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Creativepool Annual 2020 Spotlight: Breaking bread with the Big Buoys

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As part of our series shining a spotlight on Creativepool Annual winners from last year, we sat down with post-production specialists Big Buoy, the studio that claimed two top places in last year’s annual.

Their big win was for post-production on the stunning “Dragon Challenge” campaign for Jaguar Land Rover, which followed the first vehicle to ever drive up the famous Heaven’s Gate steps in China. They also claimed a people’s choice award for their slick “AI” work for Lexus.

We discussed the campaigns that found them favour with our judges and community last year and picked their brains on their hopes for this year and what they’ve been up to recently, as well as their thoughts on the Annual and creatives awards in general.

How did you find out about the Creativepool Annual initially?

Word of mouth! A client (and friend) mentioned it to us, we looked it up and two years later here we are!

Where do you keep your copy of the 2019 Annual?

In our awards cabinet! The colours pop amongst the shine of our other wins and we also make sure to keep an annual on each of our coffee tables so our staff and clients can see our success and also the successes of other companies in 2019.

How does it feel to have essentially dominated the Post Production category, taking both the Gold and Bronze People's Choice awards?

Seeing work which so many people have put their all into-agency, production and of course, post-get the merit it deserves is a truly humbling feeling. Winning two awards on one night was the cherry on the cake!

Can you tell us a little about your winning entries? (The “Dragon Challenge” for Jaguar Land Rover and “AI” for Lexus)

Colin Sumsion - MD & Chief Big Chop Editor: “When first embarking on the Dragon Challenge project we decided that it was a necessity for myself to be on set in China allowing me to soak up the atmosphere and culture, really helping me to tell the story of this amazing venture. With this being the first time I’d worked with Sam Brown (of production company Carnage) it was noticeable from the get-go that we were working in a very interesting and distinctive way for this particular edit. After reading the script, Sam decided that the best way to realise the script was to team up with Documentary specialist Tom Barbor-Might. I began working with Tom first after he had finished the paper edit of the translated Chinese and English interviews. Together we created a structure from the interviews of the challenge, all the incredible characters, our driver and the support team. We then faced a problem (albeit a good one); both Sam and Tom had done such an amazing job in capturing an abundance of quality footage. Now the task was to know what to leave out, because the people and the actual challenge was so engaging that we could have produced a 15-minute film. Sam then came in to work with me on narrowing down these incredible car shots and show the remarkable Chinese landscape and to create the overall pace and feel. The creative team worked with us very early on in the process, this really helped us make the film quite special.

Big Buoy’s Music Composer, Nick Olsouzidis: “From the moment I saw the early offline edits, I realised this was not going to be your traditional car ad. The film had a dream-like quality to it and I wanted the music to convey a similar emotion. The challenge lay in creating a piece whereby the viewer reaches their own emotional destination in 60 seconds. The dream-like feel of the sequence, as opposed to a linear narration of events, contributes to the objectives of the creatives and the AI script algorithm. Overall, an amazing project to be a part of.

Will you be entering again this year? And if so, what are your hopes?

Yes! We’re really proud of our work on Rapha’s new campaign which we have entered into the post-production category. From a sound point of view, heavy breathing, fastening zips, rustling material and the strain of gears are all enhanced amidst various ambiances, emphasising the struggle and effort of the cyclists, whilst flaunting GORE-TEX’ strength and durability.

Meanwhile, from an editing aspect, Editor, Matthew Felstead comments, “From the beginning, Thibaut (the Director) was adamant that he didn't want to make a standard cycling film. The challenge lay in steering clear of the usual shots you would expect to see and trying to convey the relentless nature of cycling up a mountain through biblical weather, with abstract shots of rain demonstrating the Rapha jacket’s ability to deal with everything and keep the rider warm.

We can only hope these notions come across and the judges see an award-worthy winner.

What do you think it is about the Creativepool Annual that sets it apart from other awards within the creative industries?

Creativepool appeals to entrants from all backgrounds and niches, so it’s good to see the varied projects which we may have never seen before take home well-deserved wins.

On a more general level, do you think awards and award ceremonies are still an important part of the creative landscape?

Important work getting the recognition it deserves is something that will always be an important part of the creative landscape. Award shows can also act as a stage for important social and charitable work, giving it the platform it needs to raise awareness of important causes.

What are your hopes for 2020 and will you be attending the Annual launch party this year?

Of course! The Annual launch party is always fun and we always meet lots of interesting people within our ever-growing industry.

Submit your work today for the Creativepool Annual 2020. To enter your best work from 2019, to be included in the Annual 2020, click HERE and to nominate Agency/Brand, Newcomer, Influencer of the Year or Best Place to Work click HERE. Best of luck and we look forward to seeing you at the Annual launch party on May 28th.

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