Squadron Festival 2010 will be very very big. Official site is now live!

http://www.squadronfestival.com/

Squadron and DonDisko’s link-up in 2009 has, for the first time, seen 2 huge Boysnoize acts tear up the dacefloor in Malta, as first Les Petits Pilous and then D.I.M. left long lasting impressions. The good news is there is no sign of slowing down in 2010, with more new artists and amazing events planned.

The artworks and visuals produced for these events by Area are done with a lot of love and we know a lot of you appreciate the work. The whole Boysnoize camp are big fans of the artwork Area produce and it has been featured among some of the best flyer work in blogs and magazines around the world. To celebrate an amazing year, Squadron and Area are releasing an extremely limited number of original A3 Giclée art prints of the Les Petits Pilous and D.I.M. flyers, just in time for Christmas!

These are gallery quality Giclée prints on bright white, matte, smooth surface, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper, custom trimmed. The prints are VERY limited. Each one comes numbered and signed, printed on A3 in amazing Giclée quality, the amazing colour clarity on these pieces of art will remain true for over 30 years and have to be seen to be believed. A perfect Christmas gift, or special momento from two of 2009s most memorable events, these are certain to brighten up any room. They are going at €65 per print, we can accept orders online at our store, or you may contact us if you are in Malta to purchase a print in person. But be quick as these are in hot demand! info@areamalta.com / +356 7938 7726 / +356 7940 3403.

I don’t think I’ve actually made a post about this project, which is quite bad! This project involved doing 3 random searches on Wikipedia, and then searching the article through the LIFE archives, to get a photo to use our three book covers. The deadline is actually tomorow, so here is what I’ve come up with.

My first book cover is ‘Laguna’, which I think is quite a weird term, (I thought it would be Lagoon?) but the LIFE archive came up with this image;

And with some tweeking (and added layers of cause) on Adobe Photoshop have come up with this…

I liked this because its quite mysteries, but interesting at the same time, but it still has the ater factor about it.

My second book cover is ‘RAF Squadron’ which I was quite pleased about, because I thought it would be quite interesting. Here is the image I was given from the archive.

And here is my book cover… (My favourite of the three!)

And finally, my last cover, which is ‘New York City Subway’, and I ended up getting a really old black and white photo, so I knew it would turn out diffrently to the others. This is the original image.

And my cover

I wonder what our next project will be…

Following last September’s sell-out edition, it’s now time to JAM again! Squadron and DonDisko proudly present the second edition of JAM FACTORY on the 11th of December, this time at Escape Club (ex-Dukes). The night will include a fusion of genre`s from Nu-Rave, Fidget House, Electro, Chicago House, Techno, to Italo Disco. Featuring Rudi, Mathematikal, Squeak and Fat 32. Tickets at €5 only! If you’re interested in selling tickets get in touch now

Aerobatic teams need only two words to describe them: insanely awesome. The US Navy ‘Blue Angels’, shown here are one of the few national teams that I’ve witnessed during my lifetime. The British ‘Red Arrows’, Italian ‘Frecce Tricolori’, French ‘Patrouille de France’ and the Indian helicopter squadron ‘Sarang’ have all awed me but never have I had the chance of capturing them through my lens. In the summer of 2008, I was in Traverse City, Michigan where the Blue Angels not only grasped our attention with a full formation low flyby over the city as well as their C-130 transporter doing nosedives. All in all, this blog hadn’t been up back then and this photo somehow managed to get lost in the abyss of my hard drive.

Note: See how the five on the lower aircraft is painted inverted especially for this manoeuvre!

munky salutes insanely cool aviators!

Before I start, please note this is my opinion. Don’t start flaming if you don’t agree please, everyone has different opinions.

I was thinking about my favourite games from a lot of popular games series the other day, and I realised that a lot of them do not actually follow the normal opinions of an average gamer. Here they are:

Final Fantasy – IX

Always has been my favourite… well since it was released. The story, characters and world I found incredible. No doubt VII was awesome, but it really didn’t entertain me as much as IX! The soundtrack I loved, the cinematics were great… in fact its hard to find anything bad with the game at all. The character progression, especially that of Vivi’s, was nothing short of brilliant.

