Dolby Creator Talks

Polite Society had one of the biggest debuts at this year’s 2023 Sundance Film Festival and it’s easy to see why. The film is wild, fun, chaotic mashup of genre and style, everything from kung fu action to dark comedy to paranoid spy thriller to coming-of-age drama (and more!) is deftly mixed into this little firecracker of a movie, which was made with an astonishingly small budget during the heig...

Today we have an exclusive interview with the writer and director of Evil Dead Rise, Lee Cronin, along with sound designer and supervising sound editor Peter Albrechtsen. We discuss how they made this super fun addition to the Evil Dead franchise as well as their collaborative process in crafting one of the creepiest soundtracks you’re likely to experience this year. “Despite the fact that it was...

Making an independent film today is even more challenging than it was in its heyday of the 1990s. So we’re bringing you a panel discussion with directors of two of the festival favorites at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Directors Hannah Pearl Utt (“Cora Bora”) and Emma Westenberg (“You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder”) take a deep-dive into the state of the independent film industry and the challenges...

6-time Emmy Award winning (Stranger Things, Love Death + Robots) sound designer, supervising sound editor, and re-recording mixer Craig Henighan has worked with director Darren Aronofsky since Requiem for a Dream. And with A24’s 25th anniversary re-release of Pi, Craig discusses the challenges of updating its original soundtrack. The indie film’s razor thin budget only allowed for a four day mix b...

It is a time of great disruption in both independent and studio cinema. Join us for a conversation on the evolving role of film festivals in this dramatically changing landscape. We delved into topics such as the role of streaming platforms and online vs in-person festivals. And tackle questions such as how festivals can develop the next generation of talent, and how exactly DOES one get a film in...

Table of Contents: 00:02:17 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT - James Friend, ASC, BSC. 00:29:23 - BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS - Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC. 00:51:23 - ELVIS - Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS. 01:22:59 - EMPIRE OF LIGHT - Roger Deakins, CBE, ASC, BSC. 01:59:27 - TÁR - Florian Hoffmeister, BSC. We are thrilled to bring you these interviews with ALL FIVE of the nominees in the...

Table of Contents: 0:02:03 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 0:22:49 - AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER 0:53:44 - THE BATMAN 1:05:44 - ELVIS 1:39:20 - TOP GUN: MAVERICK Welcome to this year’s coverage of the Academy Awards. Like last year, we have compiled interviews from each of the nominees in the Best Sound category. So, if you are an Oscar voter — either as an Academy member or as a fan participating i...

Our coverage of the 2023 Academy Awards continues with another film on the Best Sound shortlist — “Babylon.” The work of director Damien Chazelle (“La La Land,” “Whiplash”) is certainly no stranger to awards season, so this is definitely a film to watch out and, in this case, listen for. Joining us today is re-recording mixer, sound designer, and supervising sound editor Ai-Ling Lee; supervising s...

As we continue our 2023 Awards coverage, today we are talking to the sound team behind another film on the Best Sound Academy Awards shortlist — “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Joining us is four-time Academy Award winning re-recording mixer, supervising sound editor, and sound designer Christopher Boyes; supervising sound editor Dick Bernstein; re-recording mixer Michael Hedges; sound mixer Julian Ho...

This week we sit down with the writer/director and sound team behind the harrowing new adaptation of "All Quiet on the Western Front." Joining director Edward Berger is sound supervisor and sound designer Frank Kruse, sound designer Markus Stemler, re-recording mixer Lars Ginzel, and production sound mixer Viktor Prášil. This film has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Sound, and as B...

The 2022 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner was the first ever horror film to win the top award at the film festival. But before that, "Nanny" — the feature film debut from Nikyatu Jusu — was also the recipient of the 2022 Dolby Institute Fellowship, which awards a low-budget Sundance film with a post-production grant to finish the film in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®. Now that "Nanny" is availabl...

Two-time Academy Award winning director Guillermo del Toro and his co-director Mark Gustafson join us to discuss their latest work — appropriately titled — “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.” Despite being stop-motion animation, the film features a rich sound design and complex mix. One which the directors had to fight for. “Mark [Gustafson] and I had to fight for the time that we needed on the mix...

