Popping-in?

Our studio is filled with light and music.
There are multiple meeting rooms, a well stocked kitchen, and an indoor garden (with fishpond). Talk to us about access needs, environmental factors and any accommodations we might make to enhance your visit. Pop-in for tea and stay to use a spare desk for as long as you need.

11 Greenwich Centre Business Park,
53 Norman Road, Greenwich
London SE10 9QF

Cog is a Certified B Corporation

Public transport

We’re next to Greenwich train and DLR station. We have a door right on the concourse but it’s different to our postal address. Find us via: what3words.com/hungry.means.author

From Greenwich rail platform

This video shows the route to take from the train that will arrive at Greenwich rail station from London Bridge. There's a gentle slope next to the staircase.

From Greenwich DLR station

This video shows the route to take from the DLR that will arrive at Greenwich DLR station from Bank. There's a lift at the platform level if that's useful.

By car

If you have to come by car, we have a couple of parking spaces. We have a charging point that you are welcome to use if you have an electric car. Call ahead and we'll make sure the spaces are free. Use our postcode (SE10 9QF) to guide you in.

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you. Use whichever medium works best for you.

11 Greenwich Centre Business Park,
53 Norman Road, Greenwich
London SE10 9QF

Cog is a Certified B Corporation

New project enquiry

It's exciting to chat about potential new projects. We don't have a ‘sales’ team or a form to fill in. Call us or give us a little detail via email and we'll get straight back to you.

[email protected]

Website support

If you're a client then you'll be best served by calling us or contacting us via ClickUp, otherwise you can use this dedicated email that reaches all of the digital team.

[email protected]

Finance questions

This email hits the inboxes of the people who deal with our bookkeeping and finances.

[email protected]

Just want a chat?

Sometimes enquiries don't fall neatly under a heading, do they?

[email protected]

Cultural Calendar

A round-up of recommendations and reviews, sent on the first Friday of each month, topped-off with a commissioned image from a talented new illustrator. Sign-up and tell your friends.

Sign me up Cultural Calendar

Cog News

An irregular update of activity from our studio. Showing off about great new projects, announcements, job opportunities, that sort of thing. Sign-up and tell your friends.

Sign me up Cog News

BFI Film Shorts

BFI Film Shorts

October’s Cog Night was remote and virtual. A welcome chance to spend more time with each other outside of work hours, without having to worry about catching the last bus home.

Given that it took place during London Film Festival, Lily thought it was only right to curate a selection of BFI shorts, including a number from this year’s festival and a couple of favourites from the BFI archive.

Here’s what we watched:

See It Say It  
A nightmare of terror unravels when a struggling actor is confronted with a stranger’s prejudice whilst commuting to an audition.

Quarantine
A post-Brexit pagan dance fantasy about a troupe of Morris-dancing badgers forced to confront the animals quarantined in a facility built above their burrow.

Stomach Bug
A disturbing unravelling of a single father struggling to cope with empty nest syndrome as it begins to manifest physically.

Mother’s Day 
A space-loving boy navigates a new world after his mum suffers a mental health crisis.

Uki 
A short stop-frame animation following a lonely Inuit who struggles to survive after an oil tanker leaks oil off the coast of Alaska, killing all the wildlife in the area.

Magic Candies 
Dong-Dong tries some magic sweets with startling results.

_____

Below are reviews from Coggers that participated in the virtual screening.

(Spoilers ahead)

Laura Marshall

Quarantine – Astrid Goldsmith

A troupe of Morris-dancing badgers live a comfortable existence in the shadows of an animal quarantine compound built above their burrow. But this badger-only troupe is dying out as it struggles to recruit new members, living in fear of contamination from the animals above. That is until the youngest badger breaks rank and strays into the compound, making new friends and securing the future of the troupe at the same time.

I loved Astrid Goldsmith’s Quarantine for its clear pro-immigrant, anti-Brexit message – and the dancing badgers, of course! The fabric animals were charming and the jolly folk music worked well as a counterpoint to the darker elements of the story ( incarceration, trafficking, intolerance, racism). Ultimately, it was a hopeful tale, as the younger badger defied the status quo, confronted his fear of the ‘other’ and encouraged his elders to help free the caged animals, learning from each other’s musical traditions and securing the future of the Morris dancing troupe at the same time. We really are stronger together.

Laura's home set up, with badger. Laura's home set up, with badger.

Marta Guerrini

Stomach bug – Matty Crawford

Matty Crawford’s Stomach Bug stands out in this year’s Film Festival 2024 Shorts program, Sleepless Nights. This theme resonates powerfully with the film, which navigates the realms of drama and body horror. Amidst its unsettling atmosphere, Crawford skillfully weaves in emotional depth, exploring a father’s struggle with the passage of time and the shifting dynamics of his relationship with his only daughter.

The story begins in a hospital where Manny, despite having an unusually enlarged stomach, is reassured by the doctor that he has only a stomach bug. However, the next 15 minutes reveal a far more complex reality. Manny grapples with a mysterious malaise that gnaws at him from within. As the tension mounts, he finds it increasingly difficult to connect with his daughter, who seems disengaged during their phone calls.

In a poignant final call, Manny reluctantly decides to give her the space she craves. At the same time, he finds himself racing back to the hospital as his condition deteriorates. This affliction, invisible to those around him, symbolises his internal struggle, and as viewers, we become deeply invested in his physical transformation, which reminds us of Alien and The Substance.

Stomach Bug is a haunting experience, not for the faint of stomach, but it will resonate with anyone who has grappled with the passage of time and the evolving nature of familial bonds.

Mark Williams

Uki – Ieuan Lewis and George Warren

Uki was a short animated film in which a lonely man and his dog experience the struggles of life when oil spills onto the coast of Alaska. This non-verbal short film provides a great insight into the effects of pollution, which sees the man hunting for food in the only place he can, the oil-spoiled sea.

In a moment of despair, the man imagines throwing himself into the sea, where he is eaten by a whale. In the whale’s stomach, he finds a fish barking with the voice of his dog. Snapping out of his vision, the man comes to the realisation that there is no other option but to eat his dog and remain alone.

Emma picked up a bag of pick n mix to enhance the home cinema experience (which she was advised not to eat while watching Stomach Bug). Emma picked up a bag of pick n mix to enhance the home cinema experience (which she was advised not to eat while watching Stomach Bug).
Magic Candies, suitable for the whole family. Magic Candies, suitable for the whole family.

Lily Sammells

Magic Candies – Daisuke Nishio

Magic Candies manages to hit a perfect balance between lighthearted humour and stirring poignancy. It also is one of the least bleak of the selection, which is why I chose it as the final film.

This short perfectly captures the complexities of communication and empathy. Through a touch of magical realism, it draws a parallel between the extraordinary effort required to converse with typically silent objects—a sofa, a falling leaf—and the courage it takes to engage with a stranger.

Entertaining, relatable and moving, Magic Candies is a heartwarming watch I’d recommend for both children and adults alike.

Sadly, the BFI film festival shorts are no longer available to stream via their website – but I strongly recommend a deep dive into their fascinating (and free) archive.


Illustration by José Fernández Villamayor for our Cultural Calendar.