We've moved!
Yes, we've done it! It's taken since the end of the dark ages, but the sands of time have slipped through our fingers and formed a small pile of Soho at our feet. The company has been formed for nearly five years and now has a proper home of it's own. This is it:

10-11 Moor Street,
W1D 5NF
London

If you don't know where it is, it's in between Cambridge Circus and Old Compton Street.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor are ours and will combine edit suites and production space. We have a bit of a journey ahead of us, so watch this space and keep up with change.

We had a strange thing happen to us. Our builders came in and worked for four days, twelve hours each and created the shells of our two edit suites in top condition! The scaffolding is courtesy of our new landlord, Paul Raymond!

It may not seem too much but what you're looking at is the machine bay for our edit suites. It's a wondrous vision of MDF and plasterboard.

You can just smell that soft, hearty smell of MDF in the air, but we shall be decorating. In fact, we have a tonne of stuff ahead of us. If we get time, we'll stick more pics up - Sorry, were you expecting some witty copy? Nope, this time it's picture porn!

Do you want to know a little about our set up? Yeah, of course you do. Pogo Films Ltd are a feature production company. To hold our heads above the tide and swim slowly up-stream (that is film-making, isn't it?) we are going to operate two FCP edit suites on G5's with dirty great big Xraid disc arrays - Kwwooaaarrrrr!!! These are for dry and wet hire and will be complimented with Shake, Combustion and After Effects

To offer a professional and in-touch set up, we have provided for telecommunication excellence (do what?) with a sophisticated telephone system, as installed by our friend at Opus, here.

Now here's an arbitrary and mostly naff shot of Phil building a desk. It's just a desk. It's made of wood and has legs, no, not like Jordan, more like a Swedish rendition of Chippendale. Just not so expensive.

And now, art. It's taken me many years to find a home for 'The Sign'. It's not mine, it's not Vincenzo's, it's its own self (I will take criticism for my use of apostrophe in that instance). It breathes and corrodes over floors and back yards. But now, it is safe and at home in Pogo. We treasure and enjoy it's company and are assured of it's satisfaction - You got it, just like our clients. WATCH THIS SPACE.

IBC 2003
We all know just how much of a pain it can be to go to Amsterdam for a few nights: The endless supply of great food, the friendly and beautiful people, the numbing supply of assorted herbs and the neon lit areas where people seem particularly friendly and attentive. Well, it's a sign of our endless dedication to Pogo Films Ltd that we were willing to suffer four nights there in order to attend IBC 2004. http://www.ibc.org/

Should you be unaware of IBC, it stands for International Broadcasting Conference (head slumps forward and smacks onto desk as an uncontrollable dollop of tiredness descends). But if you're much like us, it's the kind of thing that turns you on! It has loads of media kit and gimmickry to play with and we loved it so shut up!

We were there to work out the best kit for our edit suite that's to be installed in the new office (more news soon) and have settled on a Mac G5 running FCP 4. (If this means nothing to you, you should stay in more) Isn't she lovely? Sleek, silvery and all Mmm!

There was a tonne of new stuff being blagged about and we should point out that if you want to be anyone, you must say "H.D" at regular intervals or you'll be laughed out of Soho. High Definition is taking over the known universe and replacing it with a popcorn franchise. Failing that, a gamut 1080 line video at 24p, 25p or 50i. Bring it on, I love this shit!

As a great and free night out, we caught "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the Cinema at the RAI centre. Shown, not because those at IBC are a bunch of sad, eye-candy seeking girls who will forsake story, character, meaning and any resemblance of drama in exchange for a glimpse of Depp or Bloom. But because it was a digital projection...Derrr!
In short, the detail is beyond just excellent. Art departments beware. Contrast too seems much improved from a few years back and nigh on the same as 35mm. Only one slight failing seemed to be the red of the red-coats which almost glowed!

With a slight feeling of closure and goodbyes to old chums (three anyway) we left, safe in the knowledge that we had saved ourselves a few thousand in incorrect spend on un-necessary equipment. There was of course, time for one last beer!

Cannes 2003
Hello folks! Or should we say, Bon Jour? We promised a little update of the site for Cannes and here it is. The Pogo boys have gone to the world's film festival and the sun is shining! We are forming an expeditionary party for next years return with what will be our first feature.. watch this space.


We turned down a first class flight and Noga Hilton reservation in favor of a camper van and camp site - no capitalist bull shit here, thank you (aha!?) What a drive?! As we discovered there was a ferry strike we took the chunnel and after a night in Switzerland, a tortuous three visits to Franco-Swiss customs as we fuck up on the navigation.

Le Petit Majestic: Pardon my french but Fuck a duck! All the big parties and premieres (that we don't seem to be invited to (please phone us and we'll do coffee at 3 pm)) end up at this very busy, street spilling, gut filling drinkery. Stand about, but rock from leg to leg to keep circulation up and beer it! I must say, being a single bloke with a usual appetite for the opposite sex, this place makes for great visual experimentation. Oh yes, and watch out for the traffic, you know, the moving beer trays!

