Go in-depth with top sound artists and creative teams to find out how they bring films to life.
New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Available everywhere you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
Episode 76: Sundance Film Festival in the time of COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic means this year’s Sundance Film Festival will be entirely virtual. But what exactly does a virtual film festival look like?
Episode 75: The sound of storytelling
Dolby recently co-presented a panel at the Television Academy Foundation with some of this year’s sound nominees. We’ve added some clips to the conversation.
Episode 74: Dolby Vision roundtable (Part 2)
Join us as we dive deeper into the actual process and tips for HDR and WCG color grading as well as the full Dolby Vision metadata creation and trim pass.
Episode 73: Sundance Co//ab: sound design for indie movies
The filmmakers discuss how to communicate the subjective experience of your main character using sound and tips for hiring and working with your sound team.
Episode 72: Dolby Vision roundtable (Part 1)
Learn about the origins of Dolby Vision and how Dolby helped change the game for immersive cinema and home entertainment.
Episode 71: The sound of Unorthodox
The sound team discusses making the ultra-Orthodox community feel authentic and using sound for flashbacks to reveal the details of Esty’s story.
Episode 70: The sound of Locke and Key
The sound team talks about creating the show's fantastic sounds, including a terrifying mirror room and whispering keys that only children can hear.
Episode 69: The sound of Ozark
The sound team takes us through creating the sonic environments of riverboat casinos and basement dungeons, and how they build tension throughout season 3.
Episode 68: The sound of Mindhunter
The sound team talks about setting the acoustic tone of the series, Fincher’s mix notes and unique approach to the sound of serial killer interrogation scene...
Episode 67: The sound of Hamilton
The creative team discusses adapting the live show into the cinematic world and how Dolby Atmos gives home audiences a transformative theatrical experience.
Episode 66: The sound of Westworld
The sound team discusses mixing the show natively in Dolby Atmos and the challenges of finishing post-production as the world went into COVID-19 lockdown.
Episode 65: The sound of The Mandalorian with Bonnie Wild
Bonnie Wild, rerecording mixer and sound effects editor of the Star Wars show from Disney+, talks about cinematic scale and production value on a TV budget.
Season 5
Conversations with sound artists
Join us for Dolby Institute director, Glenn Kiser brings together the talented artists behind Making Waves, Stranger Things 3, Carnival Row, Ford v Ferrari, Rocketman, Uncut Gems, Star Wars, and The Irishman.
Episode 57: Conversations with sound artists – The Irishman
Sound collaborators Eugene Gearty and Tom Fleischman talk about working with Scorsese, de-aging the actors' voices, and the film’s minimalist soundtrack.
Episode 56: The visual design of Star Wars
Lucasfilm design supervisor James Clyne shares how J.J. Abrams reimagined the X-Wing fighter and how they researched and built various Death Star interiors.
Episode 55: Conversations with sound artists – Star Wars
Co-sound supervisors, Matthew Wood and David Acord, share nearly two decades of Star Wars experience including audio restorations of the original films.
Episode 54: Conversations with sound artists – Uncut Gems
The filmmakers, composer, and sound team discuss how they used sound design and music to create the perilous, uncomfortable world of Adam Sandler’s character.
Episode 53: Conversations with sound artists – Rocketman
The picture editor and sound team for the Elton John biopic, discuss the film’s unique blend of prerecorded music, live singing on set, and postrecorded songs.
Episode 52: The making of Ford v Ferrari
The sound team talks about carving out moments for internal character sounds to come through and tracking down the original cars to keep the film sounding real.
Episode 51: Conversations with sound artists – Carnival Row
The show’s sound mixers explain how they created the sound of faerie wings and why Dolby Atmos was part of the series’ sound concept right from the beginning.
Episode 50: The sound of Stranger Things 3
Join the sound team for a discussion about keeping creature sounds fresh and new, and delivering cinema-quality sound on an episodic schedule and budget.
Episode 49: Conversations with film sound legends
Find out why Wall-E’s voice made some people cry and about the role of subjective sound in creative storytelling in this talk with some film sound legends.
Conversations with sound artists:
season 4
In this series of episodes, join Dolby® Institute director Glenn Kiser in conversation with the creative teams behind the sound and music of some of the biggest films of the year, including Roma, A Star is Born, First Man, and Black Panther.
