Dolby Creator Talks

2-time Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer joins us on the podcast to discuss his work on “Dune: Part Two,” after winning an Oscar for his score to the first installment of the sci-fi franchise, directed by Denis Villeneuve. And like Denis, Hans had been dreaming about working on these films since he was a boy. And he also knew he wanted to take them in a less traditional direction, sonically:

“These were the things which probably had been on my mind ever since I read the book. It's just… I never had the opportunity to try them. I could never understand why, in a science fiction movie — I loved them all — but why we would hear a sort of a European orchestral sound. Why the strings? Why the French horns? Everything else looked futuristic. Everything else was different. Except the music still stuck to the rules of the romantic period. I'm not criticizing it. There's nothing I love more than ‘Alien’ or ‘Star Wars.’ They're phenomenal things. But I saw my duty very much as going beyond that.”

—Hans Zimmer, Composer, “Dune: Part Two”

Be sure to check out “Dune: Part Two,” now in theaters, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, where available.

Don’t miss our previous episode this week, with “Dune” cinematographer Greig Fraser, available in our podcast feed. You can subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Academy Award®-winning Director of Photography Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC, returns to the podcast to discuss his work on “Dune: Part Two.” The film is a stunning achievement, from both the technical and artistic standpoints, which benefitted greatly from being a continuation of his work from part one:

“Whenever you do a movie, you've got to solve a series of problems... And a lot of the technical stuff had been solved for us in advance, because we'd done part one. So this allowed us the opportunity to dream a little bit. And I wouldn't say, ‘dream bigger.’ But it allowed us to dream with more opportunity… We felt empowered that we were doing the right thing. At least, people were appreciating the job that we had done. And instead of having that paralyze us... We were able to make bold decisions and bold choices. Like the infrared photography on Giedi Prime and the eclipse scene. So we were able to do that a little bit more boldly.“

—Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC, Director of Photography, “Dune: Part Two”

Be sure to check out “Dune: Part Two,” now in theaters, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, where available.

Don’t miss our upcoming episode with “Dune” composer Hans Zimmer, by subscribing to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Previous podcast episodes with Greig Fraser:

118 - Best Cinematography Nominees: Academy Awards 2022

• YouTube - https://youtu.be/9frtE4gEoy8
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/118-best-cinematography-nominees-academy-awards-2022/id1549901182?i=1000554057034
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6OqK3Gl6rZcmfA6heBRYZa

117 - The Cinematography of The Batman

• YouTube - https://youtu.be/S2GkwC6neiU
• Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/si/podcast/117-the-cinematography-of-the-batman/id1549901182?i=1000553525163
• Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5J1z9srezZiiAEAHln0GCp

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Table of Contents:

01:28 - El Conde - Edward Lachman, ASC

12:53 - Killers of the Flower Moon - Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC

24:12 - Oppenheimer - Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC

33:29 - Poor Things - Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC

Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. We have compiled interviews from the nominees in the Best Cinematography category. So, if you are an Oscar voter — either as an Academy member or as a fan participating in your annual office pool — you'll have a much better idea of what to watch (and listen) for as you get to this category on your ballot!

NOTE: As always, all nominees are invited to join our conversations. Unfortunately, due to scheduling, Matthew Libatique (Maestro) was not able to join us.

FULL EPISODES:

El Conde - Edward Lachman, ASC (episode 183)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/qPGWnTpbLos

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/57upYs823lwPV73VEHz0Cv

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/183-the-cinematography-of-el-conde-with-dp-edward-lachman/id1549901182?i=1000645550716

Killers of the Flower Moon - Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC (episode 181)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/sgmgucJET3o

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Kc8kJeA9NiTugkR5saAw5

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/181-the-cinematography-of-killers-of-the-flower/id1549901182?i=1000645277847

Oppenheimer - Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC (episode 179)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/6RFAfB5RCT0

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Di5azunCq4ZoBsA6ttdo4

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/179-the-cinematography-of-oppenheimer-with-dp/id1549901182?i=1000644731650

Poor Things - Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC (episode 182)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/Sy38cINMetA

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Aoz7KynItLfBspCjjhgBK

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/182-the-cinematography-of-poor-things-with-dp-robbie-ryan/id1549901182?i=1000645419205

If you enjoy episodes like this, where we share our in-depth conversations with artists and filmmakers, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Table of Contents:

01:30 - The Creator

12:26 - Maestro

23:13 - Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

33:55 - Oppenheimer

44:36 - The Zone of Interest

Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. We have compiled interviews from the nominees in the Best Sound category. So, if you are an Oscar voter — either as an Academy member or as a fan participating in your annual office pool — you'll have a much better idea of what to watch (and listen) for as you get to this category on your ballot!

