Go behind the scenes with top sound artists and creative teams on the Dolby Institute Podcast
New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Available everywhere you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
Latest episode
The music of The Color Purple
Director Blitz Bazawule joins his composer Kris Bowers to discuss their new adaptation of “The Color Purple.” You may remember the original filmed adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, directed by Steven Spielberg, from 1985. This version is actually an adaptation of the hit Broadway show, which won two Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, speaks with Kris and Blitz about their collaboration on the film, which began very early in the filmmaking process.
The music of The Color Purple
Director Blitz Bazawule joins his composer Kris Bowers to discuss their new adaptation of “The Color Purple.” You may remember the original filmed adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, directed by Steven Spielberg, from 1985. This version is actually an adaptation of the hit Broadway show, which won two Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, speaks with Kris and Blitz about their collaboration on the film, which began very early in the filmmaking process.
Director Jonathan Glazer and the sound of The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer joins us to discuss his latest film, “The Zone of Interest,” a searing drama about life just outside of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, which the director chose to have the audience hear, rather than see. Joining the discussion is Johnnie Burn, the film’s sound designer, supervising sound editor, and re-recording mixer, as well as producer James Wilson.
This conversation was recorded as a live panel discussion after a screening of the film at the New York Film Festival and was part of our support of the FLC Artist Academy program, where we bring conversations about the art and craft of filmmaking to the next generation of directors: https://www.filmlinc.org/academy-programs/artists-academy/
Director Jonathan Glazer and the sound of The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer joins us to discuss his latest film, “The Zone of Interest,” a searing drama about life just outside of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, which the director chose to have the audience hear, rather than see. Joining the discussion is Johnnie Burn, the film’s sound designer, supervising sound editor, and re-recording mixer, as well as producer James Wilson.
This conversation was recorded as a live panel discussion after a screening of the film at the New York Film Festival and was part of our support of the FLC Artist Academy program, where we bring conversations about the art and craft of filmmaking to the next generation of directors: https://www.filmlinc.org/academy-programs/artists-academy/
The making of Society of the Snow
Director J.A. Bayona discusses his latest film — and the country of Spain’s official submission to this year’s Academy Awards — “Society of the Snow.”
Director of Photography Pedro Luque and Sound Designer Oriol Tarragó also join us to discuss how they crafted this riveting retelling of the infamous 1972 Andes flight disaster, where a team of rugby players from Uraguay had to do the unthinkable to survive. Realism was big priority for Bayona, so the production was a challenging, sometimes even grueling experience.
The music of Poor Things
Composer Jerskin Fendrix joins us to discuss his first-ever film score — the latest from director Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things.” It was an exciting experimental collaboration for both artists, as this was also the director’s first time working with an original score for one of his films.
Our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, returns to the Dolby Institute Podcast to discuss Jerskin’s background, creative process, and what it was like to work with Lanthimos for the composer’s feature film debut.
Cinematographers and their first features, hosted by Carlos…
Director Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon) leads another all-star panel of Hollywood talent to discuss how they broke into the industry as professional cinematographers. And what better way to do that than by discussing their first feature films?
The panel includes Directors of Photography:
- Mandy Walker (Elvis, Mulan, Hidden Figures, Australia)
- Larry Fong (300, Batman V. Superman, Kong: Skull Island, the pilot of LOST)
- Lawrence Sher (Joker, the Hangover trilogy, Garden State)
- Oren Soffer (The Creator w/ Greig Fraser)
- Sandra Valde-Hansen (The Summer I Turned Pretty, The L Word: Generation Q)
- Karina Silva (No Man of God, the upcoming Which Brings Me to You)
The sound of Emerald Fennell’s wicked new film - Saltburn
Academy Award-winning writer and director Emerald Fennell joins us to discuss her latest dark comedy thriller, Saltburn. The film features an unflinchingly disturbing story, incredible performances, and an appropriately cutting-edge sound design, which was being experimented with up until the very end of post-production.
Joining the conversation with Fennell are supervising sound editors Nina Hartstone and Eilam Hoffman, production sound mixer Nina Rice, and re-recording mixers Adam Scrivener and Jasper Thorn.
Screenwriting for Change, Hosted by Carlos López Estrada
Director Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon) leads another all-star panel of Hollywood talent to discuss how they’ve navigated the industry as screenwriters, television writers, and showrunners. These talented writers have not only enjoyed enormous success in the industry, but have also brought their own fresh perspectives which have been missing for a long time in Hollywood.
Today’s panel includes writers: Carolina Paiz (Narcos, Grey’s Anatomy, Orange is The New Black), Dana Ledoux Miller (The Newsroom, Thai Cave Rescue, Disney’s Moana), Joanna Calo (Hacks, Beef, Bojack Horseman, The Bear), Charles Yu (Interior Chinatown, Westworld, American Born Chinese, Marvel’s Legion on FX)
Conversations with Colorists: Picture Shop
Our guest host Tom Graham — the Head of Dolby Vision® Content Enablement — returns for the second installment of our ongoing series, “Conversations with Colorists,” where he discusses the nitty gritty of working as a professional colorist, especially for projects that deliver in Dolby Vision®.
