Brains?

Pogo Interview

Operating out of Perth, Pogo must be one of the most exciting up-and-comers in the state today. Creator of adjective-defying earworms and ?????!! short films. You can find him at YouTube or Last.fm. Brains? is honored to have Pogo as our first guest.

BRAINS?: Can you please introduce yourself, name, age, vital statistics, hobbies, hopes, dreams.

POGO: I was born in Capetown, South Africa in 1988. I’m 21 come this July, love making music, and aspire to writing and directing films that excite, inspire and move people.

I’ve had a fascination with music for as long as I can remember. When I was twelve, I started making music using the Playstation game ‘Music 2000′. I’d record my tracks to cassette tape and listen to them at my own leisure. It wasn’t long before I climbed the ladder, when I discovered the power of sampling and software sequences.

My first major inspiration was the work of Marc Sinclair, a.k.a Akufen. I was utterly impressed by his ability to mash hundreds of different sounds into a completely new and enjoyable piece of music.

Soon, I was trying this myself and adapting the concept to my own style. Today, I find it as exhilarating and rewarding as I did when I started, and making music remains a hobby of mine that I don’t think I’ll ever let go.

Because I compose my tracks using sounds that I record from various sources, it’s very rare that I have something in mind to begin with. This is why it’s critical to find sounds that I love individually. I don’t think it’s sufficient to just find sounds that I deem usable, like a single note, or a distinct chord. They have to be sounds that I really like and find inspiring. I think that’s what sampling is all about – hearing something you love, no matter how short, and forming it into something bigger, more inspiring and more enjoyable. In the case of sampling from a single film, it’s about capturing what I love about that film as well.

My ultimate rule of thumb in any field of work is this: If you can’t love it, no one else will. From concept to completion, you have to listen very carefully to your own tastes. You are your most important critic, listener and viewer.

The three major applications that have never let me down are Audition for sampling, FLStudio for sequencing and Vegas for video editing. I think a misconception that some folks make is that my videos dictate their tracks, when in actual fact it’s the other way around. Sampling and sequencing always comes first. Once I’m satisfied with my track, it’s then a matter of hunting down the segments of video that correspond to those samples and using them to create the video for the track.

Alice began life as a product of my hobby and free-time. It existed only on my iPod, and the only person who ever listened to it was myself on my bus trips to Perth and back, long before I even considered making a video for it. I could listen to it over and over again without becoming bored or irritated. I enjoyed listening to a lot, and I think the ability to do that is critical for any composer.

‘Out With It’ was a short film I wrote and directed in 2007. My inspiration came from such films as ‘Children Of Men’ and ‘Cube’, both of which I think create a wonderful sense of real time that I thoroughly enjoy. I wanted to create a situation that people could identify with, and encompass it within a larger, more uncommon situation. My idea was to pit a dysfunctional couple against an unexpected and bizarre tragedy. I toyed with several ideas as to what the tragedy could be, before deciding it would best remain a mystery. The question ‘What is everyone running from?’ pops up frequently, and while I don’t have an answer myself, it brings me great satisfaction to know that my film engages viewers to that degree.

BRAINS?: Please describe your ideal collaborator. What would this person be able to do?

POGO: My ideal collaborator would be someone whose tastes in music not only align with my own, but open my eyes to new areas of experimentation as well. A regular input of creative energy is critical, and different colours and textures can make something good into something amazing.

BRAINS?: Are there any artists/creators in Perth whose work you like?

There’s a chap by the name of Burleigh Smith who lectures at the SAE Institute here in Perth whose knowledge of script-writing and film-making has never ceased to impress me. He has proven himself a film-maker to watch closely with his films ‘Mere Oblivion’ and ‘Gentle Persuasion’, and continues to be an inspiration to both his students and myself.

Finally, could you provide some links to work you find inspiring from around the net?

This is an animated short film by Andrew Huang I found particularly impressive. It’s striking, thought-provoking, and very well made. Worth a watch.