Make Some Noise for Big Kahuna: The Audio Under-Dogs You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

With an extensive portfolio developed over the past six years, you’ll have undoubtedly heard Big Kahuna’s work across a multitude of media outlets: from TV, to cinema, radio, digital and social. The five-strong team of sound engineers and music composers has been quietly plugging away, kind of under the radar, just doing their thing… until now. 

Big Kahuna launches this Wednesday, 31st July, headed up by Scott Little, Jenny Standish and Colin Sumsion (pictured above).

The name ‘Big Kahuna’ actually goes back to its original Hawaiian roots, meaning either ‘one who practices an art or profession with mastery’ or, ‘a very big-assed wave.’ Big Kahuna is an extension of award-winning post-production house, Big Buoy, of which they previously shared a name. Exclusively running Pro Tools on the AVID S6 console, the studios and team boast a comprehensive list of capabilities including sound design, music composition, voice, ADR, foley, and location recording, 5.1 Digital Cinema mixing, and foreign broadcast versioning. 

The team lists Nike, Heineken, Bose, L’Oréal and Rolls Royce among its expansive client list and has worked with agencies such as Havas, The&Partnership and Spark44, and broadcasters such as Sky and Channel 4.

But, being seen as an in-house studio, they’ve been up against it, fighting to get themselves noticed amongst the other horses in the race. Scott Little, head of audio, comments: “Being the underdog, or under-horse, if that’s a thing, drives us even harder.” 

Scott continues to explain the benefits of casting a wider net: “We’re engaged as early as the pitch and storyboard stage, working closely with agencies, directors, and production companies from the very beginning. We’re also fortunate to be involved in projects as they develop in post, collaborating with our editors and VFX artists. The five of us are composers as well as sound designers so this is an ideal position to be in, both for ourselves and the project. It’s allowed us audio geeks to gain a great insight and respect for the entire process, from start to finish.”

But of course, in this game, behind every great craftsman there is a dedicated producer at the reigns, keeping everything and everyone in check. 

With over 16 years’ experience across multiple audio houses, Jenny Standish is the perfect candidate to head up Big Kahuna’s exceptional production team, facilitating voice over casting and directing, Source Connect and TBU/Skype link-ups, as well as sourcing international studios. 

Jenny comments: “My previous experience in audio post-production has allowed me to not only develop my knowledge, but to bring other areas of expertise, for example casting, into fruition. Joining Big Kahuna is the best decision of my career to date: to work with the audio department and the rest of the team here at Big Buoy has allowed me to explore new ideas and ways of working.” 

Big Buoy MD, Colin Sumsion, adds: “Scott and his fantastic team have been overlooked for far too long. It’s time to release them into the world!” 

Boasting three audio suites with voice over booths, all the SFX and plug-in bells and whistles, and, of course, a bar, Big Kahuna is located within Big Buoy’s central Soho post-production studio, where a launch party will be hosted on Wednesday evening.