Johnnie Burn

I would say the same for this movie as well.

We also have a brilliant sound design by Richard King and Johnny Burn.

And whew, man, you guys have to see this movie in the theaters.

And if you don't, make sure you're wearing some stereo headphones when you watch it because the, the sound effects and the soundscape of this film, they, you know, they're always there to enhance everything, a, a, a evoke a feeling, a mood, an atmosphere.

Keep the conversation going in the comments there.

But, um, I would highly suggest seeing it soon before it starts going on the streaming networks.

But if you wanna wait till then, wait till then, but make sure you are wearing some stereo headphones because that sound design, again by Richard King and Johnny Burn, was fantastic.

Uh, look, if we're going on a scale, one out of five shovels, I am giving Digger a 4.5 on that scale.

Uh-huh.

It was really good, and I saw Johnny Burn mentioned in the credits a few times.

He just won for The Zone of Interest.

So I don't know if that's like, if he would be, you know, the sole nominee for it.

While viewers watch the monotony of family life, the horror occurring behind the back fence plays out entirely on the soundtrack.

That unsettling soundscape was built by sound designer Johnny Byrne, who spent nearly a year compiling an archive of testimony, historical research, and field recordings to construct what became, in effect, a second unseen film running beneath the visible one.

Johnny earned the 2024 Academy Award for Best Sound for his work on the film, which has since been held up as a landmark in the use of sound as narrative in its own right.

In this episode of Masterpieces, Johnny reflects on that year building the soundscape, the effects it had on his personal life, and how his work on the film has shifted what directors now ask of him.