The Legend Of Zelda – Wind Waker

I don’t know why, but as soon as I picked this game up, I knew it was epic. The boat, the islands, the amount of secrets, and the general size of the game was incredible for its time. I enjoyed the new graphics.. so what if they were cartoony?? I had a lot of fun on the N64 with Ocarina of Time, but not on the scale of Wind Waker

. To be honest, I think I preferred Majora’s Mask to Ocarina of Time. It offered a new style of gameplay. Wind Waker was one of the only things Nintendo managed to do right on the Gamecube!

Pokemon – Silver

Not too controversial. Many people usually say Red/Blue. I liked Silver. I’m not afraid to say it. The map was bigger, the number of creatures and bigger, and it was in colour. How can people say it wasn’t a better game, when it pretty much had the old game on it anyway!

Halo – 1 (Combat Evolved)

Forget the Multiplayer… it bores me. Story, you could not beat Halo: Combat Evolved. It had something Halo 2 and 3 didn’t, and I just don’t know what it was. It was something new. Exciting, and hadn’t been done before. The expectations for 2 and 3 were just so high that it was ruined for me. I would easily put Halo Wars, and ODST before 2 and 3. There are very few games that can call themselves system sellers, but Halo: Combat Evolved was one of them.

Grand Theft Auto – Vice City

If I’m being honest, I’m not a huge fan of GTA at all. I think the series is overhyped completely, as proven by GTA4. Vice City entertained me the longest out of all in the series, but it was by no means “epic”.

Super Mario – Sunshine

Call me crazy, but I loved Sunshine. Mario 64 was a great game, no doubt, but there was something about Sunshine. They new FLUDD machine fitted into the game great, as did the characters and enemies. I like the “Summery” feel to it… too many games these days are dark. If I’m being honest, I hated Mario Galaxy. I completed it, and did not feel compelled at all to go around and get all the stars after. The story didn’t deliver, neither did the new style of game play.

Mario Kart – Double Dash

Most people will say Wii, SNES or N64, I say Double Dash. It added a new element, a co-op experience to the game, which I liked. It never lost its single player appeal either though.

Call of Duty – 4: Modern Warfare

Surely this one is not controversial!! First, let me say that I have pretty much loved all games in the CoD series… even WaW. A lot of people criticise WaW for it’s slacky campaign, but I loved it. The problem was, it was never going to beat CoD4. Put it against the likes of other WW2 games, and it easily beats them. CoD4 was not over-hyped, so when it arrived, it was a huge surprise of just how good it was. The multiplayer offered a lot. The single player story was mint.

Tony Hawks – Pro Skater 3

One of my first PS2 games. Everything about this game kept me playing until the release of the 360. The soundtrack. The maps. And the different tasks. I loved it!

Splinter Cell – The Original

All Splinter Cells, after the original one were a let down. I’m hoping that Conviction will change this.

Mario Party – 2

This game entertained me for hours, and was the first true game that I could simultaneously have fun with 3 other friends. The mini-games were entertaining, and even with better graphics, newer Mario Party’s just have not appealed to me like 2 did.

Super Smash Bros. – 64

This game was so good, that I still play it even today. I own Super Smash Bros on the Gamecube and Wii, but there is one thing that makes this game better than them. Hyrule Castle! I loved that level, just not the remakes of it. The game is also a lot less complicated that it is today. The amount of characters on the Wii and Gamecube versions just simply clutter the screen. Simple is better!

Resident Evil – 4

This game truly showed the meaning of horror. Resident Evil 5 might be a good game, but there is no real fear in it. It’s predecessors were good games as well.

FIFA – 10

Before 09, I would have said 2003. But in the past couple of years, FIFA has upped its game (excuse the pun). The realism now is amazing. Online play is great, and there is nothing better than getting a load of mates around to have a tournament.

