How ‘Tuner’ Sound Designer Johnnie Burn Used Dolby Atmos to Mimic Hyperacusis

Johnnie Burn, the Oscar-winning sound designer behind “Hamnet” and “The Zone of Interest,” found Daniel Roher’s “Tuner” to be one of his most personal projects to date.

In the film, Leo Woodall plays Niki, an expert piano tuner with acutely sensitive hearing that is sometimes debilitating — in fact, it’s one reason Niki hasn’t chased his dreams of being a pianist. But it’s perfect for his profession, and he finds out that it’s perfect for safecracking too. But Niki gets in too deep with a gang of thieves as he becomes involved in a lovely relationship with gifted musician and composer Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu). Oscar-winning documentarian Daniel Roher (“Nalavany”) takes viewers on a thrill ride centered on hyperacusis, a rare condition that affects one’s hearing.

Burn tells Variety he experienced a mild version of hyperacusis in his late teens. “People who suffer from it chronically go through a devastating experience of not being able to possibly recover or go outside. I had this situation where I witnessed an explosion, and I went 100% deaf for about 20 minutes. When my hearing came back, I had hyperacusis and extreme sensitivity to everyday sounds.”

When Burn received the script, his first response was, “I know what this is.” His next step was researching what this world sounded like. To understand that soundscape, Burn had microphones placed inside his eardrums and went about his daily life. “I was recording things from my ears’ point of view, and playing it back later to understand what things become fairly loud that your brain would normally dial out because they’re not threatening, such as putting a pan in the dishwasher or even a shower tap — everyday sounds that can break through.”

The goal was to teach audiences how Niki interacts with his environment and what the dangers are. Burn worked to create various sound levels, including one from Niki’s point of view that allowed audiences to understand his world and another where Niki has ear defenders on, which help restrict sound. One example Burn gives is when Niki sits at a traffic light and a motorbike comes alongside him. “That’s really about teaching the audience that there are these different states in which he can be listening to things,” Burn adds. “The aim was to have the audience experience it alongside him, which is obviously with hyperacusis. It’s not like deafness or anything. It’s a situation where everyday sounds can become dangerously loud for you.”

Burn drove that home in the Dolby mix of the film, pushing the sound design. He and Roher sat in the mix, fine-tuning every decibel. “The different points of view of Niki’s hearing were a fundamental part of whether or not the film worked. I believe we cracked that. The Dolby Atmos mix was a further development of that because it gave us the ability to predominantly play sound at a much greater volume all around us.”