Multiple Academy Award winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu joins us to discuss his latest work, the surreal, yet somehow pseudo-autobiographical film, “BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.” Since this episode focuses almost exclusively on the sound of the film, joining the conversation is much of the film’s sound team: Martín Hernández - Supervising Sound Editor and Sound Designer San...

Director Ron Howard joins us to discuss his thrilling new film, “Thirteen Lives,” a harrowing dramatization of the real-life rescue of thirteen young Thai soccer players who were trapped in a flooding cave in 2018. Joining the discussion is much of the film’s post-production team: Rachael Tate, Supervising Sound Editor Oliver Tarney, Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer Chris Burden, Re-recordi...

Director Ryan White and Academy Award-winning sound designer Mark Mangini join us today to discuss the making of “Good Night Oppy.” This charming new documentary tells the story of the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which were sent to the red planet back in 2003 and were expected to survive long enough to collect data for — hopefully — 90 days. Instead, they blew everyone’s expectations...

Director Joseph Kosinski and his sound team discuss their groundbreaking work on the hit sequel to the classic 80s film "Top Gun." Joining the discussion are re-recording mixers Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor, as well as supervising sound editors James Mather, Al Nelson, and Bjørn Schroeder. Since most of the movie's flight scenes were filmed practically (or "in-camera") without relying on too many...

Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler joins us to discuss the making of the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Joining the discussion is the film’s composer Lugwig Görannson, supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer Steve Boeddeker, supervising sound editor Benjamin Burtt, and re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor. This is the first Black Pant...

In this special, supersized episode we take a peek behind the curtain to examine Pixar's unique editorial process. It's often messy and non-linear, with shots and sequences constantly being re-worked... and this might just be the secret to why their films end up feeling so cinematic and have the emotional impact that they do. At Pixar, the editor has much more authority and responsibility than the...

NOTE: This episode contains spoilers. We are back from a short break, as we’ve been working on a couple of very big episodes. But in the meantime, we had the privilege to speak with Michael Giacchino, the director of Marvel’s “Werewolf by Night,” a super fun and spooky “television special” on Disney+, perfect for this Halloween season. Joining us for the discussion is much of his post-production t...

NOTE: This episode features clips mixed in Dolby Atmos®. For best results, please listen to this episode with headphones! Podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years, and creators have been exploring new ways to create fully-immersive experiences for their listeners. In today’s episode, we speak with a few of the companies that are on the cutting-edge of crafting a truly cinematic experie...

If you caught the last installment of the Thor franchise, then you already know that director Taika Waititi has taken this particular series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a considerably more comedic direction. And Thor: Love and Thunder continues that trend. This film has some very funny sound moments, including a jealous battle axe, Russell Crowe doing an over-the-top Greek accent, and a...

Quick Content Warning: There is some colorful language in this podcast episode. Listener discretion is advised. Season 3 of the eleven-time Emmy winning series LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS hit Netflix on May 20th and we are delighted to sit down with creator Tim Miller, supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, and supervising sound editor Brad North to discuss how they managed to succeed where so many oth...

The latest season of "Stranger Things" finally returned to Netflix on May 27th and we are so excited to sit down with the creators of the show, along with several key members of the post-production team, to discuss the sound, music, and editorial process behind this wildly successful series.  This is a supersized episode of the podcast with a TON of bonus guests. Joining us are the creators (...

The newest and final installment of the Jurassic World franchise roared into theaters on Friday and we are delighted to share this conversation with director Colin Trevorrow and his sound team, to discuss how they crafted the soundtrack to this latest dinosaur Summer blockbuster. On today's podcast: — Colin Trevorrow, Director and Co-writer  — Christopher Boyes, Re-recording Mixer  — Pet...

Legendary sound designer and re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom joins us once again, this time to discuss his groundbreaking work on Steven Spielberg's classic film, "Jurassic Park" (1993), ahead of the upcoming premiere of the final film in the franchise — "Jurassic World: Dominion." Amazingly, even nearly 30 years later, Rydstrom's work on the original film still holds up incredibly well. "I have...