“Sound is a really important part of how I make movies because I always tell people that if the sound is good and the picture is bad, then you’ll stick around to see what happens. However, if the sound is terrible and the picture is great, you’re out of there in like ten minutes. So sound is something that I always cherish. And I think that the right filmmaker who appreciates sound can really take advantage of what we think about and use, you know, the viewer’s imagination. A lot of film pictures start off in black and, you know, they just have the sound, so they really grab the audience’s attention right from the beginning. So sound is just such a powerful medium.” – Jayson Johnson

This week’s guest is a filmmaker and the founder of Strike Five Films, an independent production company dedicated to authentic, character-driven storytelling. A graduate of Eastern Illinois University, he began his career under the mentorship of Francis Ford Coppola, working on the Wine, Daydreams & Memories tour before producing over 1,400 hours of broadcast television for Discovery ID. Since founding Strike Five Films in 2017, he’s written, directed, and produced nine short films that have screened at more than ninety festivals worldwide, earning six awards. His work has been featured in numerous media outlets and is defined by themes of perseverance, community, and creativity.

He’s currently in pre-production on his debut feature, R.O.G.E.R & Me, an offbeat, heartfelt film rooted in Richmond, CA, while continuing to mentor emerging filmmakers and expand his mission of fusing storytelling, social impact, and independent artistry. His name is Jayson Johnson, and if you’ve ever wondered how intentional sound can elevate storytelling and make a lasting impact on audiences, you won’t want to miss Jayson’s behind-the-scenes insights and practical tips.

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(00:00) – How Sound Captivates Audiences

We start things off with the vivid impression sound made on Jayson as a child, and how it led him to a career in filmmaking. “One of the memories I have as a child,” he recalls, “is, you know, you’re sound asleep, and then all of a sudden, the vacuum cleaner goes on… that was kind of like an alarm clock for us, you know, because we always had chores.” He tells us more about his influences growing up and how a lifelong love of movies became a calling. “When I went to college,” he explains, “I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I signed up with Speech Communication, and they had a discipline of Radio, TV, and Film. And I just tried out everything.”

(11:27) – Sound Techniques in Filmmaking

Jayson tells us more about his early years in the industry and how a chance job opening led to an encounter with Sofia and Francis Ford Coppola. “I put out all these resumes, I don’t even know how many I put out,” he tells us. “Probably a hundred or so. No one called me except for this one place, and I said, ‘Oh, it’s a winery. I’ll go there.’ And it happened to be Francis Coppola Winery.” He recalls his work on Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, and the lessons about sound that Marin Scorsese’s classic Goodfellas taught him to apply to his own films. “We see the cars explode,” he explains, “and Scorsese wants the audience to feel the emotion of that scene by not saying anything and just adding that little pause in there and, you know, letting the audience feel the gravity of the moment.”

Episode Summary

Exploring how silence enhances emotional depth in storytelling.
Jayson discusses the sound techniques he’s used in his films.

Tune in for next week’s episode as we talk about how music can transform a film, both for better and for worse, his thoughts about the emergence of AI videos and virtual celebrities like Tilly Norwood, and why he considers sound to be the first step in his creative process as a filmmaker.

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