Johnnie Burn is a British Film Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer, renowned for his ability to create immersive and captivating soundscapes that elevate the cinematic experience. Collaborating with some of the most brilliant minds in cinema, Johnnie and his team create soundscapes that resonate with big artistic visions.
Recent achievements include the intricate and thought-provoking soundscape for Jonathan Glazers' THE ZONE OF INTEREST, winning the Prix CST de l'Artiste-technicien, the Cannes FIlm Festival Palm awarded for the best behind the camera achievement. Still under wraps is the emotionally charged audio landscape of Yorgos Lanthimos' POOR THINGS. Last year, Johnnie and his teams' masterful work on the enthralling and surreal soundscape for Jordan Peele’s NOPE not only garnered widespread acclaim from both cinephiles and casual moviegoers but also went on to win many prestigious awards for its extraordinary sound design.
His journey into the world of film began with the mesmerizing and avant-garde UNDER THE SKIN by Jonathan Glazer. This collaboration paved the way for a fruitful partnership with visionary director Yorgos Lanthimos, resulting in remarkable films such as THE LOBSTER (2015), THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER (2017), and the critically acclaimed THE FAVOURITE (2019). Johnnie's exceptional work on Trey Edward Shults’ WAVES (2019) and the evocative AMMONITE by Francis Lee further demonstrates his commitment to artistic excellence.
Before dedicating himself to film, Johnnie refined his skills by contributing to some of the most memorable ads and music videos of recent times. He has collaborated with esteemed artists imcluding Travis Scott, Madonna, Prince, George Michael, David Bowie, Richard Ashcroft, UNKLE, and The Spice Girls. Among other accomplishments, Johnnie designed the iconic sounds of SKYPE and continues to foster the development of the exceptionally talented team at Wave Studios, based in London, New York, and Amsterdam.
He is a member of MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors), AMPS (Association of Motion Picture Sound), and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)..
The Zone Of Interest
by Jonathan Glazer
Poor Things
by Yorgos Lanthimos
NOPE
by JORDAN PEELE
"What they've orchestrated as the soundscape of this film is otherworldly in a way so haunting that I literally had nightmares just about these sounds. Some of them come from terrestrial terrors, allowing Peele to suggest scenes of grisly violence without making a gruesome visual spectacle. Instead, off-camera attacks are seen in shrewd glimpses, but the violence hits hard because of the wet, pulpy thuds of the blows coming down. You don't need to see the blood when you can hear it." MASHABLE.COM
Here's How the Sound Design of 'Nope' Creates a "Creditable" Entity NO FILM SCHOOL
"Sound design so good it'll make you say #Nope!" @SLASHFILM
" “Nope” has been hand-tooled for the kind of presentation you can only get in a real theater — preferably Imax, to take full advantage of the film’s striking production design and eerie sound mix, which ranges from a thunderous, cinderblock-shaking roar to the kind of hush that isn’t so much a stillness as a sonic vacuum: the kind of silence in which you hear nothing but your own heartbeat. Kudos to sound designer Johnnie Burn"" THE WASHINGTON POST
Ammonite is fiercely sensorial. Johnnie Burn’s sound design wraps the protagonists’ world in the unrelenting coastal winds and crashing white water that drags through the shore’s shingle - SIGHT & SOUND REVIEW
Johnnie Burn’s sound design, too, is thoroughly in sync with the characters — at a painfully suspenseful moment, a referee’s whistle splinters the air like a death knell — and a propulsive soundtrack of vintage and contemporary songs infuses and drives the twinned narratives, lending some sequences a modern operatic sensibility - THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
the killing of a sacred deer
by YORGOS LANTHIMOS
There is a fantastic sound design in The Killing of a Sacred Deer from Johnnie Burn, who, along with his musical team, create an immense atmosphere of chilling horror, intense psychological musings, and euphoric orchestral releases, that become the emotional cues for the viewer to be engulfed b - UK FILM REVIEW
THE FAVOURITE
by YORGOS LANTHIMOS
Johnnie made a short about the Super immersive Sound Design and mix of THE FAVOURITE, watch it here
While this film could have been played very straight from a sound perspective, you and your team made a lot of bold sound design decisions that really lead the narrative. Can you talk about those decisions? Interview with Korey Pereira at DESIGNING SOUND
Other
Skype - Sound Design of the Skype Login/ringtones etc Sound palette Madonna 'Music' - by Jonas AkerlundDavid Bowie 'Thursday's Child' - by Walter SternThe Dead Weather 'Treat Me Like Your Mother' - by Jonathan GlazerThe Fat Slags - Slags At LargeThe Spice Girls 'Say You'll Be There' by Vaughn Arnell
contact
johnnie@wavestudios.co.uk