Dolby Creator Talks

The director and sound team join us to discuss their work on the new Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” covering the cast’s extraordinary performances, how they recreated those iconic original recordings, and why it took so long to bring this film to the screen, after being greenlit five years ago. Joining the conversation: - James Mangold, Director, Co-Writer, and Producer - Ted Caplan, Supe...

Director Jon M. Chu joins us, alongside the brilliant editing and sound team behind “Wicked,” the hit movie musical based on the beloved Broadway show. Joining the discussion: - Jon M. Chu – Director - Myron Kerstein – Editor - John Marquis – Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixer - Nancy Nugent Title – Supervising Sound Editor - Jack Dolman – Supervising Music Editor - Andy...

NOTE: This interview contains spoilers! Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker RaMell Ross and his acclaimed sound and music team join us to discuss the making of “Nickel Boys.” In adapting Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Ross employed first-person cinematography to draw audiences directly into the emotional and physical experiences of the film’s protagonists in a completely immersive...

The groundbreaking musical “Emilia Pérez,” which captured the Jury Prize at Cannes, is redefining the movie musical genre. Directed by the visionary Jacques Audiard, the film explores identity, transformation, and redemption with a powerful ensemble cast. From the vibrant choreography of its musical numbers to its daring and surreal visual style, “Emilia Pérez” is a boldly original film. Join us a...

Academy Award® and Grammy Award®-winning songwriter Stephen Schwartz, Tony Award®-winning musical director Stephen Oremus, and Oscar-nominated composer John Powell join guest host Jon Burlingame for an in-depth discussion about bringing the iconic Broadway musical “Wicked” to the big screen. Together they discuss how they collaborated with director Jon M. Chu to adapt the beloved musical into a ci...

Renowned film composer Harry Gregson-Williams joins guest host Jon Burlingame to discuss his sweeping score for “Gladiator II,” the highly anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 Academy Award®-winning classic. Having collaborated with Scott on seven films now, Gregson-Williams shares his approach to crafting a fresh sound for the world of Gladiator while also paying homage to Hans Zimmer’s icon...

“I think that sound is, by far, the most powerful tool in the cinematic language.” —Denis Villeneuve, Director, Co-Writer, and Producer, “Dune: Part Two” Director Denis Villeneuve returns to Dolby Creator Talks to discuss the incredible sound work in “Dune: Part Two,” his latest adaptation of the epic sci-fi saga. He and his multiple Academy Award®-winning sound team share their thoughts on how so...

Multiple Emmy® Award-winning A1 audio mixer Glenn Stilwell joins us for an in-depth discussion on mixing live sports in Dolby Atmos®. As one of the first to adopt this immersive audio technology for sports, Glenn shares his journey into the high-pressure world of live sports audio, where he has worked on everything from the Olympics to Apple’s Friday Night Baseball. From setting up microphones for...

The art of pitching is a high-stakes, nerve-wracking aspect of filmmaking, where ideas transform from concepts into potential projects. Joining us to help demystify the pitching process is Dolby Institute Fellowship winner Carlos López Estrada, hosting another insightful Satellite Session from April 2024. Carlos gathers an exceptional panel featuring film and television creators, each sharing pers...

You have probably heard about the Hollywood writer’s room, but what, exactly, goes on inside one? Joining us once again to demystify yet another filmmaking topic is our good friend — and Dolby Institute Fellowship winner — Carlos López Estrada, with another of his excellent Satellite Sessions — this one from March 2024. Carlos welcomes an impressive and diverse panel of film and television writers...

Pharrell Williams has had a remarkable life and career in music, which are chronicled in the film “Piece By Piece,” a uniquely animated documentary made entirely out of LEGO. Joining today’s discussion is Director Morgan Neville, Supervising Sound Editor Al Nelson, and Re-recording Mixer Pete Horner, to talk how Pharrell’s creative vision for using LEGO opened up exciting storytelling possibilitie...

Academy Award®-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and executive music producer Jason Ruder join our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, to discuss their extraordinary work on “Joker: Folie à Deux.” The sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning “Joker” comes with high expectations, and Hildur and Jason talk about the challenge of evolving the sound of the Joker universe, while incorporating new elem...

