Dolby Creator Talks

For our 150th episode of The Dolby Institute Podcast we’re delighted to bring you filmmaking advice for first-time filmmakers… FROM first-time filmmakers. We have gathered a panel of emerging directors, fresh off the premieres of their very first films, to share their insights, triumphs, and challenges in this candid round-table discussion. 

What hard lessons did they learn? And what would they do differently next time?

“As the director, everything that goes wrong is my fault. And you have to take full responsibility. Because you're in charge... It was a hard experience. It was bumpy. But it made it so that, in the future, I am prepared and I know how this system works. I [now] know how the machine works and I can operate in it smoothly.”

— Thomas Sawyer, Writer and Director, "Sirens"

These insights are from a group of young filmmakers who took part in the “Finish the Script Challenge,” a collaboration between the Dolby Institute and Ghetto Film School. With an open-call submission process and mentorship by Academy Award-nominated director Carlos López Estrada, each year recipients receive a $25,000 grant and access to resources to finish their short films in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.

Whether you're a film student, an aspiring director, or a seasoned pro, we hope you find the candid advice in this episode helpful and inspiring. 

Be sure to check out each of the films from our panelists, along with behind-the-scenes featurettes by documentary filmmakers Ian Sotzing and Jordan Fatke.

— “Pause/Play” by Kaitlyn Ali

— “Fruits of Your Labor” by Britney Bautista

— “Sirens” by Thomas Sawyer

— “Zora’s Last Day on Earth” by Miguel Ramirez

— Behind the Scenes: Finish the Script Year 2

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. 

Independent filmmaking legend Robert Rodriguez joins us this week, along with his composer and son Rebel Rodriguez, to discuss their mind-bending new action-thriller, “Hypnotic,” starring Ben Affleck. We discuss how they finally completed this film after years of Covid-related delays, why the director still prefers Austin over Hollywood (as his production hub), and how he’s made filmmaking a truly family affair. In addition to Rebel's score, the film benefited from the creative input of Robert's daughter, Rhiannon Rodriguez, who contributed to the storyboards. Racer Max Rodriguez and Rocket Rodriguez, Robert's other sons, brought their respective expertise to the table as well — Racer Max as the a co-writer and producer, and Rocket as an editor.

“Now they’re the age where I was when I was doing ‘[El] Mariachi’ and ‘Desperado’ and all that. And I was like, wow, I was on fire back then, with all these ideas. No wonder these guys are [too]. If I need help with ‘Hypnotic,’ I need myself from 20 years ago to come help me finish this thing. And I got them, I got a whole bunch of them! So they come with all these great ideas and it's like, wow, divide and conquer. Let's just take over this thing. They're becoming essential to my process, for sure.”

— Robert Rodriguez, Director/Producer/Co-Writer/Co-Cinematographer/Editor, “Hypnotic”

Be sure to check out Hypnotic, now in theaters.

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

You can also check out the video for this episode.

About Dolby: Dolby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through our innovative research and engineering, we develop breakthroughs that we share with the world through collaborations that span artists, businesses, and consumers worldwide. These breakthroughs deliver incredibly vivid experiences in the cinema, at home, at work, and on the go — experiences so lifelike that people feel as if they’ve been transported into a cinematic story or a pulsing sphere of music, a distant conference room or an action-packed game. In both entertainment and communications, through audio and imaging, we give everyone the power to see, hear, and feel the spectacular.

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

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 height of the COVID-19 Omicron surge. Despite these challenges, the film is a masterclass in nailing tone and also turning that tone on a dime. But finding that right balance was no easy feat, requiring lots of trial and error.

“It starts with the script… but it’s really found in post, in the edit, how we’re cutting, the rhythm to which we’re cutting, finding the right music, the right score… All of it working together. It became so important. Because as we were test screening it, we could feel audiences weren’t going with us, tonally. And then all we had [left[ was to edit the sound. To kind of find it, and sort of play around with it, and see how we could bring audiences with us.”

— Nida Manzoor, Writer and Director, “Polite Society”

Joining us on the podcast is the team who “found it.” Writer and director Nida Manzoor, director of photography (and Aikido black belt) Ashley Connor, sound designer and supervising sound editor Jay Price, and re-recording mixers Tushar Manek and Simon Hill.

Be sure to check out Polite Society, now in theaters.

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

You can also check out the video for this episode.