FULL EPISODES:

The Creator (episode 165)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/JUPgZbDdTLw

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/36J65DI2AfqFKu6jzxPDZu

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ru/podcast/165-the-sound-of-the-creator-with-director-gareth-edwards/id1549901182?i=1000630007062

Maestro (episode 184)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/vx9KXRYkU84

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1MM7vRYhFFi6kcUDyuF0Cr

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/184-the-oscar-nominated-sound-team-behind-bradley/id1549901182?i=1000645837427

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (episode 155)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/SJJjnIv5VcA

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TIbSDJ2CHCIyOBnJsKAP3

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/155-the-sound-of-mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one/id1549901182?i=1000621729514

Oppenheimer (episode 180)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/GJGxVtFX2bg

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DLn4JKf2lfMuyjJ4zQq9y

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/180-the-oscar-nominated-sound-team-behind-oppenheimer/id1549901182?i=1000645197114

The Zone of Interest (episode 173)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/R_TZTCQ53ss

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/2D9L5xwea1NrfiaABWuRx5

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/173-director-jonathan-glazer-and-the-sound/id1549901182?i=1000638761975

If you enjoy episodes like this, where we share our in-depth conversations with artists and filmmakers, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Table of Contents:

01:55 - American Fiction - Laura Karpman

13:45 - Oppenheimer - Ludwig Göransson

25:48 - Poor Things - Jerskin Fendrix

Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. We have compiled interviews from the nominees in the Best Original Score category. So, if you are an Oscar voter — either as an Academy member or as a fan participating in your annual office pool — you'll have a much better idea of what to watch (and listen) for as you get to this category on your ballot!

NOTE: As always, all nominees are invited to join our conversations. Unfortunately, due to scheduling, John Williams (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) was not able to join us. And as you may know, Robbie Robertson (Killers of the Flower Moon) sadly passed away this past summer at the age of 80.

FULL EPISODES:

American Fiction - Laura Karpman (episode 178)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/9SKt-6iUViw

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5jbQRQvmLBvbxQ6EjShrQx

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/178-oscar-nominee-laura-karpman-on-the-music-of/id1549901182?i=1000644320575

Oppenheimer - Ludwig Göransson (episode 156)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/qZCsZCyHFRM

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/19gsiyueEWeBPKqPtBdgLt

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/156-the-music-of-oppenheimer/id1549901182?i=1000622416209

Poor Things - Jerskin Fendrix (episode 171)

- YouTube - https://youtu.be/Gf0r-Xzr35w

- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1D7MdFq51RIF0pkTC98miy

- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/sn/podcast/171-the-music-of-poor-things/id1549901182?i=1000638278317

If you enjoy episodes like this, where we share our in-depth conversations with artists and filmmakers, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

The Academy Award®-nominated VFX team joins our returning guest, director Gareth Edwards, to discuss how they created such a visually stunning, effects-heavy science-fiction film with a comparatively minuscule budget. Rather than utilizing extensive previz, green screen studios, and fully-rendered CGI environments, “The Creator” was filmed on-location in Asia, documentary-style, with a very small crew, completely upending the usual methods of shooting for VFX:

“You do concept art. That's typically one of the first things that happens — storyboards, concept art. And then you spend the rest of the life of the film chasing that artwork. They immediately say, ‘well, this is science fiction. It doesn't exist. So we'll build all this. And we have to build it in a studio…’ And you just get trapped immediately in the straight jacket of every big film ever. And everything's all green screen. And it was like, ‘Forget that. We'll have concept art. But forget the specifics of it. Just trust that it'll look as good as this. But it won't be exactly this. We'll go around the world for every scene. We will find a location that's the best location in the world for that scene. We'll shoot it there. And then we'll design it in post.’”

—Gareth Edwards, Director, Producer, Co-writer, “The Creator”

Joining Gareth:

- Director of Photography, Oren Soffer.

- Jay Cooper, Visual Effects Supervisor: Industrial Light & Magic.

- Andrew Roberts, Visual Effects On-Set Supervisor: Industrial Light & Magic.

Be sure to check out “The Creator,” in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos® (where available), ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!

For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Continuing our coverage of the 2024 Academy Awards®, we have another all-star team of sound artists whose work on “Maestro” is nominated in the Best Sound category.

