The Dolby Institute Podcast

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.

The Music of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Scottish composer Lorne Balfe joins us to discuss his incredible original score for the latest addition of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Guest host Jon Burlingame returns to delve into Lorne’s process — including some on-the-fly performances during his interview — and why he so badly wanted to record elements of the soundtrack in so many locations from around the world.

The music of Oppenheimer

Academy Award^®-winning composer Ludwig Göransson returns to the Dolby Institute Podcast to discuss his latest collaboration with auteur filmmaker Christopher Nolan, with guest host Jon Burlingame. They discuss the composer’s process which, on this film, was anything but traditional, including why he composed over three hours of music before principal photography even began.

The sound of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Fresh from their Academy Award^®-winning work on Top Gun: Maverick, supervising sound editor James Mather and re-recording mixer Chris Burdon return to the Dolby Institute Podcast, along with picture editor Eddie Hamilton, to discuss the sound of the latest installment in the Mission: Impossible series.

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

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.

Craig Henighan on the Dolby Atmos® Remaster of Pi

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.

The future of film festivals

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?

Best Cinematography Nominees: Academy Awards 2023

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 delve deep into the incredible cinematography of each film and explore what it takes to land a prestigious Oscar nomination.

Best Sound nominees: Academy Awards 2023

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!

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®.

The sound of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Two-time Academy Award winning director Guillermo del Toro and his co-director Mark Gustafson join us to discuss their latest work — appropriately titled — Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Despite being stop-motion animation, the film features a rich sound design and complex mix. One which the directors had to fight for.

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.

The making of Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler joins us to discuss the making of the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Joining the discussion is the film’s composer Lugwig Görannson, supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer Steve Boeddeker, supervising sound editor Benjamin Burtt, and re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor.

Inside Pixar's revolutionary story & editorial process

In this special episode we take a peek behind the curtain to examine Pixar's unique editorial process. It's all outlined in a new book by authors Bill Kinder and Bobbie O'Steen, Making the Cut at Pixar: The Art of Editing Animation. Bill and Bobbie join us to discuss the history of editing at Pixar, and explain the origins of Pixar's groundbreaking editorial process.

The making of Marvel’s Werewolf by Night

NOTE: This episode contains spoilers.

Today we have the privilege to speak with Michael Giacchino, the director of Marvel’s Werewolf by Night, a super fun and spooky “television special” on Disney+, perfect for this Halloween season. Joining us for the discussion is most of his post-production team: re-recording mixer Juan Peralta, editor Jeff Ford, supervising sound editor Josh Gold, and dialogue and ADR supervisor Chris Gridley.

Dolby Atmos for Podcasts

NOTE: This episode features clips mixed in Dolby Atmos®. For best results, please listen to this episode with headphones!

Podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years, and creators have been exploring new ways to create fully immersive experiences for their listeners. In today’s episode, we speak with a few of the companies that are on the cutting-edge of crafting cinematic experiences for audio storytelling, including QCODE and Wondery, the latter of which is now delivering podcasts in Dolby Atmos® via the Wondery+ app.

Thor: Love and Thunder and sound design for comedy

If you’ve seen any of the Thor movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), you already know that director Taika Waititi has taken this particular MCU series in a considerably more comedic direction. But how does creating a soundtrack for comedy — and specifically a superhero comedy — differ from crafting a typical superhero action movie?

Creating a successful anthology TV series — LOVE DEATH + ROB…

The Duffer brothers and Stranger Things season 4

In this supersized episode of the podcast, we discuss the return of Stranger Things to Netflix with the creators of the show, Matt and Ross Duffer. Also joining are several key members of the post-production team to discuss the sound, music, and editorial processes behind this wildly successful series.

Colin Trevorrow and the sound of Jurassic World Dominion

Jurassic World Dominion features another monstrous soundtrack that these dinosaur epics are known for. Keeping those big action set pieces sonically coherent enough for an audience to enjoy is a very complicated, but also enjoyable challenge for the sound team.