Star Wars – Rogue Squadron

I used to love this. I thought I was an X-Wing fighter pilot!! Not really, but it was that good. The missions were meaningful. The graphics were good. It took you into major battles in the Star Wars series. One of the best games of the N64.

Need for Speed – Underground 2

One of the best ever PS2 games, Underground 2 brought a new, fantastic free-roam to the NFS franchise. Recent Need for Speed games, in my opinion, just have not lived up to the experience I got from this game.

Guitar Hero – 3

This game has the best soundtrack out of all of them. There was nothing much new added to the game really. Guitar Hero is Guitar Hero after all.

The noun squadron refers to a particular section of the armed forces, especially of the air force or to a similar section of another large organisation. …

• A squadron of aircraft, including eight air tankers and 13 helicopters, have been deployed to bombard the fire.
• The Defence Ministry said a squadron of fighter jets and an Aegis-class warship would deploy in the area.
• Harold Padfield, 87, was a lance sergeant with the First Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers, who helped hold the bridge for five days.
• He called for the rebuilding of the existing F-5s, especially the squadron deployed at Air Base 71 in Surat Thani province, which is to be decommissioned. …

(From Bangkok Post)

Diary of a Bomb Aimer: Training in America and Flying With 12 Squadron in WWII
Campbell Muirhead kept a meticulous diary of his wartime RAF service from the day that he set forth to train as a pilot in Canada and the USA in 1942 to the end of his wartime service with 12 Squadron Bomber Command. He was unable to pass the flying course and decided to retrain as a bomber because he wished to become operational as soon as possible….

Swift To Battle: No.72 Fighter Squadron RAF In Action
Volume.2: 1942-1947 North Africa, Malta, Sicily, Southern France & Austria
This second of three volumes traces the history of 72 Fighter Squadron, one of the premier squadrons in the Royal Air Force. The aircraft flown, operational personnel and missions flown are fully described with first-hand accounts from pilots and both air and ground crew….

In 2009 we have witnessed some of the biggest acts in the electronic scene, incredible energy and some of the most memorable nights for years. Squadron’s ‘A Night With’ series has provided Malta’s clubbers with more heavyweight artists, ensuring the best quality clubbing experiences they have come to expect from the Squadron camp. But… something was missing, and in 2010 Squadron will be literally exploding and backflipping into the new decade with the return of the most anticipated and talked about event around.

GET READY FOR SQUADRON FESTIVAL 2010!

Both previous historical editions in 2007 & 2008, have established Squadron Festival as a creative monster in the Maltese clubbing scene, attracting enormous crowds to see such legendary acts as Juan Atkins, DJ Rolando, Dr.Lektroluv, Bangkok Impact, Marshall Jefferson, Legowelt & Spacid.

Squadron Festival 2010 will be even better than ever, with a new mouthwatering collaboration between Squadron and DonDisko, we’ll be delivering the very best in Nu-Rave, Fidget House, Electro, Techno and House music. But that’s not all, add to that an incredible production experience of creative visuals and decor. Ok, the anticipation might just be getting too much… we advise you to lie down, relax, and head on over to www.squadronfestival.com and suggest your favourite artists. Tell us who you want to see!

The first headlining acts will be announced at Christmas time, our ‘little’ present to you from the Squadron and DonDisko crew. This one is not to be missed!

Following the amazing success with Les Petits Pilous, we hope you’re ready for another BoysNoize Records artist! the 17th October 2009 will mark D.I.M,’s first ever visit to Malta, as Squadron and DonDisko team up for what promises to be another kick-ass night!

+ MATHEMATIKAL – SQUEAK! – BJAN-JENSEN – DALE 

Tickets are out now at only €15 and can be bought from any one of the following outlets:

Exit, Fact, Royal Impact, Dr. Juice & Ryans Irish Pub + selected runners

Anyone interested in being a runner for the event, kindly contact us on info@dondisko.com

Flyer we made for for Squadron & DonDisko’s latest Boysnoize artist to play in Malta. D.I.M.!!!!!

