Archive for 2011

After a month filled with shoots in Norway, Nigeria and Italy, Pukka wrapped the final day of shooting for its latest Saipem film in Wimbledon studios.

Inside the Wimbledon warehouse space was a full-scale recreation of an Indonesian bazaar, complete with skeins of fabrics, a massive spread of spices, and a real live wok filled with a steaming batch of curry (which, having been stirred vigorously all morning, was complete mush by lunchtime). Despite the miniskirts pictured above, it was actually quite chilly on set, so the cast and crew gathered around a massive heat lamp between takes. Later, we actually wound up using the lamp’s red light to cast an ominous glow on the threshold of a brothel door.

We rounded out the day with a steamy bedroom scene featuring two (nearly) nude actors and some crazy, lo-fi video effects conceived by Paul. While the actors got a bit raunchy in bed, Fergus and Rill used two video projectors to place images of gonorrhea, syphilis, and other nasty STDs growing on their skin.

After shooting, the Pukka crew packed up and went on their way, but not before grabbing some veg and spices from the market — there’s no need to let a delicious-looking sack of whole onions go to waste!

It’s that time of year (or more specifically that month in the year) when despite the protests of our wives and girlfriends, the Pukka team have joined forces to raise money for Prostate Cancer by growing their Mo’s.

Dan looks like something out of True Blood, Paul has something of the RAF about him, Fergus has gone for the Mexican look and I’m just about hanging in there with my hairier colleagues. As for Ana, I think she thinks we’re all mad…

All sponsorship welcome – click here for Team Pukka page

The Pukka crew have just returned with the rushes of their third big drama for Italian clients, Saipem. Shoots in Norway, Italy and Nigeria have been completed with another coming up in exotic Wimbledon.

The Italian leg was a welcome extension to the summer with blisteringly hot days and a wide range of locations (thanks Ivano!). After long hours we ate like kings and on a couple of occasions were serenaded in the bar by our principle actor, Samuel Anderson.

The last night was the moment everyone had been waiting for, when Dave Judge’s stunt boys performed a 50mph car crash, obliterating a Fiat Punto at 3 in the morning. Rinse, who drove the car, told us afterwards that it’s important to scream before impact to expel air from your lungs and avoid injury – but we think it’s because he’s a scaredy cat.

Barely any time to sweep up the broken glass, and we were on a flight to Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Our armed escort of non-smiling security with AK 47s was waiting and chaperoned us through the towns and villages to the Saipem yard. A security induction included phrases like ‘killing zone’, ‘Mortar Fire’ and ‘wait for the all-clear’ and lots of handy tips on what to do ‘in the event of an attack on the base’. Fingers crossed, then.

A day and a half’s filming flew by in the tropical humidity and before we knew it we were bouncing back down the potholed roads to the airport again. We had just enough time to snap a pic with our (now smiling) security before entering the purgatory of customs and collapsing onto the flight home.

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The Chartered Quality Institute wanted a film to describe what Quality is and how their quality managers work to improve organisations. John and Fergus teamed up to deliver a daring, off-the-wall creative that was guaranteed to be unlike anything shown at Quality Managers’ meetings, and could clearly communicate the message.

The Handy Guide to Quality called for a performer with fascinating, expressive hands, and who better than Andy Dawson, who’s done the whole moon landing with his! (see here)

Special thanks also to Ben Grounds (Art Dept) for his patient and meticulous style in sourcing gloves, oranges and the creating the ‘Juictron4000’ which is now sitting in Fergus’ kitchen.

After a highly technical tabletop shoot at the Pukka Studio, David Ashardi’s wizardry in the edit and a fantastic voice over record from Simon Greenall (I’m Alan Partridge, the ‘meerkats’ commercial), the film was complete, and delivered more than a week early.

The film has been received well and is now being translated into more languages so that the message can be spread further afield.

Feeling a surge of charitable goodwill, we headed down to Freedom from Torture to see if we could help them with their promotion…

Freedom from Torture work with torture survivors from all over the world, providing a range of therapies, medical services and welfare and legal advice and support.

There was a need for two films – one to introduce John McCarthy on the 20th anniversary of his release from captivity in Lebanon and another to show what Freedom for Torture does and their need for continuing donations from their supporters.

Francesca and Fergus teamed up and dived into the BBC archives, plucking out every news story on John McCarthy, which would become a 2 minute intro montage to show the 1943 days he spent in captivity. They then joined Marika Chaplais at the FFT center and spent a day interviewing therapists and clients to produce a documentary on the great work the organisation does and why it is so important to support it now more than ever.

You can watch the films here and here.

‘The film about Freedom from Torture was beautifully shot and edited, and has been described as ‘moving, lucid and dignified’. It was all we wanted and more. It’s always tricky for us to find a way to express what we do here, yet Fergus and team managed to do this perfectly. I know that this powerful film will be a tool which we use for years to come.’

‘The film about John, which I have now watched a hundred times and still moves me to tears, was the perfect introduction to John’s speech, and has been spoken about much since.’

The films were screened at the BT tower, where the organisation raised more than £30,000 during a day of speeches, workshops and the opportunity to take a ‘flight’ up to the top of the tower to view London.

So impressed with Freedom From Torture, Fergus is swimming 10k down the River Dart in September to support their cause. He hopes to raise £1000, and you can help him to do it, by clicking here.