Jonathan Webb

In 2016, I was commissioned by the writer-director Joanna Hogg to creatively respond to her screenplay/short story The Souvenir, as part of the film’s pre-production research phase. The sound work I produced is a direct translation of the story and was designed to inform and enrich the creative development of The Souvenir and The Souvenir: Part II as the story progressed from page to screen. We called these extended sound montages ‘sonic storyboards’. The excellent writer, media critic and filmmaker Thomas Flight has made a wonderful video essay about my collaboration with Hogg and the potential of sonic storyboards as a film pre-production research tool moving forward. Link in bio. Thank you @thomasflight 🙏 . . . #thesouvenirfilm #thesouvenir #thesouvenirpart2 #joannahogg #bfifilm #sonicstoryboard #filmdesign #filmsound #sounddesign

I’m thrilled to be a featured author in NOTEBOOK Issue 4 by @mubi ISSUE 4: FILM IS DEFINITELY NOT A “VISUAL MEDIUM” explores cinematic soundscapes in their diverse sonic forms. In my essay Listening to The Screenplay, Hearing The Film, I reflect on my collaboration with the acclaimed British filmmaker Joanna Hogg and the creative and practical challenges of crafting sonic storyboards for film. Editor, producer and writer Mike Mattessino writes about his research into the history of film scores that were commissioned and completed, but left unused. Our essays can be found together under the title ‘Sound Research’ Notebook is a subscription publication, but you can purchase Issue 4 now from select venues and stores, including BFI Southbank, ICA, Magculture, and The Museum of Moving Image. Special thanks to Daniel Kasman and Joanna Hogg. @mubilab #mubi #mubinotebook #filmsound #thesouvenir #joannahogg

This Sunday (19th Oct) at 7.15pm on BBC Radio 4 and then on BBC Sounds. 🧚 "Trawling through the archives, in conversation with community elders, and in pursuit of sonic traces of higher elemental worlds, Jonathan brings into focus the echoes and reverberations of Findhorn’s strange and magical past." 🧚‍♂️ Huge thanks to Carys Wall and Dave Howard at @bespoken_uk for being brilliant producers. #findhorn #findhornfoundation #bbcradio4

THE FIELD, conversations on sound and silence with Cyrus Bayandor. My chat with Cyrus is one of four featured is this delightful new zine exploring sound-based artistic practice across genres. #fieldrecording

Such a treat to meet the wonderful and charming @whitstillman at the Lost Reels 35mm screening of Metropolitan last night. Thank you @lostreelsuk and @thelegendhannii #filmhouse #metropolitan #whitstillmanmetropolitan #whitstillman

Recording sounds under a bridge. Photo by @rachel_mcbrinn

I’m pleased to have been invited to give an artist talk by The School of Sound next Thursday 20th March at 6pm. I’ll be talking about the ‘sonic storyboards’ I crafted in collaboration with writer-director Joanna Hogg as part of sound-focused, preproduction research on the places, characters, and narrative being prepared for screen. I’ve written about this subject in the past, but this will be my first opportunity to share the sound work I produced for The Souvenir publicly. /events/ #schoolofsound #thesouvenir #sounddesign #joannahogg

Beryl Mortimer nailing the dog piss Foley. Banana peel needs work. #sounddesign #foleyartist #filmsound

🔊 Gurdjieff X The Silence of the Lambs Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann jointly composed music to accompany demonstrations of Gurdjieff’s “Sacred Gymnastics and Movements” at the Theatre des Champs Elysees in 1923. One piece in particular sounds eerily familiar. Spooky. 🎥: Gurdjieff movements (1980s) 📷: The Silence of the Lambs (behind the scenes) 📷: Precious #gurdjieff #silenceofthelambs #halloweenmusic #horrorsoundtrack #filmsoundtrack

THE CLUB OLYMPIANS of 1987 🥂 (🔊 sound on) ‘Once while Sarko was playing “No Tears” by Tuxedomoon, Steve Mass came up and told her to cut it off. “They don’t like it. No one’s dancing.” Sarko, though, could see the dance floor was packed, they were waiting for the song to build, and she refused to comply. Mass replaced her for the night on grounds of insubordination.’ From article by @bradgooch for Vanity Fair (May, 1987) #1980s #80snewyork

“What happens when you read the first line of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick? You are being addressed, but by whom? Chances are you hear the line (in your mind’s ear) before you picture the speaker. I can hear Ishmeal’s words more clearly than I can see his face. I would suggest that we hear more than we see while we are reading.” What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund 📚 10 years ago this month I started work on a self-initiated project that involved translating two of my favourite novels into sound. I didn’t know it at the time, but this would my first tentative step into the world of audio storytelling and sound design. The Secret History (1992) by Donna Tartt and Journey to the End of the Night (1932) by Louis-Ferdinand Céline both had a profound impact on my mind’s ear. They share a hypnotic, immersive quality that would be extremely difficult to translate to screen. To me, they should be heard rather than seen. This got me thinking: Is there a way to use sound to re-enter the world of the story? To extend the experience without disrupting the readers perspective in the way that a film adaptation would? Over a period of six months I produced two one hour audio interpretations, one for each book. My goal was to create something that authentically encapsulates their mood, essence and atmosphere - an audio journey rich with detail that would move seamlessly between the main character’s inner and outer world. There would be no character dialogue or spoken narration; instead the narrative would unfold through a carefully crafted mix pre-existing music and found sounds. In this way, you’re getting the aesthetic experience of the novel, but not through a conventional narrative form. You can hear the results on my website. Link in bio to listen. 🔊 ____________________________ Peter Mendelsund is the author of five books, including two novels. He is also a graphic designer and the Creative Director of The Atlantic. Follow @petermendelsund Book soundscape mood board images by @bramble #thesecrethistory #donnatartt #bookadaptation #audiobooks #journeytotheendofthenight #louisferdinandcéline

Éliane Radigue smoking a cigar avec Yves Klein, Nice 1955 📸 Arman #elianeradigue #yvesklein