]]> http://areamalta.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/squadron-dondisko-present-d-i-m/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:59:41 +0000 areamalta http://areamalta.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/squadron-dondisko-present-d-i-m/

We put this one together for Squadron and DonDisko to promote their forthcoming collaboration in bringing D.I.M. to Malta for the first time. If you look very closely you might see a little teaser for the event flyer artwork, which will be out very soon. THIS VIDEO HAS FLASHING IMAGES!! LOTS OF THEM!

The 4th of September sees the intoduction of Jam Factory brought to you by Squadron & DonDisko. This will be a series of parties promoting local talent. The events will include a fusion of genre’s that will come together on one night! We will dance to the electronic sounds, from Nu-Rave, Fidget House, Electro, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, to Italo Disco.

The first edition of Jam Factory will take place in the unique Buskett Roadhouse Terrace.

On the Decks

FAT32
MANTHRAX
BJAN JENSEN
MATHEMATIKAL
SQUEAK

Get ready to JAM!

Three things that I consider very important to me in the writing of these squadron histories that I’m working on are as follows:

- As well as the operational side of the squadrons, such as the aircraft and hardware used, stations they were based at, number of missions, combats and skirmishes and all those interesting things you’d expect in a squadron history, I also think it is really important to record the social history. So as well as reading the screeds of documents written during the war for official purposes, I have been interviewing as many veterans as I can and gathering their memories of life on the squadrons. The dances and parties, the squadron songs and poetry, the funny stories, the pets and mascots, the nose art and aircraft nicknames, and details of the reunions they held after the war.

- I also consider it vitally important to interview and gather stories from not just the pilots and aircrew members who flew the aircraft but also the ground personnel of the squadron. I have talked with or gathered the stories of many aircraft fitters and riggers, armourers, a metal worker, a driver, instrument repairers, and even admin staff who had nothing to do with the aeroplanes. They were all vital to ensuring that the aircrew members went off on their missions and hopefully came home again. One frustration is some ground crew trades are so hard to find people from, and to this day I have not yet found one WAAF who was on a squadron, but there must have been some on the support staff in New Zealand or Fiji. If you know any men or women who worked on these squadrons and units, or in units that supported them, I’d love to talk with them please.

- My third philosophy on this project is to make the histories as full and detailed as I can. In saying that, I am not intending this to be all just cold, dry facts and figures crammed in like a technical manual or an Official History. Though the facts will all be there in chronological order and as detailed as possible, they will be kept interesting and will capture the reader’s imagination with the supporting memories and snippets that add colour and adventure, humour where needed, and sadness too, not to mention some frustration, perhaps a little scandal, and most of all a sincere pride in the men of these squadrons. I want and need to make these books as full and comprehensive as possible because none of these squadrons and units have ever had a decent full history published on the manner that I plan to before. Most don’t even render more than a grunt of a mention in the official history and other such texts. Some have totally become forgotten. I have a compelling need to put this right.

I mentioned in an earlier post that my earliest introduction to the work of the General Reconnaissance squadrons was through the story of pilot Ashley Faulkner, detailed in Alex Horn’s book Wings Over The Pacific. It was with great pleasure that all these years later I tracked Ashley down and was able to interview him for my own book. At the end of the interview he thanked me very sincerely for doing what I’m doing, because he said he felt sad that the GR and BR Squadrons had not been given the necessary recognition all these years for their massive contribution to the war and to New Zealand’s safety. It was very humbling to have the man who’s story set me on this path in the first place to say such a thing about my project. He’s not the only veteran whom I’ve interviewed that has this view, many of them feel a little cheated or saddened that their efforts have been largely forgotten. I really hope that my project will put this right and finally these books will fill that void left empty for all these years.

I think I should list the squadrons and units of the Royal New Zealand Air Force that I am trying to cover in this wideranging history project. There are a lot of them, each involved in some way or another taking part in General Reconnaissance or Bomber Reconnaissance operations.