Revisiting Jurassic Park’s groundbreaking sound design with…

Legendary sound designer and re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom joins us once again, this time to discuss his groundbreaking work on Steven Spielberg's classic 1993 film, Jurassic Park, ahead of the upcoming premiere of the final film in the franchise — Jurassic World Dominion. Amazingly, even nearly 30 years later, Rydstrom's work on the original film still holds up incredibly well.

Creating jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy 20 Years in the Making

On today's episode, we welcome directors Coodie Simmons & Chike Ozah, as well as re-recording mixer Paul Hsu, the team behind the new 3-part documentary about Kanye West. The intimate and vulnerable film, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is now available on Netflix, giving an unprecedented look into the personal life of the iconic and enigmatic hip-hop star.

Daniels and the music of Everything Everywhere All at Once

In part two of our two-episode, in-person interview with filmmakers, Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (know collectively as "Daniels") and their team of sound artists, we also speak with Ryan Lott, the founding member of Son Lux (the film's composer). Ryan discussed his journey working on this film including crafting different musical styles for each multiverse, collaborating with Randy Newman, as well as discovering the artistic potential of working in Dolby Atmos®.

Daniels and the sound of Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is an incredible example of genre-bending experimentation taken to the absolute extreme. Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as "Daniels") worked closely with the sound team to craft one of the biggest independent action films in recent memory. This is the first of our two-part exclusive, in-person interview with the filmmakers of this mind-blowing new film, now playing in cinemas.

Conversations with colorists

Our guest host this week, Tom Graham, is joined by some of the industry’s top colorists for a roundtable discussion about HDR workflows and working in Dolby Vision®. This passionate, technical conversation highlights why so many of these artists are excited to be working with these newly available tools.

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

Director Matt Reeves joins us again this week to discuss the incredible cinematography of The Batman, in part 2 of our special 2-part series on the film. Joining Matt to deep dive into the technical aspects of their fascinating post-production process is Director of Photography Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC, and Supervising and Lead Digital Colorist, David Cole.

The sound and music of The Batman

Director Matt Reeves joins us this week to discuss The Batman, in part 1 of our special 2-part series on this film. This episode we are joined by Matt and his incredible team of sound and music artists for a master class in collaborative filmmaking..Be sure to check out part 2, where we discuss the cinematography 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…

We conclude our special coverage of sound design for video games by interviewing the sound team at Gearbox Software, which famously created "over one billion guns" for its latest first-person shooter, Borderlands 3. Tune in to hear how the team created a plethora of unique sounds for so many different weapons.

Leading with Sound in video game development with Rob Bridge…

How to work with A-list directors with sound designer Skip L…

Academy Award-winning sound artist Skip Lievsay has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of the last several decades, including Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, Michael Moore, Alfonso Cuarón, and now, the Coen Brothers. In this interview, Skip discusses being brave enough to experiment, even if that leads to some awkward moments on the mix stage.

The sound of Ghost of Tsushima

Since so much groundbreaking sound work is being created in the world of gaming these days, we've decided to dedicate the next few episodes of this podcast to some of the superstars behind your favorite new video games. Continuing that ongoing coverage, today our colleague Alistair Hirst sits down with the sound team behind Ghost of Tsushima, a giant open world Samurai action game set in feudal Japan. The team took painstaking steps to give players as authentic and immersive an experience as possible. 

The sound of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Since so much groundbreaking sound work is being created in the world of gaming these days, we've decided to dedicate the next few episodes to some of the superstars behind your favorite new video games. First up is the sound and music team from Eidos-Montréal, who brought us Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Our guest moderator this week, Andy Vaughan from Dolby Game Developer Relations, spoke with the team behind this game for an in-depth look into their process.

The sound of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley

In Part Two of our conversation about Nightmare Alley, we are joined by an impressive team of sound artists, who worked very closely with Guillermo del Toro in crafting this film. We've included some additional material from our one-on-one interview with the director himself, so that we could discuss some key creative decisions and how the team responded to his direction.