Director and co-writer Nora Fingscheidt joins her sound team to discuss their extraordinary work on the new film “The Outrun” — a moving portrayal of one woman’s struggle with sobriety and memories of a traumatic childhood, using sound design to explore the emotional landscape of its main character, Rona, played by the extraordinary Saoirse Ronan. From the quiet, wind-swept expanses of the Orkney...

Legendary filmmaker, animator, writer, and voice actor Chris Sanders (you may know him as “ Stitch ”) joins his sound team — including our first-ever guest on this podcast, Randy Thom — to talk about their stunning work on the latest animated adventure/tearjerker from DreamWorks Animation, “The Wild Robot.” A truly visual spectacle, the film has an appropriately spectacular soundtrack, which Chris...

“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” is the first David Bowie studio album to be released in Dolby Atmos® and joining us today is Ken Scott, the original co-producer of the album (and many others from Bowie), as well as Dolby Atmos mix engineer, Emre Ramazanoglu. Ken Scott is a legend in the world of music production and engineering, and he takes our guest host, Ben Giva...

“Sing Sing” — an independent feature film now in theaters — made a big splash at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Greg Kwedar, the film is notable for its unique casting approach, blending actors such as Colman Domingo with real-life, formally incarcerated individuals. It’s set in the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York, focusing on the prison’s theater troupe.&...

Multi-platinum mixer and engineer Richard Chycki joins us to dive deep into his work with legendary rock bands such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Dream Theater, Mick Jagger, and, of course, the iconic Rush. Richard has been at the forefront of immersive audio with his Dolby Atmos® mixes of Rush classics like “Moving Pictures” and “Signals,” building upon his original surround mixes. In this conversa...

Mix engineer Ryan Ulyate joins us to dive deep into his work with the late, great Tom Petty, including his Dolby Atmos® mixes of Petty's “Highway Companion” solo album, “Wildflowers & All The Rest” Deluxe Edition, “Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits,” and the iconic “Live at the Fillmore 1997.” Ryan has been a recording engineer and producer for over 40 years, with credits on over...

Bob Clearmountain and Rhett Davies, legends in the world of music recording, production, and engineering, join guest host Ben Givarz to delve into the process of transforming Roxy Music's iconic album "Avalon" and Bryan Ferry's platinum record "Boys and Girls" into Dolby Atmos®. They dive deep into the background of the recording and engineering processes they used on these and other legendary Rox...

Nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards®, “Ripley,” the new Netflix limited series from creator Steven Zaillian, is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of sound. So it’s no wonder that two of those nominations are for Outstanding Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. And it’s clear why the sound team was given so much creative freedom to explore the sonic possibilities of the show, as many of those d...

How Hollywood studios work and operate can be mystifying, especially for emerging filmmakers. Luckily, Dolby Institute Fellowship winner Carlos Lopez Estrada returns for another of his excellent Satellite Sessions (this one from December), featuring executives from some of the biggest studios in the entertainment industry, all to help de-mystify how they, and the studios, find, develop, and produc...

Pulitzer Prize-winning and Emmy- and Grammy-nominated composer Michael Abels joins our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, to discuss the music of “Star Wars: The Acolyte.” The music for the series was a massive undertaking, made even more formidable by the knowledge that every cue would be compared to the work of legendary composer John Williams. But as a longtime fan of “Star Wars,” Abe...

Academy Award®-nominated director (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) — and Dolby Institute Fellowship winner — Carlos López Estrada brings together another exciting panel of film professionals. As one of the producers, Carlos joins fellow Academy Award®-nominated director (“Nai Nai & Wài Pó”) Sean Wang, along with members of the cast and crew, to discuss the herculean task of bringing their independ...

Perhaps the top colorist in his field, Stefan Sonnefeld joins us for our 200th episode! If you aren’t aware of Stefan, you’ve almost certainly seen his work . Some of his recent projects include “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The White Lotus,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.” His credit list includes some of the biggest franchises in our business, including “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Jurassic Park,”...

Documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, as well as sound supervisor and re-recording mixer Paul Hsu, join us to discuss their new HBO documentary limited-series, “Ren Faire.” The show details the Succession-like power struggle atop the Texas Renaissance Festival, amid its founder’s impending retirement. It was filmed in an appropriately over-the-top theatrical style, and features some incredible so...