Screenings: Embarrassed to report that our film count is low. But come on, it's very confusing. We think this is how it is. Get the next days Screen or Variety and read up reviews on the films they review. Nab a leaflet of the venues and times. Get your directors fortnight pass to impress the badge swinging gestapo. Wake up at a horrible horrible time, 8 am. Get a ticket and go. We haven't seen one yet!!! This week we shall. We brought down our bloody tux's but we haven't worn them yet....duh (The pic is Phil outside the Palais on Sunday.

Girls and La Plage: For the first part, we have decided to make no comment, (long breath out, rubbing of forehead, strangely endearing smile from the corner of the mouth, back to work!)
For the second part, it's a big sandy thing forming a barrier between the sea and the Croisette. But it's stuffed to the gunnels with mostly bronzed, well toned, half naked types. Also, two pale, slightly portly English blokes making a bacon noise. (Apologies to Johannes for using this pic of him on the beach, is that Jonah approaching?)

Celebs: Because of the slight middle East misunderstanding that occurred recently, our taxi driver said that numbers were fifty percent down on last year, so one imagines that celeb numbers must be down too. However, whilst selecting our next yacht from the marina, we did stumble upon Arnie promoting T3. Said hi, did coffee, discussed working together next year, fell into the sea, woke up and remembered that although i had taken a photo for the site, my useless fucking phone is so new that it can't upload images yet. So no pic' sorry! (At least, you'll have to make do with Markus! x)

Because i was distracted by a plunging neck line (since had it fixed and i feel a lot better) i missed out on Andie McDowell swamping the Croisette with admirers, paparazzi and gob smacked punters. Incidentally, Oli quite fancied her bodyguard!!

Our good friend and bold Bavarian buddie, Johannes of a notable German company (sorry no names here, legal issues darling!) spent the early hours educating Keanu on the correct beer to be drinking, i mean come on, it was Heineken!

Top tips:
# Don't be like me (Phil) and um and ah about coming. COME! It's an eye opener, even if like me you are left bankrupt (seriously). Incidentally, thanks to all my mates who said go!

# Go to Le Petit Majestic after midnight but remember to leave at some point.

# Stay up late, very late, no i mean it, don't go back to bed early, honestly, stay out, be bad, i promise you, it's worth it.

That's it from us for now. Apologies for dodgy lay out of page but we're both rather tired and haven't had a beer yet.

We love you all, especially the ones who give it for free.

Oli and Phil, Pogo Films Ltd
Johannes between us, standing up. We don't like to talk about it, but he has height issues.

CANNES 2003 - fin!
It's all over! As we packed up our van and headed west for some surf on the coast, we left a town that was sweeping up and gearing up for the summer. The huge yachts were lifting anchor, screwing the Gin tops down and filing their high heels amongst their Cartier tooth-picks.

Fun, it certainly was. We were in a position where we were scouting for next year, so in a sense there was not too much pressure to strike deals, sell films or grasp at sweating sellers palms. However, as we learnt, free party invites and hedonistic story telling is fueled by striking deals, selling films and grasping sweaty palms. So next year...Bring it on!

We are not going to talk about our embarrassing film count, but we are going to mention that the one film we did go up the red carpet to see was the worst film in competition in Cannes in living memory. Now we're kind of proud of that!

Vincent Gallo's "BROWN BUNNY". It's hard to put into words our feelings about this film, other than that whilst walking out, we realized that we owe it to ourselves and society to just make a feature and soon. The more films that are out there, the less likely it is that someone is going to see Mr. Gallo's studentesque, nose picking, self indulging but strangely selected for competition pooh extravaganza. "Change that jumper, Vince!"

In the earlier copy from Cannes, we were unable to bring you pictures of celebs. So here is my photo of Arnie and wife boarding his yacht. Boy, did he ever talk. All i did was ask him the time and it's "Oh Phil..." this and "You must come aboard." that. Leave it out, big boy. Incidentally, i'm taller!

We want to send a big cheer out to all those we met in Cannes. Many nods to Johannes, who without fail would terrify us into another head long encounter with a glass of beer.
Greetings too, to John Neis in the good old US. We are looking for suitable projects for you as we write! To the van couple, you know who you are!

And certainly to an old friend Dan March, pictured here. As a testament to our professionalism and long lasting memories (and the beer) we politely held a conversation for five minutes before realizing we knew each other!!! Indeed, i'd spent a whole day staring down a viewfinder at him... age i guess!?

I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY
The second of two test commercials commissioned by L.B. and Nick Burrage, "I love my job". Shot over two half days around Liverpool Street. Johnny Mackle played the pervert Photo Developer, looking moody here with the Pogo Location Van in the background!

Lorette Pearce-Jones was his innocent victim (Congratulations to her on landing the Blue / Elton John promo now showing!)

Shooting MiniDV on a Canon XL-1 with prime lenses, Erik (the coffee drinker) gave us a very reduced depth of field. This produced a much more filmic feel although made Dan Trapp, our focus puller, sweat a little more. The spinning frosted glass and Polarizing filters also added 'Umph' to the feel. Here's a quick pic of us because we're so handsome.