If you’re watching one of the many recent creative gems from a U.K. ad agency, chances are you’re seeing–and hearing–the work of Wave Recording Studios, a London sound design and audio post shop, headed up by co-owners/creative directors Johnnie Burn and Warren Hamilton. The shop’s work is on display in the latest creative breakthrough from Guinness and AMV BBDO, London. Daniel Kleinman of Kleinman Productions, London, directed the latest epic for the brew, called “Noitulove”–evolution spelled backwards. The spot features a group of men in a pub, sidling up to the bar to enjoy their Guinness. Suddenly the spot rewinds back in time, to an era when the pub-goers were a part of the primordial ooze–a long, but worthwhile wait, for a Guinness.
Burn, who served as audio mixer on the spot, noted that Wave has done every Guinness spot for AMV BBDO since collaborating with creatives Walter Campbell and Tom Carty on the iconic “Surfer” spot back in 1998–before Wave even officially had its own place of business. (Carty is now a director with Gorgeous Enterprises, London, while Campbell is a principal in London agency Campbell Doyle Dye.) Burn recalled that he worked on the Jonathan Glazer-directed “Surfer” in a borrowed space at London post house Glassworks.
Indeed Wave has come a long way since officially opening in 1999 with seven employees. Today, the shop has 23 staffers, including a core of engineers/sound designers comprising Shippy Boora, Alex Hubbard, Tony Rapaccioli, Aaron Reynolds, Jack Sedgwik and Parv Thind. Last month, the shop formally launched what it calls Bite rooms, areas where clients can access Wave’s talent without incurring studio expense. “It’ll give clients what they’ve been wanting for ages–the freedom to experiment with ideas without clock-watching,” related Hamilton, who adds that use of a Bite room, which serves as a “sound lab,” is considerably less expensive than booking studio time. He reported that even before officially launching, the rooms, which were ready over the summer, have proved popular with agencies.
THE WORK
Wave has worked on several award-winning spots, including the last two Grand Prix winners at the Cannes International Advertising Festival: Honda’s “Grrr” out of Wieden + Kennedy, London, and directed by Smith & Foulkes of Nexus Productions, London; and Sony PlayStation’s “Mountain” via TBWA/London, and directed by Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises, London.
Wave has also done some U.S. fare, starting with Levi’s “Stampede,” out of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York. “Stampede” was directed by Jorn Haagen and produced by Academy Films, London. Hamilton related that Wave initially began working with U.S. agencies on jobs that were directed by European helmers, and posted in London. He and Burn enjoy working with U.S. shops–they are about to embark on a Cadillac job out of Leo Burnett USA, Detroit–which begs the question, does Wave plan to open in the U.S.? “Not yet,” said Hamilton. “That’s to be continued,” adding on a more serious note that he and Burn are mulling the possibility of expansion.
And, while the shop continues to focus on advertising work, it does branch out at times. “Our mainstay of work is advertising,” affirmed Hamilton. “But, now as Wave is expanding, [we’re] experimenting, branching out to custom-write music, to work in other markets as well as viral ads.”
On the spot front, Wave is keeping busy. Recent credits include the visual spectacle “Balls” for Sony out of Fallon, London, and directed by Nicolai Fuglsig of bicoastal/international MJZ. The commercial features the streets of San Francisco filled with multi-colored bouncing balls of all sizes. The studio also worked on “Under My Skin,” an anti-smoking spot from the British Heart Foundation and agency COI/Lowe, London. (Budgen helmed the ad, which features disturbing images of blood clots forming in smokers’ bodies.) The shop also worked on the National Society to Prevent Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) spot “Talk Til It Stops” from Saatchi & Saatchi, London, with directors Smith & Foulkes.