About the artists and their podcasts
Episode 1 — A Star is Born
Production sound mixer Steve Morrow, Grammy-winning music mixer Nick Baxter, and rerecording mixer Dean Zupancic talk about grabbing crowd scenes between sets at the Stagecoach and Glastonbury music festivals, how doing impulse responses in each of the venues allowed them to recreate the sound of the arenas in post-production, and how Bradley Cooper was not your typical first-time director.
“The movie is shot from stage, as if you were part of the band, and [Dolby Atmos] allows you to be closer to the drums or closer to the bass guitar, to be part of the stage, and I think the audience feels that.” — Steve Morrow
Episode 4 — Roma
Academy Award®-winning sound supervisor and rerecording mixer Skip Lievsay talks about the extraordinary sound work behind director Alfonso Cuarón’s epic black-and-white film about his own childhood in 1970s Mexico City. Skip talks about how not having a musical score keeps the audience guessing what will happen next, why it was important to Cuarón to have the dialogue emanate not just from the screen channels but from all around the audience, the stunning five-day loop group recording session with 350 actors, and the 70-day final mix of the film.
Episode 3 — First Man
Academy Award- and Grammy-winning composer Justin Hurwitz, sound supervisor and rerecording mixer Ai-Ling Lee, sound supervisor Mildred Iatrou, rerecording mixer Frank Montaño, rerecording mixer Jon Taylor, and Academy Award-winning picture editor Tom Cross discuss how the film’s documentary look (it was filmed in Super-16mm) affected the approach to sound and music, how the sound elements contributed to the understanding of how dangerous the early space flights were, and why it was important to focus on the sound of an errant fly in the space capsule.
“[Director] Damien [Chazelle] really wanted my picture editing to make room for sound. So I would set up an edit where we would see the rivets in the ships, I would have cutaways to gauges and the walls of these tiny capsules, and those would be the places where we would have Ai-Ling’s amazing sounds of the creaks and the groans of the ship, and we’ll answer that with the looks on the faces of the astronauts, feeling the sense of dread that they’re about to be launched.” — Tom Cross
Episode 2 — Black Panther
Composer Ludwig Göransson and supervising sound editor Steve Boeddeker talk about the collaboration of sound design and score in Black Panther, the integration of African music into a traditional symphonic score, and how the sound design of futuristic Wakanda technology and weaponry is influenced by West African sounds (like a bird becoming the sound of a passing spaceship).
Oscars® Edition Podcast Series
In these podcasts with Oscar nominees and winners, sound designers talk about the creation of the sound design for the films, their collaboration with the music department and rerecording mixers, and the challenges of managing the logistics and aesthetics of their films.
Conversations with sound artists: season 3
In this series of six episodes, we focus on the long-time collaboration of some of the leading directors and their sound supervisors working today. These remarkable directors talk about the importance of sound to the films, and how they work with sound design and music. Conversations include Edgar Wright & Julian Slater; Darren Aronofsky & Craig Henighan; Matt Reeves with Michael Giacchino, Will Files & Douglas Murray; Joe Wright & Craig Berkey; and others…
About the artists and their podcasts
Episode 1 — Director Edgar Wright & sound supervisor Julian Slater
Writer/director Edgar Wright joins sound supervisor Julian Slater in conversation about their remarkable five film collaboration, starting with Shawn of the Dead and continuing through their most recent film, Baby Driver. In this episode, you’ll learn why Wright records sound on location scouts, dissect the sonic components of the infamous “Tequila” shoot-out scene from Baby Driver, and hear why Julian Slater feels Dolby Atmos® was designed for the film.
Episode 2 — Sound supervisor Richard King talks about his collaboration with director Christopher Nolan
Three-time Academy Award-winning sound supervisor Richard King discusses his remarkable collaboration with the director Christopher Nolan, which began with The Prestige and has continued through this summer’s Dunkirk. Richard talks about creating the sirens of the German dive-bomber planes, and addresses some of the controversies of Nolan’s mixes. He also touches on working with other directors including Paul Thomas Anderson, Sam Shepard, and Nicolas Roeg. Richard also answers questions from other sound designers.