The Operational Squadrons covered are:
The Wellington (Territorial) Squadron (Nov 1937- Sept 1939)
The Wellington (General Reconnaissance) Squadron (Sept 1939 – Mar 1940)
The Auckland (Territorial) Squadron (June 1938- Sept 1939)
The Auckland (General Reconnaissance) Squadron (Sept 1939 – Mar 1940)
The Christchurch (Territorial) Squadron (Sept 1938- Sept 1939)
The Christchurch (General Reconnaissance) Squadron (Sept 39 – Mar 40)The New Zealand General Reconnaissance Squadron (Mar 1940 – Dec 1940)
No. 1 Squadron (Jan 1941 – 1945)
No. 2 Squadron (Jan 1941 – 1945)
No. 3 Squadron (April 1941 – 1945)
No. 4 Squadron (Oct 1941 – 1945)
No. 5  Squadron (Dec 1941 – 1945)
No. 7  Squadron (1942 – 1943)
No. 8  Squadron ( 1942 – 1945)
No. 9  Squadron (1942 – 1945)

(note:  No’s 1-5 and 7-9 Squadrons all began life as General Reconnaissance squadrons, and thus were known for example as No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, etc. Later in the war, at different times, each of No’s 1-5 Squadrons and No’s 8 and 9 Squadrons were redesignated as Bomber Reconnaissance squadrons, thus written as No. 8 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron, etc)

Operational Units and Schools to be covered:
No. 10 (Operational Training) Squadron
Unit 20 Fiji (predecessor to No. 4 (GR) Squadron
Unit 43 (predecessor to No. 9 (GR) Squadron
The School of General Reconnaissance, Omaka
The School of General Reconnaissance and Navigation, New Plymouth
The Air Gunners and Air Observers School, Ohakea
The FAFAI Bomber Squadrons
Operatinal elements of No. 1 and No. 3 Service  Flying Training Schools
No. 1 (Bomber) Operational Training Unit

And of course not to forget the Servicing Units that were attached to the Bomber Reconnaissance Squadrons, maintaining their aircraft – No.’s 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 SU’s

So if you have any information, photos, logbooks, documents, memoirs or anything else relating to these squadrons and units, I’m really keen to hear from you please. Email me at dave_daasnz@hotmail.com

Following the recent publication of Julius Fireheartius, I’m pleased to announce another of Fireheart’s historical incarnations.  Originally published in 1944, “The Adventures of Captain John Fireheart and 404 Squadron” was a boy’s own adventure that transcended the genre.  It was widely credited with boosting morale of the allies immediately prior to the D-Day landings.  We’re proud to present an extract from the opening chapter.

Captain John Fireheart reached into the jacket pocket of his immaculate RAF uniform and pulled out his car keys.  As he tossed the keys playfully in to the air, he couldn’t help but admire the pristine Triumph Dolomite, in British racing green.  The car had been an extravagant gift from his fiancée, Lady Agatha Nartsi-Simpathiser; and appropriately, the good Captain treated the throbbing engine as he would a lady.

He drove the auto with gusto, yet great precision around the air base, RAF Londonbury.  It was only a short distance from the barracks to the CO’s office, but John loved to drive at any opportunity.  He pulled to a halt with a trademark skid, and tooted the horn in acknowledgement of his good friend, Basher Barnes, one of the leading lights of 404 Squadron.  John hopped from the car with gay abandon and headed towards the office building.

‘Goodness,’ said the Captain, running his fingers through his brylcreemed black hair, ‘I love this bally country.’

He strode purposefully into the building, the office girls swooning at the sight of such a masculine and imposing figure.  He smiled playfully at them as he passed and raised a suggestive eyebrow.  He finally reached the office of Air Marshal Dingleberry, and was met by two sentries, Privates Biffen and David.

‘Morning chaps,’ said John, as he returned their salutes, his face carved with a characteristic smirk, that let the men know who was boss.  It was common knowledge around the base that Captain Fireheart was the finest pugilist in the whole RAF, so the Privates didn’t need to be reminded.  He rapped briskly on the office door and confidently entered the room; he knew that his commanding officer wanted to see him asap.

