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,” Abels jumped into the project eagerly.

“I'm one of those people who saw the original trilogy in the theater, so I've grown up with ‘Star Wars’ and with the music of John Williams… I think every fan actually has an assessment of what makes ‘Star Wars’ ‘Star Wars.’ So Leslye [Headland, creator and showrunner] and I talked about that… And we quickly aligned on that the music of ‘Star Wars,’ while it's not necessary that it be old-school or traditional or orchestral, that's something that we both valued. And so it was our intention to have the score be very traditional in places where it called for that and where that would work. And at the same time, there are definite ways in which this series explores new ground. It's all new characters. There's a method to the storytelling that's distinctly Leslye’s own. And so in those places, the score does what it needs to do to bring this new element to the story.”

—Michael Abels, Composer, “Star Wars: The Acolyte”

Be sure to check out “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” now streaming on Disney+.

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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 independent film “Dìdi (弟弟)” to life.

“It’s such a difficult thing to make your first personal film. It’s so impossibly difficult. And I think you really need to know that’s what you want to do. And if, in the depths of the night, you ask yourself, ‘is this what I must do?’ And if the answer comes out to be yes… then I think you adjust everything in your life in accordance with that goal. It’s just something you must do. If you get enough money, you make it bigger. If you don’t get enough money, you still make it. You make it a little more intimate. I think it’s just that necessity… to tell this story… We make narratives, essentially, to save ourselves.”

—Joan Chen, Actor, “Dìdi (弟弟)”

Today’s panel also includes:

- Sean Wang - Director, Writer, Producer

- Izaac Wang - Actor (“Chris Wang”)

- Joan Chen - Actor (“Chungsing Wang”)

- Valerie Bush - Producer

- Sam Davis - Director of Photography

and Moderator

- Carlos López Estrada - Producer

“Dìdi (弟弟)” was a recipient of the Dolby Institute Fellowship Award, our grant program for exceptional independent films to finish in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®. And we couldn’t be more proud of this film, even before it went on to win the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Be sure to check out “Dìdi (弟弟)” in theaters this Friday, July 26!

Wide release on August 16th.

This discussion was another edition of Antigravity Academy’s Satellite Sessions — free monthly conversations with high-level individuals in film and tv, whose objective is to decentralize resources/information and make them available to as many up-and-coming filmmakers as possible — co-presented by CAPE USA (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment).

Learn more about Antigravity Academy:

https://antigravityacademy.co/

Learn more about CAPE — The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment:

https://www.capeusa.org/

Be sure to follow @antigravityacademy and @capeusa for more information on even more upcoming panels.

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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,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Transformers,” and many more. Just a few of the A-List directors and producers he has worked with are: Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, Zack Snyder, Tom Cruise, Michael Bay, Bradley Cooper, Steven Zaillian, Spike Jonze, Gore Verbinski, Tim Burton, Matt Reeves, JJ Abrams, George Clooney, Tony Gilroy, and Judd Apatow.

So what does it take to be a top colorist in Hollywood, working for some of the biggest personalities in the business?

“Well, it's not just the director, it's a lot of people now… So it's a team sport. Everybody plays a part in it. And it's why it's so enjoyable for me. You have to involve a lot of people, but in general, the director, let's say that's the main person. You have to have a good relationship with that person and you have to be able to interpret what they're saying and get that onto the screen. And to do it quite quickly too, because it's a lot of effort and work and money that goes into these projects. And some people talk in technical terms. And some people, like a Michael Mann for instance, talk through emotions. Like, ‘Hey, [the character is] very this [way] in the scene. And he's feeling this. And this is what's going to happen. And this is what just happened. And therefore this is what I want.’ And I'm sort of interpreting that, in a color way, and [I’ll] put it on the screen and he'll be like, ‘great, that's it!’ Or, ‘no, that's not what I meant. It should be this.’”

—Stefan Sonnenfeld, Senior Colorist, Founder and CEO, Company 3

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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 sonic world-building, which — in true Lance Oppenheim style — very cleverly mixes real and fantastical elements... often leaving the line between the two quite grey.

