Howard Audio

Howard Audio is an award-winning, 3-studio facility based at Ministry Of Illusion, Bryanston, JHB. Our services include – music composition, audio final mix, album production, arrangements, sound design and musical direction for corporate Events.

Johannesburg

Owner, Composer & Final Mix Engineer: Adam Howard
Head of Production: Belinda Howard

Awarded by IDIDTHAT

Take a look at the interactive website for the full experience http://theforgottengraduate.co.za/

CRAFT  MENTION (ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUND DESIGN & FINAL MIX)
Howard Audio | Adam Howard
PPS Insurance ‘Finding the Forgotten Graduate’ (Campaign)

IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Ana Rocha, Executive Creative Director at VMLY&R
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Amy Allais, Director at Ola! Films

Ana’s comment: ‘Finding the Forgotten Graduate. Adam’s amazing sound design and composition creates the sublime feeling of having read a great book, so much craft in shaping the story, in the warm texture of the narrator…beautiful.’

Amy’s comment: ‘This is such important work. Our history will go untold unless research like this is done, and it’s a rare and beautiful thing to see it presented in such an engrossing way. The actual idea behind the project is inspired, and the website is beautifully put together. The music and sound design underpins the stories in a way that doesn’t draw attention to itself but is so effective. It really brought these forgotten, inspiring figures to life.’

AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (ORIGINAL MUSIC & FINAL MIX)
Howard Audio | Adam Howard
KFC ‘Sitcom’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Bruno Bossi, Director and Owner of Carbon Films
September 2021

Bruno’s Comment: ‘(I did this…But Adam really did it.) The Jingle is dead, Long Live the Jingle! And who better to serve it up than the King of the Jingle, Adam Howard. The brief was “Make a jingle for a KFC Sitcom with Delivery as the theme.” And he nailed it. End of story.’

AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (ORIGINAL MUSIC, FINAL MIX & SOUND DESIGN)
Howard Audio | Adam Howard (Original Music and Final Mix)
Howard Audio | Paul Theodorou (Sound Design)
Momentum ‘Giant’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Anton Visser, Director and Co-owner at Patriot Films.
May 2021

Anton’s Comment: ‘As a piece of music this is well-crafted, emotive and dynamic. Great light and shade, pulling you along, taking you up and down. I had it as an Mp3 in my car and every time I heard it I was impressed by the musical phrasing, the changes in tempo, and the shifting mood. I like the analogue treatment, too, which gives it a warmer and more human feeling.’

AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (ORIGINAL MUSIC & FULL POST)
Howard Audio | Adam Howard (Original Music)
Strangelove (Full Post) | Kobus Loots (Edit), Nic Apostoli (Grade), Charmaine Greyling & Darian Simon (VFX)
Chicken Licken ‘Easy Bucks Campaign’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Kabelo Moshapalo, ECD at TBWA Hunt Lascaris
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Marc Algranti, EP / Music Supervisor at Pulse Music
February 2020

Kabelo’s Comment: “None of this is possible without the slick editing by Kobus Loots, the beautiful grade by Nic Apostoli, as well as the true to form visual effects Charmaine Greyling and Darian Simon. Gold standard post-production from Strangelove. Last but not least Adam Howard you can take a bow, the original music from Howard Audio provides the appropriate soundscape to round off the high production value of the campaign.”

AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (AUDIO BRANDING/MNEMONIC CREATION)
Howard Audio | Adam Howard
Consol Glass ‘Audio Branding for Consol Glass’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Roanna Williams, ECD at Black River FC
January 2020

Judge’s Comment: “There was only one entry in this category. However, this mnemonic for Consol Glass created by Adam Howard deserves a special mention. The process he went through to create this two second mnemonic is inspiring. It’s a lesson in going the extra mile. Something we don’t see that often anymore. Well done! True audio passion.”

AWARDED: CRAFT MENTION (ORIGINAL MUSIC & FINAL MIX)
Howard Audio
Chicken Licken ‘Soul Sisters; Father and Son’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Claudi Potter, CD at Joe Public United
June 2019

Judges Comment: “The comic timing on this particular spot is really great, and I love the way the music and the performances work together – not just to get a smile from the audience, but to make us connect with this father and son in a more emotional way.”

