“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 sound plays such a pivotal role in his films, offering insights into his process of integrating...

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 iconic “bat crack” in baseball to leveraging the immersive capabilities of Atmos for crowd...

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 personal insights and practical tips on crafting pitches, to offer invaluable wisdom on what it takes...

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 to share their experiences, break down how these rooms come together, and discuss how...

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 possibilities, the film’s imaginative sound design and immersive audio mix, and how they brought Pharrell’s...

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 elements like live-recorded songs and experimental instruments. They discuss how the music helps...

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 Islands to the bustling streets of London, the team reveals how they crafted distinct sonic...

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 and the team relished in crafting its richness and complexity for over two years. “We didn't have...

“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 Givarz, inside the studio with David Bowie to explore the production of the original album and...

“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. But one of the most interesting aspects of the production was how it was financed. And in...

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 conversation with guest host Ben Givarz, Richard shares his process for respecting the creative intent of...

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 120 albums, and has been at the forefront of immersive audio for over 20. In this conversation...

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 Roxy Music records in the 70s and 80s, as well as how they used the original multi-tracks to go...

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 details and nuances were written directly into the scripts, and overseen by a showrunner with a...

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 produce their projects. Joining the discussion are: - Vanessa Morrison, President of Streaming, Walt...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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 FreemanSound Designer Paula FairfieldSupervising Sound Editor Tim KimmelEditor Michael Ruscio The show is based on a series of bestselling books by Liu Cixin — which, famously, have been described as “unadaptable” to film &...