t de f in i te ly made

me rea l i se tha t mak ing f i lms was what I wanted

to do. I spent a year o r so years work ing fo r a

smal l p roduct ion company in Br is to l and Dan had

s ta r ted to w ind up h is invo lvement in B luepr in t .

We hadn’ t ac tua l ly been in contac t fo r a few years

but he h i t me up w i th a propos i t ion o f work ing on

a few jobs w i th h im. We made a coup le o f on l ine

branded f i lms and peop le s ta r ted to o f fe r us work

as a ‘duo ’ . As we both had a fa i r b i t o f exper ience

work ing a camera , and a lso the ed i ts , we jus t

s ta r ted to bu i ld up a ree l . A long s ide a l l o f th is ,

we were taken on by Sk in f l i cks as d i rec tors , wh ich

is a b ig s tep fo r us in te rms o f the leve l o f c l ien ts

and brands tha t we work w i th .

Have your beginnings in skateboarding in f lu-

enced your work today?

Dan and I have th is ongo ing th ing where on

a lmost every shoot we do, there ’s a lways been

someone who e i ther i s o r was a ska teboarder,

o r i s somehow connected to the indust ry. Skate -

board ing de f in i te ly in f luenced me because as a

young ska ter you ’ l l end up ha l f the t ime watch-

ing ska te v ideos or ( fo r k ids these days) YouTube

c l ips . A t the t ime I go t in to f i lm ing there was a

sudden s tep up in the product ion va lues o f these

f i lms , they became very a r ty and a lmost c inemat-

ic . I ’d a lways f i lmed my mates ska teboard ing but

th is made me look a t i t in a d i f fe ren t way.

Ear l ie r th is year we d i rec ted a p iece fo r O2 in

wh ich we pre t ty much u t i l i sed a l l the techn iques

tha t we ’ve learn t f rom skateboard f i lm ing. Obv i -

ous ly we d idn ’ t p i tch i t as a ska te -s ty le f i lm, bu t

I th ink i t p robab ly shows in the way i t ’ s shot and

ed i ted . I t ’ s been s l igh t ly d i f fe ren t w i th th is Bench

f i lm, as we wanted to make i t a b i t more c inemat ic

and less gr i t t y we approached i t in a d i f fe ren t

way.

What goes in to pul l ing together a shoot l ike

th is?

Lots o f meet ings and conference ca l l s (my abso-

lu te favor i te ) . I t ’ s ma in ly work ing a long s ide the

w ider team to make sure we’ re a l l on the same

page. Obv ious ly as d i rec tors we have these ideas

o f th ings we’d l i ke to do, bu t we ’ l l a lmost a lways

get shut down by the German product ion team

say ing we can ’ t do i t because o f access ib i l i t y o r

heath and sa fe ty i ssues . L ike the shot we d id o f

the coup le r id ing on the i r b ikes - we shot i t f rom

the s ide o f a mov ing van but I d idn ’ t rea l l y say

too much about the se t up unt i l a coup le o f days

be fore . I th ink i t went someth ing l i ke “Oh by the

way, we ’ re go ing to f i lm f rom a mov ing van ’ . The i r

immedia te response was ‘No you ’ re not . We’ re not

a l lowed to do tha t ’ bu t a f te r lo ts o f phone ca l l s

and producer runn ing round pu l l ing her ha i r ou t

they a lways manage to make i t happen. A long w i th

those k ind o f th ings i t ’ s about mak ing sure we’ re

in tegra t ing the product and the brand and mak ing

sure every th ing is in l ine w i th the

brands d i rec t ion .

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49

What ’s the best p lace your job has ever taken

you?

The bes t p lace i have ever f i lmed was in Det ro i t .

V isua l ly, the p lace is mind b lowing. Aga in , i t was

fo r a documentary so we rea l ly got to exp lore the

p lace . Famous fo r i t s ru ins we pa id some loca l

u rban exp lorer to take us a round the abandoned

bu i ld ings and i t rea l l y i s incred ib le . I t ’ s a s igh t

tha t you s imply cannot exp la in fu l l y, you need to

see i t . For f i lm ing, you cou ld po in t the camera a t

a lmost any th ing and i t wou ld look amaz ing.

I do get to t rave l qu i te a lo t fo r work , the las t

coup le o f years has been in te res t ing . Ber l in , Swi t -

zer land, Det ro i t , Greece, Ib iza , Par is , I re land, to

name jus t a few.

Somet imes i t ’ s no t as g lamours as i t seems. I t ’ s

usua l ly very long days w i th l i t t l e t ime o f f to ex-

p lore but most o f the t ime we get to see a d i f fe r-

en t s ide o f the p lace compared to i f I was there as

a tour is t .

How much does a shoot depend on the locat ion

i tse l f?

The loca t ion is an impor tan t th ings . But i t a l l

works hand in hand rea l ly, each par t o f a f i lm

needs i t s a t ten t ion , the cas t ing , the loca t ion , the

l igh t ing e tc , take on o f those away and i t looses

an impor tan t asse t . W i th Ber l in I ’d been there a

few t imes be fore but on th is shoot I on ly rea l ly

had one day be fore shoot to look a t any loca t ions

tha t were approved. There was a lo t o f th ink ing on

our fee t and mak ing the most o f our sur round ings .

There were a few ideas I had in mind but w i th -

out the r igh t loca t ion i t d idn ’ t work so we had to

adapt to our sur round ings .

Are there any p laces that you haven’ t been to

yet that you’d l ike to shoot a t?

I ’m sure there a re p len ty, I don ’ t rea l l y have any

pre fe rences . From exper ience, there a re p laces

I ’ ve been to on a shoot tha t I wou ld never have

thought o f as a p lace to v is i t , ye t they end up

be ing rea l ly in te res t ing . I had never thought o f

Det ro i t as a p lace to go to and (s t i l l p robab ly

wou ldn ’ t fo r a ho l iday) , ye t i t ended up be ing one

he l l o f an exper ience fo r work .

What are the worst par ts of t ravel ing a lo t for

work?

I don ’ t rea l l y have a wors t par t o f t rave l l ing . I f I

ge t to t rave l fo r work I don ’ t see how I can moan

rea l ly. I guess not everyone gets tha t k ind o f op-

por tun i ty so I ’m gra te fu l fo r any par t o f work tha t

invo lves see ing new p laces .

What t ips do you have for smooth sa i l ing?

When prepar ing to t rave l , lay out a l l your c lo thes

and a l l your money. Then take ha l f the c lo thes

and tw ice the money.

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