Episode 3 — Director Darren Aronofsky & sound supervisor Craig Henighan
Darren Aronofsky is one of the most innovative and boundary-pushing directors working in cinema. Join him in conversation with his longtime sound supervisor Craig Henighan as they discuss their work on Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, Noah, and mother! In this episode, Aronofsky talks about how mother! ended up without a musical score, creating the character of the house, and how each element of the track is deliberately crafted.
Episode 4 — Director Joe Wright & sound supervisor Craig Berkey
Director Joe Wright and his sound supervisor Craig Berkey talk about using sound design to build worlds as diverse as Churchill’s World War II London in Darkest Hour, the synesthezia of a homeless schizophrenic in The Soloist, or a fantastic Neverland in Pan. Wright and Berkey explore why recording Foley in the real Churchill war rooms was important, how working in the London rave scene after college influenced Wright’s use of sound, and why having the score to play for the actors on set is important.
Episode 5 — Director Matt Reeves, composer Michael Giacchino, sound supervisor Will Files, and sound supervisor Douglas Murray
Director Matt Reeves joins sound supervisors Will Files & Douglas Murray, and composer Michael Giacchino in conversation about their four-film collaboration, starting with Cloverfield and culminating with this summer’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The artists discuss the unique challenges of utilizing the vocalizations of the human actors for the apes, how the trailer for Cloverfield drove the movie and the challenge of making a scary monster movie with no musical score, and why Michael Giacchino originally did not want to write the score for Let Me In.
Episode 6 — Composer Carter Burwell and sound supervisor Skip Lievsay talk about working with the Coen brothers
Composer Carter Burwell and sound designer/mixer Skip Lievsay talk about their remarkable 30-year collaboration with the Coen Brothers and share stories starting with Blood Simple in 1985 and continuing through all 17 of the Coen’s films. Scenes are discussed from Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Burn After Reading, and you’ll learn how it turns out there is actually musical score in No Country for Old Men.
Oscars® Edition Podcast Series
In these podcasts with Oscar nominees and winners, sound designers talk about the creation of the sound design for the films, their collaboration with the music department and rerecording mixers, and the challenges of managing the logistics and aesthetics of their films.
Conversations with sound artists: season 2
Season 2 of our podcast collection focuses on storytelling with sound. We speak with leading artists who create sound design for Broadway shows, virtual reality, and installation art pieces.
About the artists and their podcasts
Episode 1 — Nevin Steinberg: the sound of Hamilton
Leading Broadway sound designer Nevin Steinberg discusses his work on hit shows including Hamilton, Bright Star, The Full Monty, and Spamalot. He tells us why he doesn't listen to the cast albums of his shows, the trials of redesigning theatre sound for touring companies, coming trends in Broadway sound design, and his experiences working with such legendary artists as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Nichols, Steve Martin, and Edie Brickell.
Episode 2 — Tim Gedemer: sound for VR
Tim Gedemer, one of the most experienced artists working in sound for virtual reality with collaborations with studios including Jaunt, Specular Theory, and others, joins us to discuss the current state of sound for VR. We discuss the crazy first days of full spatial audio for the initial wave of VR projects, and why traditional filmmakers tend to stumble in their first VR experiences. Tim also provides a step-by-step discussion of how sound for VR works, from production capture through to the frustration of having to take off the headset so you can see the mixing console. He also discusses some of his most successful collaborations, and the differences between audio for cinematic, game-based, and live VR experiences.
Episode 3 — Sophie Clements: sound and visual art
Visual artist Sophie Clements joins her longtime sound design/music collaborator Jo Wills to discuss their site-specific piece Attempting to Delay the Inevitable, an installation at the Dolby Gallery; the role of sound in her visual art pieces; why computer-graphics images would never work in her art; and how sound and image collaborate to create wonder, awe, and seduction in the audience. We're joined for this conversation by Kevin Byrd, Head of Visual Experiences at Dolby.
Sophie Clements Dolby Installation Details
Sophie Clements Dolby Gallery Event
Kevin Byrd Art Installation Details
Episode 4 — John Roesch: the art of Foley
Legendary Foley artist John Roesch discusses his more than 30-year career performing sounds for films including E.T., Back to the Future, The Dark Knight, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Inception; the challenge of performing Foley for rainy scenes; why Foley can't come from an effects library; and how you walk steps for a Transformer.