“I've always been obsessed with Abbas Kiarostami's movies and ‘Close-Up,’ which is very formally different than this, but the idea with that film was embracing reenactments, embracing performance, as a form of truth. And to me, with this project, everything you're seeing on the screen is real. But I wanted to also acknowledge that the moment you drop a camera anywhere, you violate the reality. So it's absurd. All of it's absurd. Documentary filmmaking is absurd. Nonfiction storytelling is absurd. So if we can acknowledge that, can we push past it and find something new?”

—Lance Oppenheim, Director, Writer, and Executive Producer, “Ren Faire”

This conversation was recorded in-person, in front of a live audience at Dolby’s screening room in mid-town Manhattan, as part of our ongoing collaboration with the Artist Academy and Film at Lincoln Center.

Be sure to check out “Ren Faire,” with all three episodes now streaming on Max.

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Academy Award®-nominated director (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) — and Dolby Institute Fellowship winner — Carlos López Estrada brings together another panel of working filmmakers and creatives, this time to discuss the hot button issue of AI in Filmmaking.

Joining the discussion are:

- Jorge R. Gutierrez (Filmmaker - “The Book of Life,” “Maya and the Three”)

- Isa Mazzei (Filmmaker - “Cam,” “How to Blow Up a Pipeline”)

- Paul Trillo (Filmmaker, Visual Artist - “The Hardest Part” music video for Washed Out)

- Dave A. Liu (Producer/Financier - “Dìdi (弟弟),” “Sasquatch Sunset”)

- Dave Clark (Filmmaker, Futurist, Educator)

- Joe Penna (Filmmaker - “Stowaway”)

“I see all of it as inevitable. And lot of things that are being put out there are frankly, I find, just not that provocative or interesting. And I think AI is being used in a very lazy way, which is totally fine. But, if you have the discipline and if you have the experience, you can take that experience use this tool as a way… to discover these ideas that you probably wouldn’t have made otherwise.”

—Paul Trillo, Filmmaker and Director of “The Hardest Part” music video

Be sure to check out Paul Trillo’s controversial Sora-generated music video for Washed Out, “The Hardest Part.”

This is another amazing conversation which is part of our ongoing “Satellite Sessions” series, which we’re bringing to you in partnership with Antigravity Academy and the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment. 

Follow @antigravityacademy and @capeusa for more information on even more upcoming panels.

Antigravity Academy

CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)

For more inspiring Satellite Sessions just like this one, be sure you are subscribed 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. 

Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and Tom Hardy are just a few of the celebrity voice actors in the new Audible Original adaptation of “George Orwell’s 1984.” But this adaptation is unique in that it is audio-only — not unlike a radio play. In doing so, writer Joe White had to translate the novel, which was written from a third-person perspective, and put the audience completely into Winston’s POV. And the creative team needed to rely purely on audio to do all the world-building, without the advantages of visuals or an omniscient narrator. But, as it turns out, the experience came quite naturally for director Destiny Ekaragha.

“It wasn't as different as I thought it was going to be, actually… It is pure directing, in a way. Because when you're directing on set, you have to consider everything. The color of the curtains, the clouds, and the sky. Everything. Which is great and amazing. But here, it was just pure, one-on-one with the actor, which is my favorite part of my job. Directing actors. So I was like, wait, this is nice. I really like this. I'm not thinking about anything else. I really love that.”

—Destiny Ekaragha, Director, “George Orwell’s 1984”

You can experience “George Orwell’s 1984” on Audible in Dolby Atmos®, which fully immerses the listener into this chilling, dystopian world.

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Blockbuster film composer Tom Holkenborg — aka Junkie XL — returns to George Miller’s post-apocalyptic dystopian world with his latest installment, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.”

Regular guest host Jon Burlingame joins the podcast to discuss Holkenborg’s hands-on approach to crafting the music for this film, which included an unusual addition to his typical job of composer.