AWARDED: BEST IN CRAFT (ORIGINAL MUSIC)
Howard Audio
Allan Gray ‘Father’s Share’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Stuart Stobbs Chief Creative Officer at 1886 Advertising
June 2018

Judges Comment: “Cinematically-styled, beautifully melodic warm jazz tones that truly add to the power of this story, punctuating its lows and highs. So often music is laid down as an afterthought – how refreshing to hear it build and flow perfectly with this narrative. Excellent work Howard Audio.”

AWARDED: BEST IN CRAFT (MUSIC PRODUCTION OF A RE-RECORD)
Howard Audio
MTN ‘Night Shift’
IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at Grey Africa Johannesburg
December 2016

Judges Comment: “Best of Reel goes to both Upstairs Ludus and to Howard Audio because the craft is so seamless here that it would be impossible to judge them separately. The cutting pace gives the story a groove that carries the viewer effortlessly from one scene to the next. It’s to the credit of the editing that the ad maintains an infectious rhythm without ever turning into a Busby Barkeley extravaganza (Google it, millennials!) Even the dance at the bus stop is handled deftly, with combinations of long shots, cutaways and different angles, so it never becomes A Big Flashy Number.
When it comes to take selection, there isn’t a shot here that jars or is out of keeping with the rhythm of the piece. I particularly loved the subtlety of the “sideways glance and shoulder-shimmy” at 0:53 and the way it punctuates the build-up.
This could so easily have been cheesy and heavy-handed… some guy who can’t hold a tune serenading his mate Marvin. But the instigator’s voice is blended into the mix almost immediately as the music takes over, and takes us into complete feel-good territory. It’s a great choice of song and the re-record flawlessly captures its groove and its emotive power. I enjoy the way the incidental noises are used as beats in the music to punctuate the melody: witness the musical timing of the cut to the passport controller calling “Next.” And the close harmonies on the chorus made me get goosebumps (but then I am a big girly softy..).
I really like this ad. It’s a welcome return to form for MTN.”

Featured Work 

IDIDTHAT Editorial

IDIDTHAT partners with Howard Audio to bring South Africa all the Cannes Lions news 2023

June 9th, 2023|Comments Off on IDIDTHAT partners with Howard Audio to bring South Africa all the Cannes Lions news 2023

The countdown to Cannes Lions 2023 has begun. As always IDIDTHAT will be the ultimate source of all the South African news live from Cannes. This year, IDIDTHAT has joined forces with Howard Audio led by Cannes veteran Adam Howard. Howard Audio is the perfect partner for Cannes, having previously won Gold, Silver and Bronzes at Cannes, the company understands the importance of supporting our Saffas nominated on the international stage.

New immersive sound studio at Howard Audio, giant leap for sound in South Africa

December 9th, 2022|Comments Off on New immersive sound studio at Howard Audio, giant leap for sound in South Africa

In the past two years we’ve seen so much expanding from Howard Audio it’s been hard to keep up! Besides Adam Howard being ranked the top music Composer and Supervisor in 2020 at the Loeries, he’s also made some major moves for South Africa’s sound industry. First it was a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 studio and now Adam has collaborated with heavy-hitter Robin Kohl of Jazzworx to build a new immersive sound recording studio unlike we have ever seen. So obviously we have questions, four to be exact.

Howard Audio goes back in time to alter the future in ‘Finding the Forgotten Graduate’ campaign

October 18th, 2022|Comments Off on Howard Audio goes back in time to alter the future in ‘Finding the Forgotten Graduate’ campaign

‘Finding the Forgotten Graduate’ is a massive ten-part digital storytelling campaign that takes us back in time to honour the pioneering intellectuals whose stories have almost entirely been omitted from our history books. Howard Audio was responsible for crafting the composition, sound-design and final-mix of the audio for this groundbreaking project and thanks to him and the whole team involved, the rest is history.