Joining the discussion are three of the top colorists working in film & television today — Tony D’Amore, Paul Westerbeck, and Frederik Bokkenhauser, all senior colorists at Picture Shop.
Producers searching for new voices, hosted by Carlos López E…
What exactly are movie producers looking for when searching for new creative voices? Director Carlos López Estrada returns with another all-star panel to discuss this very topic, with some of the top producers in the field. So if you are an aspiring filmmaker, screenwriter, director, or any of the above early in your career, this episode is filled with real-world advice for navigating the film industry as an emerging creative voice.
Joining Carlos are producers: Christina Oh, Producer, Minari, Poppy Hanks, Executive Producer, Judas and the Black Messiah, Michael Gottwald, Producer, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Andrew Hevia, Producer, Moonlight, Janet Yang, President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences / Producer, The Joy Luck Club and Over the Moon.
The sound of The Creator with director Gareth Edwards
Director Gareth Edwards joins us to discuss his visionary new dystopian sci-fi film, The Creator. The movie features some incredible sound work — including a glorious Dolby Atmos® mix — but with some unconventional sound design choices for a science fiction film about artificial intelligence and fully autonomous robots. Joining the director to discuss all this and more are sound designers and supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn, along with re-recording mixers Tom Ozanich and Dean A. Zupancic.
Creative sound design at Aspen Shortsfest 2023
What goes into building a soundtrack for a short film? And collaborating with a sound team when you’re dealing with a short time frame and limited budget?
Tune in as Glenn Kiser discusses these questions with a selection of filmmakers from this year’s Aspen Shortsfest — one of the best film festivals in the world for short films and short filmmakers:
- Madli Lääne, director, Dear Passengers
- Nikita Diakur, director, Backflip
- Luis Fernando Puente, director, I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry
Emmy & Academy Award®-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir —…
A Haunting in Venice, the latest cinematic adaptation featuring novelist Agatha Christie’s fictional detective Hercule Poirot, starring and directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh, includes another unforgettable score by multiple award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, in Dolby Atmos®. But unlike most of her other groundbreaking work, this score features a more “classical” approach — a creative decision stemming all the way back to Hildur’s childhood!
The Miracle of Making a First Film, Hosted by Carlos López E…
Director Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon) leads an all-star panel of independent filmmakers to discuss perhaps the biggest challenge of any director’s career: Making the first feature.
Joining Carlos are filmmakers: Sian Heder (CODA), Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny), Randall Park (Shortcomings)
This discussion was streamed live as part of Antigravity Academy’s new Satellite Sessions — “monthly conversations with incredibly exciting figures from the film and TV universe” — co-presented by CAPE USA (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment).
The sound of Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo
Director Neill Blomkamp joins us to discuss his thrilling new racing film and biopic, chronicling GT Academy winner Jann Mardenborough’s rise into professional racing.
Joining the conversation are the film’s supervising sound editors, Kami Asgar and Erin Oakley, as well as re-recording mixer — and real-life race car driver — Beau Borders, who brought his personal experience from behind the wheel onto the mixing stage, to give audiences the most authentic experience possible.
The Emmy-nominated Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiositi…
SPOILER ALERT: Be sure to watch ep. 3 “The Autopsy” before watching this podcast!
Executive Producer and co-showrunner J. Miles Dale joins us on the podcast to discuss the horror anthology series Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, which was recently nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards. Joining the conversation are sound and cinematography nominees: Supervising Sound Editor Nelson Ferreira, MPSE, and Director of Photography Anastas Michos, ASC, GSC. Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities is currently streaming on Netflix in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.
The making of Sundance hit The Pod Generation
Independent filmmaker Sophie Barthes joins us to discuss her breakout Sundance hit — and winner of this year’s Dolby Institute Fellowship Award — The Pod Generation. The film is a hilariously biting near-future sci-fi satire, starring Emilia Clark and Chiwetel Ejiofor as a young couple who turn to a corporate tech giant to help them carry their new baby — literally — to term.
The making of Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Academy Award®-winning sound supervisor and re-recording mixer Skip Lievsay returns to the podcast, along with Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim, to discuss their incredible new documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael on the latest Indiana Jon…
A new, exclusive interview with Phedon Papamichael, the director of photography of the latest (and final?) installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. He and director James Mangold had to contend with a myriad of unique challenges on this film, including matching and updating the classic “Indy look,” filming more chase scenes than you can count, and working with cutting edge VFX to “de-age” Harrison Ford, making the 80-year old action star look the same age he was when he shot Raiders of the Lost Ark!
