Pogo Films, Soho London

Edinburgh International Film Festival

This year Olivier Lauchenauer from Pogo Films, Tim Graham and Mark Williams (from production house, Fin London) went to the Edinburgh TV festival. A networking, fact finding and culturally expanding trip. Olivier explains all;

The festival is held at the end of The Fringe and during the Tattoo which means Edinburgh is heaving with tourists and comedians desperate to get your attention to go an see their shows. Once you make it to the conference you are greeted with a full schedule of speakers and panelists all taking about various aspects of the industry and a large goodie bag with various useful and useless things.

Some of the highlights were the Adam Curtis masterclass which was a very interesting and insightful look into his unique and fascinating documentaries. I was very intrigued to hear that he edits his own documentaries and he sees it as a very important part of the process as it’s part of his visual language. Also that he has a very small team of himself and a producer.

The Connected TV was also an interesting seminar with the ‘2nd screen’ (Mobiles, laptops and iPads etc.) being mentioned and YouView box being demonstrated. Not too sure if consumers are ready for another set top box as it’s all going to more web based system but it seems that this is an interim solution as streaming speeds are still on the low side.

Xbox were showing off their interactive series with “Sesame Street” where kids can interact with characters with real time effects using their Kinect system. Google TV was also being demo’d on a Sony platform, similar to the Apple TV but with more options for apps. Zeebox was also there with a similar experience with an free app for the iPad.

“Who needs a Commissioner anyway” was hosted by Jason Bradbury and the topic was YouTube. Here we got a little insight in what works on the YouTube channels and the amazing reach they can have (the whole world!). The biggest question was how to monetize these channels. Two of the speakers were two you tube stars – Fleur de force who video blogs about fashion and Jamal Edwards who is the CEO of JB TV. The overriding message was – it’s all about the charisma of the individual and only just about pays for the individual and some production for the interviews. YouTube will pay you for views but it is small and a lot of the channels have web shops to complement their revenue. There is also the option of having ads in front of the content but that can alienate the viewers and has to be managed.

CCTV – (Chinese State TV) were there in force and looking for content. What was very impressive were the statistics; It is a huge channel and obviously for the TV market, an amazing opportunity. But it is state run. So it’s not really a question of “what will the market want” but more “what will their commissioners be asking for”. It seemed they like large popular formats. With an audience of 1.2 Billion and 25 terrestrial, 12 cable and a single 3D channel, there is going to be plenty of possibilities but it sounded like they weren’t taking any risks.

I missed the keynote by Elisabeth Murdoch, but it sounded like it was a good speech though not a great vintage.

What I took away was that this is an essential event to go to for insights into the future. With YouTube and Xbox having major stands in the middle of the conference that certainly signalled the intent from these two giants of IT that they want to be major players in the TV industry. Also, Producers are getting more and more freedom with their IP and have huge opportunities open to them. But they also have to do much more to get their product out there themselves and often pay for it, which is a major challenge for the cash strapped small indies.

‘Confine’ nominated for Best UK Film at Raindance!

Confine is a tense thriller that has recently been nominated for Best UK Film at Raindance Film Festival. This feature was graded and onlined earlier this year by our Senior Editor and Colourist, Jamie Dickinson.

Written and directed by Tobias Tobbell, and produced by Two Bells Productions and Cork Films, Confine stars  three young and upcoming British actors. Daisy Lowe, a recent model-turned-actress, is the lead, Pippa. Damaged physically and emotionally, this former model who now lives as a recluse becomes a hostage of the charming Kayleigh, played by Eliza Bennett (Inkheart, Nanny McPhee). Henry, played by Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), completes the cast as Kayleigh’s boyfriend. The entire 90 minutes of the film takes place in Pippa’s flat where a tense struggle to escape breaks out, forcing the recluse to learn how to stand for herself once more.

Confine was shot on an Arri Alexa in a large purpose-built studio. Jamie explains, “DOP Eben Bolter’s lighting was great, and with it being shot on one set, a lot easier to keep even. Once we had a set look in the Quantel Pablo we experimented with putting a soft glow over several scenes to enhance the richness. However, the most challenging part of the grade was with the slow motion setups. They had been shot with extra lights, and to match with the rest of the grade was a challenge. In the end though, it looked really lovely.”

Nick Heathcoate created special effects for various scenes. Using Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, he created a variety of additions. “I created a Skype conversation using screen recording. Because of the way computer screens show up on video, I had to composite a new screen over the original. In Photoshop I rebuilt it and then reanimated it into the film. What’s really important is making it look nice, but not too perfect, or it doesn’t look real. I had to create a sense of depth of field and a natural looking glow from the screen.”

Confine debuts at the Raindance Film Festival this Saturday, the 29th of September at 18:00 and again on Monday, the 1st of October at 15:45.

Confine Trailer from Two Bells Productions on Vimeo.

Dimension 3 – Pogo goes to Paris!

Last month, Pogo’s  MD Olivier Lauchenauer and Gerald Lorenz, Time Traveller Guides 3D director, went to Parisian 3D festival and exposition, Dimension 3, where our “Time Traveller Guides 3D – Gettysburg” was a finalist for TV Program – see previous post!

We didn’t win the “dimmy” in the end, but were treated to displays of all the latest 3D tech including demos of Technicolor’s Certifi3D and SGO’s Mistika, as well as watching all the other 3D film entries with subjects ranging from Robin Hood to Space.

Here’s Gerald’s take on his time at Dimension 3:

Pogo Films docu-fiction “Time Traveller Guides 3D – Gettysburg” made it into the final line-up of four films.

Dimension 3 winners on stage

Dimension 3, St. Denis

Pogo Welcomes Brian May

Brian May at Pogo

Earlier this year, we were delighted to greet Dr. Brian May to Pogo Films’ offices. Brian has always been a very keen collector and historian of stereographic images and we wanted him to see our innovative and entertaining series;  ”Time Traveller Guides 3D”.  Constructed from cleaned and restored nineteenth and twentieth century Stereographs (using our newly established treatment process) the series brings these original stereographic images to life in a very vivid and modern light.

Time Traveller Guides 3D selected for 3D Festival!

We’re excited to announce that our very own Time Traveller Guides 3D has been pre-selected to compete for ‘TV Program’ at French stereoscopic 3D festival ‘Dimension 3.’

For those who are unaware of our current productions, Time Traveller Guides 3D takes the viewer on a mesmerising tour of 19th century places using restored Victorian stereographs, rich sounds and music. Pioneers of 3D, the Victorians took thousands of stereoscopic stills which we have re-mastered for viewing on 21st century 3D televisions. Narrated by a fictional tour-guide, each film opens up a window to the past, in a way that has never been seen before.

The 6-part TV series takes you around the world with episodes on London, Paris, New York, Rome, Washington and our Dimension 3 entry; Gettysburg. Gettysburg is particularly poignant as it shows the aftermath of the American Civil war battle, 10 years on.

Dimension 3 will host the festival from 13th-15th June just outside Paris in Saint-Denis, as part of the largest international window for S3D productions. Aside from the festival, Dimension 3 also offers an exhibition, conferences, new technology displays and networking events – all centred around 3D!

Pogo MD Olivier and Time Traveller Guides 3D’s director Gerald Lorenz will be attending Dimension 3 next week. We’ll have a blog update after the festival (and maybe even a ‘Dimmy Award!’) so watch this space!

3D ANAGLYPH VERSION
You will need Red/Cyan glasses (Full 3D HD Broadcast Version is of course not anaglyph!)