Big Buoy

Big Buoy was a Soho-based boutique post-production studio serving advertising agencies, commercial production companies and broadcast clients. Established around 2000, it specialised in visual effects, compositing, colour grading and commercial finishing, with work spanning advertising, television promos, music videos and digital brand content.

The studio combined creative and technical post-production capabilities, including Flame and Smoke compositing, CG and 3D effects, motion graphics, online editing and delivery. Its work supported projects from creative editorial through finishing, versioning and commercial play-out across multiple platforms.

An integrated post-production operation

Big Buoy worked alongside sister editorial business Big Chop to connect offline editing with online finishing. Audio recording and sound design capabilities were subsequently added under the Big Kahuna banner, broadening the services available within the combined operation. This arrangement supported an integrated approach to picture, sound and delivery for commercial campaigns.

Consolidation into Tag

Big Buoy operated within Williams Lea Tag, subsequently known as Tag. In August 2020, Tag retired Big Buoy and several other creative studio brands as part of the consolidation of its EMEA creative operations into Tag Collective Arts. Big Buoy therefore ceased operating as an independent brand; Tag Collective Arts represents the broader consolidated operation rather than a simple standalone rename of Big Buoy.

Dentsu acquired Tag in June 2023. The former Soho post-production facility closed in 2026 as Tag relocated its London staff into Dentsu’s UK corporate campus.