Guillermo del Toro: A masterclass on sound and film

We recently sat down with legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro ahead of the premiere of his latest film, the slick and stylish noir thriller, Nightmare Alley. Our conversation was so inspiring that we decided to release this podcast in two parts. Enjoy part one of this inspiring, one-on-one conversation for a unique glimpse into the creative process of one of the greatest directors working today.

Jane Campion and the sound of The Power of the Dog

Director Jane Campion joins us with her sound team to discuss her harrowing new drama, The Power of the Dog. We talk about how they experimented with Dolby Atmos® to sharpen tension in what is a particularly quiet film, how they crafted the sonic character of an old house, and how they worked with Jonny Greenwood's brilliant score.

Sir Kenneth Branagh and the sound of Belfast

Today we are joined by director Sir Kenneth Branagh to discuss his deeply personal new film, Belfast. The film tells the semi-autobiographical story of "Buddy," a 9-year-old boy living in the city during "The Troubles" of 1969. To help convey the overwhelming feeling of menace, seemingly just around every corner, the director pulled together an award-winning sound team that’s joined us today to discuss how they crafted such a rich soundtrack for such an intimate film.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and the sound of tick, tick... Boom!

For his feature film directorial debut, director Lin-Manuel Miranda chose to adapt the autobiographical stage musical tick, tick... BOOM! by Jonathan Larson — the Broadway phenom behind Rent. We recently sat down with the director along with Tod Maitland the sound mixer, and Paul Hsu, the re-recoding mixer and supervising sound editor for the film, to discuss how they adapted this small stage show into a fully realized movie musical with a big cast, elaborate set pieces, and a lush soundtrack — all during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Embracing sonic nostalgia with Ghostbusters: Afterlife

We're turning back the clock to 1984 as we talk about Ghostbusters: Afterlife with Supervising Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer Will Files, and Composer Rob Simonsen. Unlike many modern action-adventure films, this team, led by director Jason Reitman, tried to make everything sound as authentically '80s as possible in order to give the audience an experience reminiscent of the beloved original film. The result is a delightful throwback to the action-comedies of yesteryear.

Crafting action, pathos, and humor in No Time to Die

The latest James Bond film, from director Cary Joji Fukunaga, is a veritable feast of emotion and tone. Along with the requisite jaw-dropping action sequences, the film is chock-full of emotional pathos and tender moments, appropriate for Daniel Craig's sendoff as the titular British super-spy. But also, perhaps surprisingly, some very humorous sequences, as well.

Edgar Wright and the sound and music of Last Night in Soho  

For our 100th episode, we are very pleased to welcome back to the podcast acclaimed director Edgar Wright and his sound team. We discussed their latest mindbending film, the psychological thriller Last Night in Soho, and the incredibly rich soundtrack they created.

Director Denis Villeneuve and his sound team discuss Dune

The incredible new adaptation of Dune, from director Denis Villeneuve, has some astonishing sound work, fully embracing the immersive capabilities of Dolby Atmos®. We recently sat down with Denis and his all-star sound team to discuss the novel approach they took to unlocking some truly next-level artistry on this soundtrack.

Come From Away

We chat with the creators of Come From Away, the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, and the latest to get a streaming release, this time on Apple TV+. Joining us are the creators and writers of the book, music, and lyrics, David Hein and Irene Sankoff, and director Christopher Ashley.

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

Sonic world-building on Love Death + Robots

Asking the big existential questions with Nine Days

The understated, tragic storytelling of The Crown

This week, we're speaking with two of the nominees responsible for some of that incredible storytelling, longtime collaborators Yan Miles ACE, the editor, and Lee Walpole, the supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer.

Sundance Film Festival: Summertime

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!

In the Heights – from stage to screen

Making chess exciting for viewers — The Queen's Gambit

Episode 87: An illuminating discussion with The Mosquito Coa…

Episode 86: Sound design as score in The Killing of Two Love…

Episode 85: Edgar Wright and Julian Slater rerelease Scott P…

The cult classic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World came out just over ten years ago, and to celebrate, the filmmakers decided to remaster the film in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for a theatrical and home video rerelease this year.