“To find the right language for this film from a first-person perspective… I was able to be one of the re-recording mixers on this film, being responsible to mix the final results of the film that now people will hear in the theater, alongside [re-recording mixer] Rob Mackenzie. I don't know a film that has been mixed by a composer… at least in the years that I've been working in the film industry. To be able to take this on with George [Miller] and with Rob Mackenzie was just an amazing eight-week experience, to really get into the complete details. It's like, ‘how do you want the music to sound? How is it going to be spaced in an incredible Dolby Atmos theater? And how are you using all the speakers? How much do you push the music? And how do you create perfect handoffs with the sound design, working in conjunction together?’ It was such a fascinating experience.”

—Tom Holkenborg, Composer and Re-recording Mixer, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”

Be sure to check out “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” now playing in Dolby Cinemas®, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.

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One of the reasons behind the immense popularity of this hit multiplayer roleplaying game is its incredible soundtrack. Today, we are joined by the Audio Director of Larian Studios — the makers of “Baldur’s Gate 3” — Stefan Randelshofer, along with our guest host, Dolby’s Senior Game Developer Relations Manager, Alistair Hirst, in a live discussion from this year’s Game Developers Conference, to discuss what went into creating the rich, sonic atmosphere of the video game.

“There is a complete architecture for 3D audio that allows you to listen to 3D audio objects. You can make that work automatically and you can facilitate those 3D audio objects and that gives you so many chances to be more immersed in what you're doing. In a world like Baldur’s Gate, there's so much stuff going on. In the city, when people talk around you. You have a cool combat — if you have one of the spells fly by. So it really gives you the perspective of being there. Therefore, that was the reason for me to go into this Dolby setup”

—Stefan Randelshofer, Audio Director, “Baldur’s Gate 3”

Be sure to check out “Baldur’s Gate 3”, available on PC, Steam, and consoles.

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Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff — co-creators of “Game of Thrones” — and Alexander Woo (“True Blood”) join us to talk about their epic new science fiction series: “3 Body Problem” on Netflix.

Rounding out the discussion are:

• Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman
• Sound Designer Paula Fairfield
• Supervising Sound Editor Tim Kimmel
• Editor Michael Ruscio

The show is based on a series of bestselling books by Liu Cixin — which, famously, have been described as “unadaptable” to film & TV, due to the complexities of particle physics, which are at the heart of the premise of the story.

“We're not physicists. So we needed to — first and foremost — put it in language that we understood. And luckily, we had a good amount of help doing this. Both the books themselves are written for people who are not scientists, and we had Matt Kenzie, our physics advisor, and Bobak Ferdowsi, our JPL space and rocketry advisor, who helped us translate. We listened to them answer our questions. We listened to them answer the cast’s questions. And the way they explain things to people like us gave us a template for the way we could explain things to the people watching. And one thing you do have is you have imagery which can really — even if you don't entirely understand all the explanation and scientific logic behind what you're seeing — give you a flavor for what it means and how it feeds into the story that you're seeing.”

—D.B. Weiss, Co-Showrunner, Executive Producer, and Writer, “3 Body Problem”

Be sure to check out “3 Body Problem,” in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, on Netflix.

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The collaboration between director and cinematographer is arguably the most important dynamic on any film shoot. Here to discuss that are Director Kobi Libii and Director of Photography Doug Emmett, with their satirical comedy, “The American Society of Magical Negroes.”

“To me, the best versions of most collaborative things are the things you get to and you're like, ‘wait, was that your idea or was that my idea? I can't remember.’ And there's a million like this… where I'm like, ‘oh, I really thought you pitched that to me.’ And he's like, ‘no, no, I thought you pitched that to me!’ Because it's not my idea or Doug's idea. Or my process or my vision or Doug's vision. It's a thing that gets made in the space between us, that is of the story, and of the characters, and of what this thing that we're building between us is.”

—Kobi Libii, Director and Writer, “The American Society of Magical Negroes”

This conversation was a live webinar as part of the Dolby Institute’s partnership with Sundance Collab, the digital platform from the Sundance Institute designed for filmmakers, with exclusive webinars, curated resources, and free educational videos.

“The American Society of Magical Negroes” was a winner of the Dolby Institute Fellowship, which grants independent films with the funds to finish in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and we were very proud to finally watch the completed film when it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival before it was released in theaters by Focus Features.

Be sure to check out the film, now available to rent in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on video streaming services.

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