About Dolby: Dolby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through our innovative research and engineering, we develop breakthroughs that we share with the world through collaborations that span artists, businesses, and consumers worldwide. These breakthroughs deliver incredibly vivid experiences in the cinema, at home, at work, and on the go — experiences so lifelike that people feel as if they’ve been transported into a cinematic story or a pulsing sphere of music, a distant conference room or an action-packed game. In both entertainment and communications, through audio and imaging, we give everyone the power to see, hear, and feel the spectacular.

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

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 contained I wanted the movie to feel epic. And I knew that sound would play a very very important role in that because Evil Dead movies are contained. That’s kind of part of their DNA.”

— Lee Cronin, Writer/Director, Evil Dead Rise

We have some “epic” clips to share with you, as well as a breakdown of that excruciating cheese grater sequence, so this episode is not for the squeamish. This interview was recorded live at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.

Be sure to check out Evil Dead Rise, now in theaters.

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

You can also check out the video for this episode.

About Dolby: Dolby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through our innovative research and engineering, we develop breakthroughs that we share with the world through collaborations that span artists, businesses, and consumers worldwide. These breakthroughs deliver incredibly vivid experiences in the cinema, at home, at work, and on the go — experiences so lifelike that people feel as if they’ve been transported into a cinematic story or a pulsing sphere of music, a distant conference room or an action-packed game. In both entertainment and communications, through audio and imaging, we give everyone the power to see, hear, and feel the spectacular.

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

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 involved in making a film in 2023, including (perhaps most importantly) how to get the gig in the first place:

“I read the script and I pitched on it… And then when [the producers] were on board with my take… they said, ‘OK, now the next round is to pitch it to [producer and star] Ewan [McGregor].’ So I went on a Zoom [with him] and I pitched my take on it. Like how I would change the narrative slightly and make different turns. He was listening and then he said, ‘oh, I don’t like that at all.’ [laughs] I just turned beet red and in my head I was thinking — I can’t really back down now. Because this is the way I would tell the story and I don’t know how I would do it otherwise with conviction. So I tried to explain it to him… and then at some point he was like, ‘OK, yeah, maybe that is a good idea.’ I think also it was a little bit of a test to see if I would stick to my guns.”

— Emma Westenberg, Director and Executive Producer, “You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder”

This panel was moderated by independent producer Kennedy Davey at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, where “You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder” and “Cora Bora” had their premieres.

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

You can also check out the video for this episode.

About Dolby: Dolby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through our innovative research and engineering, we develop breakthroughs that we share with the world through collaborations that span artists, businesses, and consumers worldwide. These breakthroughs deliver incredibly vivid experiences in the cinema, at home, at work, and on the go — experiences so lifelike that people feel as if they’ve been transported into a cinematic story or a pulsing sphere of music, a distant conference room or an action-packed game. In both entertainment and communications, through audio and imaging, we give everyone the power to see, hear, and feel the spectacular.

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

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 back in 1998, and as a result, Craig had his work cut out for him as he reconstructed and rebuilt the original soundtrack into its stunning new remaster and Dolby Atmos® mix.

Craig also dishes on the collaborative process of working with legendary directors such as Aronofsky and Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), the latter of whom helped earn Craig his first Academy Award nomination.

This discussion took place in front of a live audience at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.

Be sure to check out A24’s 25th anniversary re-release of Darren Aronofsky’s Pi.

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

You can also check out the video for this episode.

About Dolby: Dolby transforms the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences. Through our innovative research and engineering, we develop breakthroughs that we share with the world through collaborations that span artists, businesses, and consumers worldwide. These breakthroughs deliver incredibly vivid experiences in the cinema, at home, at work, and on the go — experiences so lifelike that people feel as if they’ve been transported into a cinematic story or a pulsing sphere of music, a distant conference room or an action-packed game. In both entertainment and communications, through audio and imaging, we give everyone the power to see, hear, and feel the spectacular.

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

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 into SXSW or Sundance?

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. 

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 Cinematography category for this year’s Academy Awards. The nominated Directors of Photography are in alphabetical order, by film, in the index above.

This is a super-sized episode because each of these interviews are brand new and exclusive to The Dolby Institute Podcast. So get your Oscar ballot ready and enjoy these in-depth discussions about the groundbreaking work these talented individuals have brought to the craft of cinematography this year.