Why Disney and Pixar’s Elemental is their most ambitious mov…
Director and Co-Writer Peter Sohn and Director of Photography Jean-Claude Kalache join us this week to discuss Pixar’s famously demanding story development process, why this film took years just to get to an outline, how this film deals with some much more grown-up themes than the typical Pixar fare, and the unique challenges of animating two lead characters made up entirely of either a glowing, iridescent flame or a blob of translucent liquid.
Directing DAHMER with Paris Barclay
Former DGA president, and one of the most successful directors working in television, Paris Barclay joins us on the podcast to discuss his remarkable work on episodes six and ten of DAHMER, season one of Ryan Murphy’s series, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” But it was work we almost didn’t get to see, because he was initially very reluctant to take on the job.
The making of DAHMER
Key members of the team behind DAHMER, season one of Ryan Murphy’s hit series “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” join us this week to discuss the challenges of balancing this gripping portrayal of the notorious serial killer, and his impact on the communities he preyed upon, without glorifying or redeeming Jeffrey Dahmer’s horrific acts.
Directing advice for first-time filmmakers
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?
Robert Rodriguez (and family) on the making of Hypnotic
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.
Making the Sundance hit Polite Society
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.
The sound of Evil Dead Rise
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.
How to make an indie film in 2023
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 how to get the gig in the first place.
The sound of Babylon
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. 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.
The sound of Avatar: The Way of Water
As we continue our 2023 Awards coverage, today we are talking to the sound team behind another film on the Best Sound Academy Awards shortlist — Avatar: The Way of Water. As you’ll hear about in detail in this interview, every member of the sound and music teams needed to work very closely together, in a concerted effort, to make the sound of this film as clean and as clear as possible. Or as James Cameron would often put it, “clarity is king.”
The sound of All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
This week we sit down with the writer/director and sound team behind the harrowing new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front. This film has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Sound, and as Edward Berger says in the interview, this team has a strong track record when it comes to winning sound awards in Germany. So this is definitely a film to keep an eye (and ear) on this awards season.
The sound of Nanny
The 2022 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner was the first ever horror film to win the top award at the film festival. But before that, Nanny — the feature film debut from Nikyatu Jusu — was also the recipient of the 2022 Dolby Institute Fellowship, which awards a low-budget Sundance film with a post-production grant to finish the film in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.
Director Alejandro Iñárritu and the sound of BARDO
Multiple Academy Award winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and his sound team joins us to discuss his latest work, the surreal, yet somehow pseudo-autobiographical film, BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.
Ron Howard and the making of Thirteen Lives
Director Ron Howard joins us to discuss his thrilling new film, Thirteen Lives, a harrowing dramatization of the real-life rescue of thirteen young Thai soccer players who were trapped in a flooded cave in 2018.
Authenticity was the name of the game and the entire filmmaking team took great pains to make this film as historically accurate as possible.
Building Mars From the Ground Up: The Making of Good Night O…
Director Ryan White and Academy Award-winning sound designer Mark Mangini discuss the making of Good Night Oppy, the documentary that tells the story of the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which were sent to Mars back in 2003 and survived for over 15 years on the red planet. Drawing from nearly a thousand hours of archival material from NASA, Mangini had to recreate what those machines might have sounded like on Mars… but without actual microphones on the rovers.
The sound of Top Gun: Maverick
Director Joseph Kosinski, re-recording mixers Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor, and supervising sound editors James Mather, Al Nelson, and Bjørn Schroeder discuss the unique challenges in their groundbreaking work on the hit sequel to the classic 80s film "Top Gun." With awards season fast approaching, this is certainly a film to look out for in the Best Sound category, and this episode offers insight into the process of crafting such a thrilling and dynamic mix.
Best Animated Feature Film Nominees: Academy Awards 2022
In our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards, we present a compilation of interviews from the nominees in the Best Animated Feature Film category. So, if you’re an Oscar voter — either as an Academy member or as a fan participating in your annual office pool — this episode should give you some ideas!
Best Cinematography Nominees: Academy Awards 2022
Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. We‘ve 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 know what to watch for as you get to the Best Cinematography category on your ballot!
The cinematography of The Batman
The sound and music of The Batman
Best Sound Nominees: Academy Awards 2022
The sound of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story
Let's talk about the 2022 Academy Award Nominees
"One billion guns!” sound design for video game weaponry wit…
Leading with Sound in video game development with Rob Bridge…
The sound of Ghost of Tsushima
The sound of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
The sound of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley
Guillermo del Toro: A masterclass on sound and film
Embracing sonic nostalgia with Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Deciphering the language of whales in Fathom
Dr. Michelle Fournet and Dr. Ellen Garland, the scientists featured in the new Apple TV+ documentary Fathom, believe the songs of the humpback whales to be perhaps the oldest form of verbal communication between intelligent life on planet Earth. A language and culture which may predate humans by millions of years.