Episode 5 — Jad Abumrad: the sound of Radiolab
"Radiolab" is one of the most distinctive sounding shows in the radio and podcast world. In this episode, the creator and co-host of the show, Jad Abumrad, talks about how he uses music as a metaphor to explore abstract topics like what a manta shrimp sees when it looks at a rainbow, why it's important to drop into the story midstream, why he deliberately disrespects the boundary between sound effects and music, and how he aspires to tell complex stories without words.
Episode 6 — Ryan Coogler: the sound and music of Creed and Fruitvale Station
In this special podcast presentation of our recent Dolby Institute master class at the Los Angeles Film Festival, writer/director Ryan Coogler is joined by his composer Ludwig Göransson and sound designer Steve Boeddeker to present clips and discuss their use of sound and music in Creed and Fruitvale Station.
Episode 7 — Walter Murch: cinema sound design and film editing (part 1)
Three-time Academy Award-winner Walter Murch joins the “Conversations with Sound Artists” podcast. In part one of our talk, Walter takes questions from other leading sound designers Ren Klyce and Gary Rydstrom about his work, talks about how documentary film has affected modern cinema style, discusses his work in Apocalypse Now and The Conversation, and ends the episode with a discussion of the use of music in The Godfather and The English Patient.
Episode 8 — Walter Murch: cinema sound design and film editing (part 2)
Much like The Godfather, our talk with Walter Murch was simply too epic to be contained in one podcast. In part two of our conversation, fellow sound designers Randy Thom and Chris Foster pose questions to Walter, we discuss the state of cinema sound before and after Apocalypse Now, why film school can be a good idea, and how you can underline a character’s emotional state with carefully chosen sound effects.
Oscars® Edition Podcast Series
In these podcasts with Oscar nominees and winners, sound designers talk about the creation of the sound design for the films, their collaboration with the music department and rerecording mixers, and the challenges of managing the logistics and aesthetics of their films.
Conversations with sound artists: season 1
In each episode, the artist talks with the Dolby Institute's Glenn Kiser and SoundWorks Collection's Michael Coleman about the challenges and opportunities the artist faced while building the soundscapes you enjoy.
Episode 1 — Randy Thom: writing for sound
Randy Thom, director of sound design at Skywalker Sound, discusses how writers and directors can use sound as a tool to tell their stories, the importance of Apocalypse Now to modern sound design, his work with director Robert Zemeckis on Cast Away, and more.
Episode 2 — Rob Krekel and Phillip Kovats of Naughty Dog Studios: video game sound design
Game soundtracks are no longer about the beeps and bloops of our childhood past. Explore sound design from Rob Krekel and Phillip Kovats of Naughty Dog Studios, one of the most advanced video game production houses in the world. Playing video games isn't just about what you see on the screen, it's about what you hear around you — and in the surrounds.
Episode 3 — Coll Anderson: creative sound for documentaries
Creative sound design is important in documentaries, even though it's rarely the first thing that audiences think about. Sound designer/mixer Coll Anderson discusses the role that creative post-production sound can serve in telling non-narrative stories.
Episode 4 — Anna Behlmer: the art of sound mixing
Ten-time Academy Award® nominee Anna Behlmer talks about being one of the first female mixers in the movie business, strategies for handling a nervous director, and why you will always find colored Sharpie pens on a mixing stage.
Episode 5 — Gwen Yates Whittle: dialogue editing and automatic dialogue replacement (ADR)
In this episode, two-time Academy Award nominee Gwen Yates Whittle talks with Glenn Kiser about why director George Lucas thinks dialogue editing is one of the most important parts of the process.
Episode 6 — Daniel Colman: sound for television
In discussing his work on Battlestar Galactica and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Emmy® award-winning sound designer Daniel Colman talks about why musicians make the best sound designers and the challenges of living within the rules of television’s dynamic range.
Oscars® Edition Podcast Series
In these podcasts with Oscar nominees and winners, sound designers talk about the creation of the sound design for the films, their collaboration with the music department and rerecording mixers, and the challenges of managing the logistics and aesthetics of their films.