Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512183
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 43 classical music, but now we had a composer to do that. Now as we speak, I'm actually working on his next film as well. Korey: Is there anything else you are excited about on the horizon? Johnnie: Yeah, I'm definitely excited about Yorgos' next film. It has more subjective sound design than The Favourite and Poor Things. I'd say it's more in line with The Killing of a Sacred Deer. There is another project upcoming with the same director as Ammonite. It's an absolutely beautiful story. Sound tells a story outside the room that these people are in. Korey: I see you have a growing roster of directors that you have a positive relationship with and work with them again and again. What kind of advice do you have for folks to foster that kind of relationship with a director? Johnnie: I think a director definitely has to trust you. The mistake I made earlier in my career was thinking it was important for me to get all my sound design in the film. It isn't. You have to figure out what the director is trying to achieve narratively and make sure you are matching their vision with your sound. That's more important than being technically good. Korey: Let's talk about Under the Skin. It sounds like more than one director has hired you after hearing your work on that film. What is it about that film that people identify with? Johnnie: Under the Skin uses sound in an unnaturally heightened way with more importance than your average film. I think the key to that is Jonathan Glazer's understanding of how sound can tell a story. I went out and recorded as many unusual things as possible and really went on a voyage of discovery, which I did for months. I explored Glasgow and all the different locations in the film and ended up with thousands of hours, literally, of recordings. Many of them were of people talking out in the world. This gave me the ability to draw on a pool of sound that was definitely unique and unusual. That combined with Jonathan Glazer's ability to sit there and edit it with me and understand the motivation of every single scene, and to subtly dial in the nuance of the soundtrack is what made it sound so great. We then went through the whole film and would see if there was anything that wasn't doing anything for the narrative and got rid of it. I think people really respond to how well manicured the sound is. Korey: Have you rewatched Under the Skin since working on it? Johnnie: No, but my son is 16 and is just starting film studies. One of the three films they are studying is Under the Skin. So, I'll watch it with him then. I'm really looking forward to watching it with fresh ears a decade later.