Ren Klyce, Richard King, Ai-ling Lee, and Johnnie Burn are among are greatest artisans working today. Here’s why.
Chris O’Falt, Sarah Shachat, Jim Hemphill, Bill Desowitz
December 8, 2023
IndieWire
George Lucas once said, “The sound and music are 50 percent of the entertainment in a movie.” It’s a quote you hear many pay lip service to, but the reality is that’s not how we think about movies. If it was, then sound masters like Ren Klyce, Richard King, Ai-ling Lee, and Johnnie Burn would be household names in the filmmaking world.
There is one group, though, that lives by Lucas’ words: fellow great directors. Filmmakers like David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Glazer, Greta Gerwig, and Bradley Cooper think of their movies in terms of sound and build it into their process, from conception through post, and seek out aural masters like Klyce, King, Lee, and Burn.
In reviewing the year in sound design, the IndieWire craft staff was near unanimous on the year’s very best, quickly zeroing in on these five titles.
The Fincher Analyst 