Air Marshal Dingleberry sat wedged behind a small wooden desk he had owned since prep school.  John knew from personal experience that despite his corpulent frame and advancing years Dangerous Dingleberry was still a formidable fighter, flier and lover.  The Captain knew that he had been summoned to the office to take part in another of the CO’s suicide missions, and his mouth watered at the prospect.

‘Ah Fireheart! Good to see you old boy, come in, come in,’ said the Air Marshal.

‘Thank you sir, it’s jolly good to see you too,’ said Johnny as he saluted the rotund man, and took a seat.  Dingleberry asked John to join him in smoking a cigarette and he heartily accepted; the men sat and enjoyed the aroma and taste of the vitalising tobacco, for a few seconds, before getting down to business.

‘Now John, I’m not going to beat around the bush, I need you and 404 Squadron to fly what could be your most dangerous mission yet.  It’s tremendously hush hush, so mum’s the word I’m afraid, old bean.’

‘Discretion is my middle name, as you know, sir.  Parents had a ruddy strange sense of humour,’ joked the Captain.  ‘Now, what can I do for you?’  Tension grew in the air as John waited for his answer.  Dingleberry seemed reluctant to answer, and this uncharacteristic hesitance made Fireheart nervous.  Finally the answer came, with the full force of a jolly good carpet bombing of Dresden:

‘I want you to steal Hitler’s mother.’

Fireheart dropped his cigarette to the floor.

we have two person playing two legos

charaters

commander chill – coldblast27

dan the sniper – none

2 – none

special guests:

darth vader – none

indiana jones – none

demeted droid – thecoldblasts

thats all!

Thanks guys for the amazing atmosphere! We love you!! Here’s just a small footage form last Saturday, at least you can re-live 10 minutes of it

D.I.M (Boys Noize Records) up next!

A few people have asked about how the Les Petits Pilous flyer was made, so heres a quick run through.

As always, we start by coming up with a concept. Colour and details arent important at this stage. We put down a sketch and get started.

So next step is to lay out the lettering, we take a lot of care as this is the base we will be working from.

We colour the lettering consitantly, the first thoughts about light and shading need to be adressed here, so we add a slight gradient to each letter.

We carefully draw in the shapes around each letter to acheive the 3d effect, measuring depth consistency all the time.

We align all the shapes and make any necessary adjustments to the letter positioning.

Now we brush in all the shadows by hand. This can be done many ways, we prefer to use a very low opacity brush in Photoshop with the multiply blend mode. Thinking about light direction is important here.

We do the same thing for the highlights, this time using the screen blend mode. Once this is done we add the cast shadows which really brings the text to life. We add some colour adjustments to make the text pop.

For the rollercoaster, we start by drawing out the track forms.

Next we add the track boards. To do this we draw a board in illustrator and warp, scale and sheer it to fit the contours of the track.

We start adding some background elements, in this case some stars to give the piece more atmosphere. We add shading to the track to give it more depth.

Now we add some of the foreground elements. The track which we blur and fade out and the shape of the cart.

We draw the characters separately in Illustrator and place them in the cart.

We add shading to the cart and incude the boize noize sign in the background.

Finally we add some glow to the background and a load of custom colour adjustments. (gradient maps, curves, colour balances etc)

Final Flyer

Finally, the wait is soon over! This mighty Les Petits Pilous from Boys Noize Records will be leaving their mark this Saturday at Tattingers club!
See you on the dance-floor!

Notice anything odd about this 1978 cover for a Lithuanian edition of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris?  I guess the chapter where Kris Kelvin  joins up with Rogue Squadron to fight the Empire must have got lost in the translation from Polish.

It’s hard to tell whether Lem would have been furious or merely amused.  I’m definitely the latter.

oh dear...

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is the upcoming game for the PSP and DS. The game’s main selling point is the transitions between air, space, and ground battles. It will retain the same look as the previous PSP games. For much more info and a preview of the game, visit the kotaku link below. Concept art, screenshots (psp and ds), and trailers are below.

Kotaku – http://bit.ly/OY1mA

Wikipedia – http://bit.ly/17Yx4K