Sound Design Process: A Conversation with Kenneth Johnson

Sound Design Process: A Conversation with Kenneth Johnson

From Audio Branding by Jodi Krangle

May 20, 2026 · 29 min · Season 1 · Episode 340

About this episode

Jodi Krangle interviews Kenneth Johnson about his experiences in sound design and its emotional impact in film.

“ I think that sound drives the emotion of a scene, right? As much as dialogue, right? Sound and music, score in particular… I just think it helps to create emotion in a scene or augments the performances. Because you gotta have great performances, but great performance coupled with, you know, great sound design or a great score, it just makes you feel, it does something, it makes you tingle. It does something to you that just envelops you in that moment, right?” – Kenneth Johnson This episode is the second half of my conversation with sonic storyteller and founder of Artistry in Sound, Kenneth Johnson, as we talk about his experiences as one of the earliest Black sound designers in Hollywood, the changes that AI and streaming media have brought to sound design, and how horror movies in particular combine a variety of sound approaches to make a powerful impact. As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com , where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along…

People in this episode

Host: Jodi Krangle

Guest: Kenneth Johnson

Topics covered

  • sound design
  • emotion in film
  • AI in sound
  • horror movies
  • Black sound designers
  • music score

Keywords

  • sound design
  • emotion
  • AI
  • horror movies
  • Black sound designers
  • music score
  • film

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Artistry in Sound

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