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Day Nine: With the first draft of the publication now complete, we all went through it as a group and made any changes that were picked up on the run through. A draft print was also done to determine which type of printer and paper we wished to use for the final product. Our work for the Soapbox events group was also completed and our work was added into the exhibition.

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Day Eight: Final full day spent on the publication. The weekend will be spent curating all the final pieces of research together for the test print on Monday. Seen above is an image of an abandoned building in Detroit called the Fisher Body Plant which a spread of the publication will be dedicated too.

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Day Seven: Made good progress with the book as we are fast approaching 100 pages. The film is starting to take shape as well as the footage was starting to be cut together. Seen above is the album cover for the New Order single "Crystal" designed by Manchester based graphic designer, Peter Saville, who some of the research evolves around.

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Day Six: In the morning a small number of us worked on the book then in the afternoon a few more of us joined us on a visit to the museum of science and industry. This was a great way of getting first hand research for the industry section of our publication.

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Day Five: Today the group formulated a style in which we would produce the film in, then a few students began montaging footage together to experiment certain ideas. The publication is starting to look promising as the students photography was presented and annotated. Also the research done into Art Deco and General Motors was also presented. The next task for the publication will be to present the work relating to the graphic designer, Peter Saville.

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Day Four: Productive day which purely consisted of researching our assigned areas. The publication was started and populated with sample sheets which as the week progresses, will be filled with the students work..

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Day Three: Spent the day on a walking tour of Manchester where the students got to learn more about the city. This was also a good way of acquiring more information for the final publication. When walking around the city we took more photos and videos which will provide the basis for our final outcome.

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Day Two: Spent the morning in the Northern Quarter photographing the graffiti and street art which has become a prominent part of that area of Manchester over the years. In the afternoon we returned back to Chatham to continue our research and started to present some of our work for the publication.

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Day One: This morning was spent introducing ourselves along with having a talk with our main collaborator Dominic Sagar. We split the tasks up into sub categories and assigned them to members of the group so they can begin their research. The afternoon was spent watching our first film as well as beginning our research in our specific areas.

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Collaborators: Having had a chat with the events group, Soapbox. There is a good chance we will be able to exhibit our work in their exhibition. This gives us the chance to showcase our weeks work. Another element we are considering adding to this is the idea of possibly running a competition within the events group. This will allow the best piece of work to get the largest allocation in the Soapbox exhibition.

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Filmic Inspiration: We are starting to formulate a series of precedents for which our film could look like. Seen in the image above is the poster for the popular anthology series, Black Mirror. If you find any videos you think ours should be presented like, make a note of them and we will go through them during our first meeting. Below is a link to a precedent for the recent trailer for the fourth season of Black Mirror. Notice the transition between archival and footage from the actual show for inspiration for our final outcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjNhW2mR1lM

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Connections: Seen in the image above is the reflection of the Detroit Bridge in Salford. This is just one of the links connecting Manchester to Detroit. Now with the recently created Facebook group, use this as an opportunity to discover more links between the two cities and if you wish, post them to the Facebook group for discussion.



Here is the link to the Facebook group to join; https://www.facebook.com/groups/1973582952716615/

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Facebook Group: Be sure to check your emails as we have just sent you the link to our new Facebook group to keep you updated with everything that’s going on. The group is called; Detroit – Manchester - Zones of Urban Experimentation. We will be using this Facebook group to keep in contact with you throughout the Events week. Feel free to use it post any ideas you have before the Events week starts that could possibly enhance the 9 days.

Here is the link to the Facebook group to join; https://www.facebook.com/groups/1973582952716615/

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Shrinking Cities: Seen in the image above is an aerial view of the city of Detroit. Classed as a ‘Shrinking City’, this notion will be heavily involved with the data we will obtain for the publication. Use this time before events week starts to look at trends and patterns in data surrounding Detroit. Is it still a shrinking city and if so, what makes it one?

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Foreshadowing: Seen in the image above is the old Haçienda in Manchester, demolished in 2002. Founded by Tony Wilson, the Hacienda became famous in the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s. The yellow and black stripes became a brand which is now associated with the Haçienda. We intend use this style in our publication to pay homage to this iconic building which is such an important part of Manchester’s history.

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Publication inspiration: We are starting to formulate a series of precedents for which our magazine could look like. Seen in the image above is Issue 20 of ‘Hypebeast Magazine’, guest edited by Virgil Abloh. If you find any publications you think our one should be presented like, make a note of them and we will go through them during our first meeting.

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Why not start now?: Once again, as part of the brief we have to create a short film as a group. The film is meant to act as a document to show the work we have done throughout the 9 days, however as most of the work we will do will consist of research and data, there is no earlier time to start. Think of the film as a documentary which could include footage you have filmed, archive footage, clips from documentaries etc. We intend for the film to work hand in hand with the publication, so see this as an extension both in terms of content and style of that publication.

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Publication inspiration: We are starting to formulate a series of precedents for which our magazine could look like. Seen in the image above is the "YOU CUT ME OFF" book by Virgil Abloh. If you find any publications you think our one should be presented like, make a note of them and we will go through them during our first meeting.

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Why not start now?: A large amount of the final publication will involve photography taken by you and there is no earlier time to start. No need to be too fussy when taking photos of the city. A few things to look out for are Street Art, Graffiti and Industrial Architecture.

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Splitting Up The Tasks: The intention for the 9 days is to split up tasks of the film, tours and magazine between us as a group and for us 5th years to lead each of the separate teams. The reasoning behind this is so that you can take part in which ever area you are most interested in or even rotate as the days go on. This will result in a better work flow as we will spread ourselves across different tasks as opposed to all working on one.

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Magazine: The culmination of the film and tour will be a magazine which will document everything we found when doing research into Manchester and Detroit. The magazine will also include maps, data analysis, infographics and more which spot trends and comparisons into the two cities. If you are interested in compiling research, this will be a great opportunity to learn such software as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign.

For an example into the kind of publication we will look to produce. See the book; Living in the Endless City. “An in-depth and multidisciplinary examination of our rapidly urbanizing world.” Edited by Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic.

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Tour: One of the main activities for the first week will be a series of tours through Manchester delving into the Art, Industrial and Cultural aspects of the city. This will be an opportunity to enhance your photography skills along with improving your knowledge of this side of the city. In addition to this you will find out about the man, Tony Wilson. If you are interested in photography, this will be a great opportunity to learn such software as Adobe Photoshop.

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Film: One of the main outputs for the events week will be to create a short 3-minute film. However, we will look to use this film to bridge our two other outputs together. The film will be made as a documentary, not only for our progress and work but the research and footage we have found over the course of the 9 days. If you are interested in filmmaking, this will be a great opportunity to learn such software as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro.