Film Score Composing
In 2005, Johnson composed the score to the neo-noir film Brick, which was written and directed by his cousin Rian Johnson. The score features traditional instruments such as the piano, trumpet and violin, and also contains unique and invented instruments such as the wine-o-phone, metallophone, treated pianos, filing cabinets, and kitchen utensils. The entire score was recorded in Johnson's Bournemouth apartment using a single microphone and a PowerBook computer.
Although the film was shot in California, Johnson composed the music from his home in England while using iChat to communicate with the director. The two later met in New York to mix the soundtrack.
The score was hailed by The Chicago Tribune as "perhaps the most arresting soundtrack of the year to date" and Johnson was nominated for the Satellite award for Best Original Score from the International Press Academy.
Johnson finished the score for Rian Johnson's second film, The Brothers Bloom (2008), expanding the pallet used in Brick to include strings and woodwinds for the sound of a "back porch orchestra".
Members of The Cinematic Underground have been involved with all of Johnson's scores. As well as producing the music for Brick and The Brothers Bloom, Johnson has produced albums for The Cinematic Underground, Katie Chastain, and New Volunteer.
In 2012, Johnson composed the score for Rian Johnson's critically acclaimed third film, Looper. Through his collaborations with Rian Johnson, Johnson then teamed up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who starred in Brick and Looper) to score Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut Don Jon (2013).
Read more about this topic: Nathan Johnson (musician)
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