Episode 84: Innovative Sound Design for Short Films

Episode 83: Best Animated Feature: Oscars 2021

We conclude our 2021 Oscars coverage with the nominees for Best Animated Feature. Once again we've invited all of the nominees in this category to speak with us and we are thrilled to share them with you. Congratulations and many thanks to all of the nominees!

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

How does Pixar continue to raise the creative bar with every film they release? The director and producer of Soul discuss the studio’s exhaustive development process.

Episode 78: The power of cinematic sound & images

Episode 77: David Fincher and Ren Klyce on the making of Man…

Acclaimed director and long-time collaborator and sound designer discuss the challenges of creating the film Mank in black and white, 1:33, and in mono, like an artifact from Hollywood's "Golden Age."

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.

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 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.

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 46: The Making of Roma

The writer/director and his Oscar®-nominated sound artists discuss the detailed work that went into re-creating the Mexico City of his 1970s childhood.

Episode 45: The sound of First Man (Part 2)

The Oscar®-nominated sound mixer talks about the complex system they devised to record dialogue inside the astronauts’ helmets in the cramped space capsule.

Episode 44: The sound of First Man (Part 1)

The Oscar®-nominated team discusses how the film’s documentary-look influenced the soundscape, and how the sound underpinned the danger of early space flight...

Episode 43: The sound of Bohemian Rhapsody

The Oscar®-winning sound team discusses how sound design helped to get inside Freddie Mercury’s head and recreate the famous 1985 Live-Aid concert.

Episode 42: The sound of A Quiet Place

The Oscar®-nominated sound artists discuss building the soundscape for a “silent” movie and creating a monster who hunts and navigates using only its hearing.

Episode 41: The making of Black Panther

The Oscar®-nominated sound artists talk about the influences behind the sound design of Wakanda technology and constructing the fight scenes in a waterfall.

Episode 40: The sound of Incredibles 2

The writer/director and producer of this Oscar®-nominated film discuss returning for the sequel and the fight scene between baby Jack-Jack and the raccoon.

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 38: The sound of A Star Is Born

The sound artists talk about grabbing crowd scenes between sets at music festivals, and how Bradley Cooper wasn’t your typical first-time director.

Episode 37: The sound of Mary Queen of Scots

Director Josie Rourke explains how the desire to tell “better versions of our history” gave her purpose with this story, and the importance of silence.

Episode 36: The sound of Roma with Skip Lievsay

Oscar®-winning sound artist, Skip Lievsay, talks about his work on Alfonso Cuarón’s epic black-and-white film about his own childhood in 1970s Mexico City.

Episode 35: Best moments with sound artists: 2018 Oscars®

In this compilation episode, we talk with the sound artists behind Baby Driver , Blade Runner 2049 , The Shape of Water , Star Wars: The Last Jedi , and...

Episode 34: The sound of Dunkirk

The Oscar®-winning sound team behind Christopher Nolan’s film, explain how the carefully engineered track builds and maintains tension for the entire movie.

Episode 33: The sound of Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Oscar®-nominated sound artists talk about the challenges and opportunities of joining an already-established sound universe while adding their own spin.

Episode 32: The sound of The Shape of Water

The Academy Award®-nominated artists behind Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water share how the creature’s sound design evolves over the course of the film.

Episode 31: The sound of Blade Runner 2049

The Oscar®-nominated sound team behind Blade Runner 2049 talks about how they paid homage to the iconic original film while breaking new sonic ground.

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 28: Collaborators - War for the Planet of the Apes

After a four-film collaboration ( Cloverfield , War for the Planet of the Apes ), the creative team discusses sound challenges in their work.

Episode 27: Collaborators Joe Wright and Craig Berkey

This creative pair ( Darkest Hour , The Soloist , Pan ) talk about using sound to build worlds, and Wright shares how London’s rave scene affected his use of...