If you enjoy episodes like this, where we share our in-depth conversations with artists and filmmakers, be sure you are subscribed to us wherever you get your podcasts.

Many thanks to all the studios for helping us pull these interviews together! Be sure to check out ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, BARDO, ELVIS, EMPIRE OF LIGHT, and TÁR before Oscars voting ends!

You can also check out the video for this episode, if you’d prefer to watch these interviews and clips from each of the films, on our YouTube channel.

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

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 in your annual office pool — you'll have a much better idea of what to watch for and (more importantly) what to listen for as you get to the Best Sound category on your ballot! Here are the nominees, in alphabetical order:

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT —Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel, and Stefan Korte

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER — Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, and Michael Hedges

THE BATMAN — Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray, and Andy Nelson

ELVIS — David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson, and Michael Keller

TOP GUN: MAVERICK — Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor

With the exception of ELVIS (due to time), each of these interview excerpts is taken from our full episodes dedicated to the sound design of each of these incredible films. Here's a table of contents, in case you'd like to jump around, as well as links to the full episodes from our back catalogue:

0:02:03 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT - from episode 139, January 10, 2023

• Edward Berger — Writer and Director
• Lars Ginzel — Re-recording Mixer
• Viktor Prášil — Production Sound Mixer
• Frank Kruse — Sound Supervisor and Sound Designer
• Unfortunately, nominee Stefan Korte (Re-recording Mixer) was unable to join us at the time of this recording

0:22:49 - AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER - from episode 140, January 14, 2023

• Christopher Boyes — Re-recording Mixer, Supervising Sound Editor, and Sound Designer
• Dick Bernstein — Supervising Sound Editor
• Michael Hedges — Re-recording Mixer
• Julian Howarth — Production Sound Mixer
• Gwendolyn Yates Whittle — Supervising sound editor
• Unfortunately, nominee Gary Summers (Re-recording Mixer) was unable to join us at the time of this recording.

0:53:44 - THE BATMAN - from episode 116, March 8, 2022

• Matt Reeves — Director
• Michael Giacchino — Composer
• William Files — Supervising Sound Editor
• Douglas Murray — Supervising Sound Editor
• Andy Nelson — Re-recording Mixer
• Unfortunately, nominee Stuart Wilson (Production Sound Mixer) was unable to join us at the time of this recording.

1:05:44 - ELVIS - recorded recently, exclusively for this episode

• David Lee — Production Sound Mixer
• Wayne Pashley — Re-recording Mixer, Sound Designer, and Supervising Sound Editor
• Michael Keller — Re-recording Mixer
• Andy Nelson — Re-recording Mixer

1:39:20 - TOP GUN: MAVERICK - from episode 133, November 22, 2022

• Joseph Kosinski — Director
• Bjørn Schroeder — Supervising Sound Editor
• James H Mather — Supervising Sound Editor
• Al Nelson — Supervising Sound Editor
• Chris Burdon — Re-recording Mixer
• Mark Taylor — Re-recording Mixer
• Unfortunately, Mark Weingarten (Production Sound Mixer) was unable to join us at the time of this recording.

Many thanks to all the studios for helping us pull these interviews together! Be sure to check out ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, THE BATMAN, ELVIS, and TOP GUN: MAVERICK before Oscars voting ends!

We have another episode for Best Cinematography coming up. So if you haven't already, 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. 

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 sound editor Mildred Iatrou Morgan; and production sound mixer Steve Morrow.

If you’ve seen the film then you already know it is a bombastic depiction of Hollywood decadence in the time of transition from the silent film era to “the talkies.” And from the what we’ve heard in today’s episode, the production was appropriately over-the-top as well.

“Damien’s thing was — ‘this is great, but let's go bigger.’ I think Margot Robbie had a story where she said, ‘I put everything out there and I was going crazy.’ And he walked over and I thought, ‘oh, that's it. He's gonna tell me to tone it back.’ And he goes, ‘ok, can you go a little bigger than that?’ That was kind of the idea behind the whole film. It's — let's go bigger, let's go bolder, let's go beyond what's reasonable, and then we can pull back from there. But let's just see where that line is. And so that's how we treated it on production. We just went as extreme as we could.”

—Steve Morrow, Production Sound Mixer, “Babylon”

Be sure to check out Babylon in a theater near your, in Dolby Atmos® where available.

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.