Interview: Talking ‘Tuner’ with Sound Designer Johnnie Burn and Filmmaker Daniel Roher

Tuner is a very good film, to be certain, but it’s also a title that pulls off something I really appreciate. It’s a flick that I went into almost blindly, on a recommendation from friend and colleague Chris Rosen during the Telluride Film Festival last year. I wasn’t able to fit it in during Telluride, but a few days later, while at the Toronto International Film Festival, I took it in, bringing along other friends/colleagues like Erik Davis, Kate Erbland, and Mike Ryan. We all had a great time with the movie, recommending it throughout TIFF, often with an exaggerated “Tuuuunnnna” pronunciation. A year later, after a stop at the Sundance Film Festival, Tuner finally came out, letting the public in on what we dug during the festivals. Recently, as it hopes for some awards season attention, I sat down with filmmaker Daniel Roher and sound designer Johnnie Burn to discuss all aspects of the work. Today, that chat comes your way.

Last year, my review from TIFF (here) praised the film like so:

Every festival season, there’s at least one title that I go into with zero expectations, only to wind up really enjoying. This year, at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s Tuner. You may think this is just a movie about a piano tuner and his mentor. Perhaps there’s wisdom exchanged? Well, that’s more or less here, though the film also is about safe cracking. Yeah, bet you didn’t expect that. The ability to pivot effectively is a big part why this flick winds up being as enjoyable as it is.

Tuner manages to start out small and even amusingly light, before giving way to a surprisingly effective darkness. The unusual character study element is where it’s most successful, though even when it gets into genre territory, it’s still doing enough interesting things to always keep your attention. Cliches arrive, but they’re handled decently well.

Below, you can hear my conversation with Burn and Roher. Given that we have not just the writer/director but also the sound designer on hand, the sonic quality of the movie gets a lot of chatter. We also get into how the film is a bit of a throwback and features more than its fair share of surprising elements. It’s an enjoyable discussion, one befitting a deeply underrated movie. Tuner is available to watch right now on numerous platforms, so it you haven’t gotten around to it yet, now is the time to correct that error.

Here now is my interview with Tuner filmmaker Daniel Roher and sound designer Johnnie Burn. Enjoy:

Tuner is available to watch right now!