Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other films talks about creating the sounds that bring movies to life.
April 28, 2026
By
Laura Gurfein
Jay Jennings BM 92
Image courtesy of the artist
Over his three-decade career in sound design, Jay Jennings BM '92 has created everything from everyday textures to fantastical effects. My job is to create everything you hear in a film except for the dialog and music, he explained. Think spaceships, otherworldly creatures, vast planetary landscapes, and everything in between.
In post-production, Jennings builds the aural realism that pulls you inside a film's world. What you hear in the final mix of a film is hardly ever what was recorded on set, he said. Talented sound editors and designers replace or enhance at least 90 percent of the production audio.
To create a believable soundscape, Jennings often turns to unbelievable sources. My sounds come from everywhere and anywhere: custom field recording, twisting existing sounds into something completely different, or using normal sounds in new and interesting ways.
Project Highlight: A Minecraft MovieTo sound-design the fifth-highest grossing film of 2025, Jennings relocated from Los Angeles to New Zealand for nine months. Being in New Zealand presented me with some pretty unique recording opportunities for this film, he said in an interview with Warner Bros. We have a scene in the film where they're flying through canyons wearing these wing suits, and we wanted to establish the sound of the wind rippling through their clothing. In the notoriously windy country, that meant he simply had to step outside with a microphone.
Translating the sound of the video game into cinematic audio involved creating sounds for characters that did not exist in the game-like Iron Golem, whose vocalizations Jennings made using a transducer speaker on metal. Other times, he altered them to satisfy his expert ear: To improve upon the audio for Dennis, a non-verbal wolf, he recorded his own dog, Winnie. She made the most amazing vocabulary of whining sounds, he said.
As a teenager growing up in Maine in the '80s, Jennings was drawn to progressive rock music and the movies that would come to define the decade. After graduating from Berklee with a degree in music production and engineering, he moved to Los Angeles in the late '90s to pursue a career in film. He did multi-year stints at places such as E2 and NBCUniversal Media before landing at Warner Bros. Entertainment in 2021.
Jennings has worked on films such as The Meg (2018), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Space Jam 2 (2021), and the Oscar-winning Letters from Iwo Jima, for which Jennings and his team were awarded a Golden Reel Award from Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE). He now has a total of seven Golden Reels, along with 13 MPSE nominations and three Emmy nominations.
Behind those credits is a level of dedication that has kept Jennings in demand. Reflecting on his work on Terminator: Genisys (2015), he said that it required 110 percent of my effort, focus, and creativity every day, even in the face of 16-hour days for weeks at a time. But being able to consistently deliver on time is what's expected.
Inside Sound DesignFive takeaways from Jay Jennings's three decades in film sound:
Sound design is not Foley. Foley artists perform live to picture, while sound designers spend hours, days, or weeks crafting the soundtrack.
Capture is key. Great sounds come from everywhere, but you have to be able to capture them. Buying a quality microphone and recorder is the best investment you can make.
Keep it simple. Fancy plugins and software are not the silver bullet to great sound design! Finding just the right singular sound is often the best approach. For example, Darth Vader's breathing is a single recording of a man breathing in a scuba mask, slightly pitched down.
Meet your heroes. Most of the time, they are more than willing and eager to take time out to talk, mentor, and help newcomers make needed connections.
Be open and listen. Great ideas come from everyone in the room. Humility and a willingness to listen and learn are the best traits to cultivate.
While his focus is on feature films-his next project, the Paramount Pictures supernatural horror film Passenger, arrives in May, followed by the A24 film Onslaught in September-Jennings designs sound for just about every entertainment medium. I'm currently working on a AAA video game, an independent short film, and a national commercial campaign, he said. In my career, I've found it imperative and creatively satisfying to be well-diversified.
Follow Jay Jennings on LinkedIn and Instagram, and see his full list of credits on IMDb.
Laura Gurfein writes about Berklee alumni and their multifaceted careers across the global music industry. She's a digital media professional with more than a decade of editorial experience.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Illustration by Michelle Parkos
Music Marketing: 5 Practical Strategies for Independent Artists Five ways help you build visibility, engage your audience, and grow your fanbase-including one trick to steal from Taylor Swift.
Latest
From left to right (back row): Kino Billon, District Executive, Santander Bank; Benjamin McCoy, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, Santander Bank; Berklee students Samuel Brennen, Jonah Gangi, Neo Pono, and Jupiter Montalvo; Leah Daly, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, Santander US; Kjudi Ibrahami, District Executive, Santander Bank.
Michelle Parkos
Berklee Partners with Santander US to Establish Global Opportunity Fund The $400,000 grant offers students access to experiential learning oppo
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other films talks about creating the sounds that bring movies to life.