WandaVision — A totally different kind of Marvel series
WandaVision mixes stylistic formats in some truly bizarre, but also satisfying, ways. At times it harkens back to the sitcoms of yesteryear — even filming part of an episode live in front of a studio audience, in order to capture an authentic laugh track — and other times like what one would expect from a series taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So how did the sound team pull all these disparate stylistic elements into such a cohesive and satisfying amalgamation? Well, we sat down with them to ask exactly that.
Sir David Attenborough's A Life on Our Planet
Asking the big existential questions with Nine Days
The understated, tragic storytelling of The Crown
Breaking In: How top industry pros got their start
We've asked some of the top professionals in the fields of cinematography, animation, sound, producing, and directing how they got their start and the answers were surprising even to us!
Episode 84: Innovative Sound Design for Short Films
Episode 83: Best Animated Feature: Oscars 2021
Episode 82: Best Cinematography Nominees: Oscars 2021
Our 2021 Oscars® coverage continues with the nominees for Best Cinematography. Not everyone could make it, but we were pleased to speak with three inspiring cinematographers: Sean Bobbitt (Judas and the Black Messiah), Erik Messerschmidt (Mank), and Phedon Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7.)
Episode 81: Best Sound Nominees: Oscars 2021
We begin our 2021 Oscars coverage with the nominees for Best Sound. For the first time, we've interviewed all the nominees for a category and edited them together into a single podcast.
Episode 80: The Best Sound Oscar Category, Explained
The Board of Governors from the Academy’s Sound Branch discuss the new Best Sound category and what it means for audiences watching the films at home.
Episode 79: Pixar's creative process: The making of Soul
Episode 78: The power of cinematic sound & images
Directors Rebecca Hall (Passing) and Natalia Almada (Users), recipients of the Dolby Institute Fellowship at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, discuss how their films use image and sound in intimate, almost personal ways.
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 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 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.
Episode 64: A conversation with Mark Ulano
Academy Award-winning production sound mixer ( Ad Astra , Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood ) discusses how to keep your cool on a tense movie set.
Episode 63: The sound of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Oscar®-nominated sound team how they recreated 1969 Los Angeles and why Tarantino chooses to use songs rather than a traditional musical score.
Episode 62: The sound of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The Oscar®-nominated sound editors discuss working with director J.J. Abrams, recording lines in Adam Driver’s closet, and working on previous Star Wars film...
Episode 61: The sound of Ad Astra with Gary Rydstrom
The seven-time Academy Award-winning sound designer discusses using subliminal ambiences, manipulated vocal loops, and strategically used distortion.
Episode 60: The sound of 1917
The Oscar®-winning sound team discusses ensuring that even background chatter is historically realistic and the importance of on-set sound for creating...
Episode 59: The sound of Ford v Ferrari
The Oscar®-winning sound team discusses how they made a long, race car sequence sound interesting and other challenges in the film which won Best Sound...
Episode 58: The sound of Joker
The Oscar®-winning sound team discusses how they used impressionistic sound design to get inside Arthur Fleck’s mind and capture a gritty 1970s Gotham City.
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 48: The sound of Ralph Breaks the Internet
The co-directors and producer discuss how the Oscar®-nominated team achieved the complex visual design of the film and the role of sound in their storytellin...
Episode 47: The Making of A Star Is Born
The Oscar®-nominated sound-mixing team discusses how doing impulse responses in each of the venues let them recreate the sound of the arenas in post-producti...
Episode 39: The sound of Black Panther
Composer and supervising sound editor talk about integrating African music into a symphonic score and sound design for futuristic Wakanda technology.
Episode 30: The sound of Baby Driver
Oscar®-nominated sound artists discuss the challenges of mixing the crafted sound design and dialogue to blend with a driving music track in Baby Driver .
Episode 29: Creating sound for the Coen Brothers
Burwell and Lievsay talk about their 30-year collaboration with the Coen Brothers, spanning 17 films, including Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men .
Episode 21: The sound of La La Land
What does it take to create the sound for a contemporary movie musical? La La Land ’s Academy Award®-winning and nominated sound artists share their stories.
Episode 20: The sound of Hacksaw Ridge
Academy Award®-nominated sound artists discuss their work on Mel Gibson’s film including the challenges of using period-accurate weaponry.
Episode 12: Sound and visual art – creative collaboration
Visual artist Sophie Clements and her sound design/music collaborator Jo Wills discuss how they use sound and images to instill wonder, awe, and seduction.
Episode 11: Tim Gedemer: Sound for VR
Tim Gedemer, one of the most experienced virtual reality sound artists reveals why traditional filmmakers tend to stumble in their first VR experiences.