Today’s panel includes:

- Richard King, Sound Designer & Supervising Sound Editor.

- Tom Ozanich, Re-recording Mixer.

- Dean A. Zupancic, Re-recording Mixer.

- Steven Morrow, Production Sound Mixer.

“Maestro” is a highly stylized yet intimate film about Leonard Bernstein: his fraught marriage, his affairs, his family, and - of course - his storied career. This gave director Bradley Cooper an amazing opportunity to conduct extensive recreations of some of the composer’s famous concerts, all recorded live on set — including that unforgettable concert at Ely Cathedral:

“We shot for the first day and, in Bradley's words, he was saying he wasn't really feeling it. He was just nervous about the whole thing. Because it's decades of building up to this moment, in front of the best orchestra in the world, and you're pretending to be the conductor. And the pressure that you're putting on yourself to be perfect and you're just not hitting it. And so he came in the next day and said, ‘let me do it one more time, and let's just do this one shot where the camera goes around… Our film is really just this big wide shot. Let's shoot this shot with a crane. Come all the way around, come back around, by the end of the song, be over Felicia's shoulder, and that's it.’ We shot that on the last day, the last take. And that was it. I mean, that was done. As soon as that take was over, everybody knew we had it.”

—Steven Morrow, Sound Mixer, “Maestro”

Be sure to check out “Maestro,” now streaming on Netflix in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!

For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Legendary cinematographer Edward Lachman, ASC, joins us to discuss his Academy Award®-nominated cinematography for “El Conde,” Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín’s satirical horror-comedy which reimagines Augusto Pinochet as a 250-year old vampire. The film features stunning black & white photography, which required the invention of a new kind of camera sensor in order to capture the unique look and feel of the film. Edward discusses that, his use of vintage glass, and the advantages of having his director as camera operator:

“He's excellent. He's always been around the camera, he studied still photography at one time, and he's very good with wheels. They always say the first audience is the operator — and that's why I like to operate. But there was so much I had to do with the language [barrier]. The key grip, Mumford — who's a wonderful key grip — didn't speak English. So [Pablo] had the direct communication to the grip about moves and the crane. So it made sense that he operate. And then that gave me the freedom to do what I could do with the electrical [department].”

—Edward Lachman, ASC, Director of Photography, “El Conde”

“El Conde” is now streaming on Netflix, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®. Be sure to check it out ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!

For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Our coverage of the 2024 Oscars continues in this episode with our guest, Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC. Robbie is a two-time Academy Award® nominee for Cinematography.

In today’s episode, he discusses his second collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos on the film "Poor Things," following their acclaimed work together on "The Favourite," which earned Robbie his first nomination for Best Cinematography. This year, "Poor Things" boasts 11 Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Lanthimos and Best Picture. In this wide-ranging conversation, Robbie explains how he crafted the film’s unique, almost dreamlike look, which was mostly captured in-camera, and on film, without post-production effects:

“[Yorgos] wanted to have a kind of porthole, vignetted, wide angle [aesthetic]… And I'd kind of done a bit of photography lately where there's a lot of lenses [that] don't fit on the large format sensor, so you get this vignette. So I said, ‘well, hang on — if we use a 16 mil lens on a 35 mil negative, that might happen.’ And it worked out really perfect. We had this 4mm lens for 16 mil, that when you put it on 35 mil, just had that perfect circle… You get these aberrations around the very edges of it and it has this organic quality to it, which was very sweet… None of that was post. That was all real.“

—Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC, Director of Photography, “Poor Things”

Be sure to check out “Poor Things” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!

For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

With our continuing Oscars coverage, today we are joined by Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC. He discusses how he got his start in the film business, working with legendary director Martin Scorsese, the challenges of shooting “Killers of the Flower Moon,” as well as how his research into Osage traditions and rituals became directly woven into his photography for the film.

“A lot of it I remember was based on the sun and the sun position. And even the rituals. For example, a burial happens when the sun is at the zenith. So okay, that's usually a time of day you don't want to shoot as a cinematographer. You want to avoid it. But I thought it was important to respect that. And so we decided to have the sun in frame in those moments. And that's why precisely there's a scene of Mollie's mother's burial and the camera's looking straight up at the sky. These are shots that aren't meant to be cool. We're honoring, hopefully, the way they themselves honor the sun.”

—Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC, Director of Photography, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Be sure to check out “Killers of the Flower Moon” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!

Please subscribe to The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also check out the video for this episode.

Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.