Episode 26: Collaborators Darren Aronofsky & Craig Henighan

Join boundary-pushing director, Aronofsky with his longtime sound supervisor Henighan, discussing their work on Requiem for a Dream , Black Swan , and mother!

Episode 25: Sound Supervisor Richard King

Triple Oscar®-winner Richard King discusses his remarkable collaboration with Christopher Nolan, from The Prestige to Dunkirk .

Episode 24: Collaborators Edgar Wright and Julian Slater

Talented creative duo Wright and Slater chat about their remarkable five film collaboration, from Shawn of the Dead to Baby Driver .

Episode 23: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

This team of Oscar®-studded sound artists talk about working on Michael Bay’s film, nominated for Best Sound Mixing, including the film’s chaotic battle...

Episode 22: The sound of Sully with Alan Murray

Two-time Academy Award® winner Alan Murray (Best Sound Editing) discusses his 37th film collaboration with director Clint Eastwood.

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 19: The sound of Deepwater Horizon

Renée Tondelli (Academy Award® nominee for Best Sound Editing with Wylie Stateman) discusses the sound design of Peter Berg’s film.

Episode 18: The sound of Arrival

Sylvain Bellemare (Best Sound Editing) and Bernard Gariépy Strobl (Best Sound Mixing) discuss the unique challenges of building Arrival’s alien soundscapes.

Episode 17: Walter Murch: sound and film editing (Part 2)

Fellow sound designers Randy Thom and Chris Foster pose questions to Walter Murch, and we discuss the state of cinema sound before and after Apocalypse Now .

Episode 16: Walter Murch: sound and film editing (Part 1)

Triple Academy Award®-winner Walter Murch ( The Godfather , Apocalypse Now , The English Patient ) answers questions from fellow sound designers, Ren Klyce a...

Episode 15: Sound and music in Creed and Fruitvale Station

Writer/director Ryan Coogler, composer Ludwig Göransson, and sound designer Steve Boeddeker discuss their use of sound and music in Creed and Fruitvale Stati...

Episode 14: Jad Abumrad: The sound of Radiolab

Radiolab creator and co-host, Jad Abumrad, talks about how he uses music as a metaphor to explore abstract topics, and telling complex stories without words.

Episode 13: John Roesch: The art of Foley

Legendary Foley artist John Roesch ( E.T. , Back to the Future , Inception ) discusses his impressive career and why Foley can't come from an effects library.

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.

Episode 10: 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 .

Episode 9: The sound of The Revenant

Academy Award® nominees Lon Bender and Martín Hernández discuss their BAFTA-winning work on The Revenant and recording Foley on real snow (with horses!).

Episode 8: The sound of Mad Max: Fury Road

Oscar®-nominated sound artists Mark Mangini and David White, talk about the challenges of managing such an epic production, and the use of silence in chaos.

Episode 7: The sound of Sicario with Alan Murray

Two-time Academy Award® winner Alan Murray, discusses how low-end sound can heighten tension and his 40-year collaboration with Clint Eastwood.

Episode 6: Daniel Colman: sound for Television

Emmy® award-winning sound designer Daniel Colman ( Battlestar Galactica and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ) shares why musicians make the best sound...

Episode 5: Gwen Yates Whittle: dialogue editing and ADR

Two-time Academy Award® nominee Gwen Yates Whittle reveals why director George Lucas thinks dialogue editing is one of the most important parts of the proces...

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 and how to handle a nervous director.

Episode 3: Coll Anderson: Creative sound for documentaries

Sound designer/mixer Coll Anderson discusses the role that creative post-production sound can serve in telling non-narrative stories.

Episode 2: Video game sound design with Naughty Dog Studios

Explore gaming sound design with Rob Krekel and Phillip Kovats of Naughty Dog Studios, one of the world’s most successful video game production houses.

Episode 1: Randy Thom: Writing for sound

Skywalker Sound, director of sound design, shares how writers and directors can use sound to tell stories, and Apocalypse Now’s role in modern sound design.