“The film offered the possibility to create an immersive world from a long time ago, to develop this world from isolation to a love story, without relying on music and dialogue.”

Focusing on sound and dialogue and avoiding the extensive use of music increased the importance of sound recording on set. Johnnie Burn disclosed how around filming he’d go to the location to study the natural sounds, work with and build on them later in the process.

“The sound in ‘Ammonite’ was steeped in realism… the stronger we made that immersion, the deeper and more credible the experience would be for the viewer.” – Johnnie Burn

“This period was just before the days of photography, so you’re putting yourself in that historical position and asking yourself questions about what you see and hear, and building the world through that” – Francis Lee

In terms of the mixing and sound editing of the music, it's incredibly intricate. How did that process come about?

(Trey): Yeah, it was intricate and a long process that started in the editing phase. I got to work with Johnnie Burn, he's our sound designer, and his whole team. Sound work doesn't get much better, in my opinion. It was a dream to work with him. He and his team have worked on some of my favourite movies.

So much of the sound in this movie felt like it could be worked on forever, because we could experiment a great deal. The only limit was time, you know? It was really, really fun. We finished sound mixing after playing the film at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals – right before we played at the London Film Festival, actually. At that point, it was like, 'OK, I think we should stop'.

Both some music and the sound in The Killing of a Sacred Deer are credited to Johnnie Burn (who did the sound design for Under the Skin as well as some of the music for The Lobster), and there’s good reason for that; the musical score and sound design are fully intertwined.

The loud and abrasive score is made up of screeching violins, buzzing synthesizers, and thumping percussion, so it basically functions as an atonal soundscape. There are some more traditional sound effects throughout, and even some more traditional music (at one point, Raffey Cassidy’s Kim sings a chilling acapella version of Ellie Goulding’s “Burn”), but the most memorable and fascinating parts are when the music and sound combine into one big cacophonous mess. It’s genius.

2019 Nominee Golden Reel Award. Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Sound Effectsand Foley for Feature Film.

Disturbing. Discordant. Often unnecessarily so. In an early scene in “The Favourite,” we slowly become aware that there’s a steady thrumming, thumping noise on the soundtrack. Occasionally there’s an urgency to it, as if it were warning us of some upcoming shock, but mostly it’s just there: constant and annoying and taking us out of the movie. To me, it sounds like a headache. It’s classic Yorgos.

The Lobster portrays a love story set in a dystopian future where single people are arrested and forced to find a mate within 45 days. Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman, Lea Seydoux and John C. Reilly star in the production.

"We’re extremely excited for Yorgos, Johnnie and the hardworking team that worked on the film, and we can’t wait to see how it goes down at the festival."