Dolby Creator Talks

The latest season of "Stranger Things" finally returned to Netflix on May 27th and we are so excited to sit down with the creators of the show, along with several key members of the post-production team, to discuss the sound, music, and editorial process behind this wildly successful series. This is a supersized episode of the podcast with a TON of bonus guests. Joining us are the creators (as well as writers and directors) Matt and Ross Duffer; composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein; re-recording mixers Mark Paterson, Craig Henighan (also the sound supervisor), and Will Files (also the supervising sound editor); and the editor of the series, Dean Zimmerman.This conversation offers an incredible glimpse into the creative process of what makes "Stranger Things" work so well. And it's apparent from this conversation that it has a lot to do with how much this team trusts each other in order to work so seamlessly together."Yeah, there's a lot of people who work on the show. But in terms of making big, big decisions, say in post-production, shaping the sound and the music of the show, it's a pretty, actually, tight knit group. And I think we've all gotten to the point where we really respect and trust each other. And then it's just a creative collaboration... It feels weirdly the same as it did season one."— Matt Duffer, Co-Creator, "Stranger Things"Be sure to check out "Stranger Things," only on Netflix.Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

The newest and final installment of the Jurassic World franchise roared into theaters on Friday and we are delighted to share this conversation with director Colin Trevorrow and his sound team, to discuss how they crafted the soundtrack to this latest dinosaur Summer blockbuster. On today's podcast:— Colin Trevorrow, Director and Co-writer — Christopher Boyes, Re-recording Mixer — Pete Horner, Re-recording Mixer — Al Nelson, Sound Designer and Supervising Sound Editor — Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Supervising Sound Editor Jurassic World Dominion features another monstrous soundtrack that these dinosaur epics are known for. But as you might have guessed, keeping those big action set pieces sonically coherent enough for an audience to actually enjoy is a very complicated, but also enjoyable, challenge for the sound team."One thing that we take for granted as humans, when we walk into a chaotic environment, our brains are actually mixing that environment for us. Where what we choose to focus determines what we're actually hearing. In a theater, we have to do that for the audience. If we just put all the sound in, then you don't hear anything — because it's chaotic and our brains are not able to do that in a theatrical setting. So as mixers, Chris and I are collaborating, trading off, 'OK, this is a moment for dialogue. This is a moment for dinosaurs...' And then in the midst of it, somehow there's an orchestra playing. And so we have to also make room for themes, which are incredibly important to how you experience the scene and feel about it. So that's the challenge and, honestly, the excitement of doing a scene like that. You have everything at your fingertips and you have to decide, 'What are we hearing here? What are we hearing here?' So it's really fun."— Pete Horner, Re-recording Mixer, Jurassic World DominionBe sure to check out Jurassic World Dominion in theaters, and ideally at a Dolby Cinema, near you!https://www.jurassicworld.com/Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

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 film, "Jurassic Park" (1993), 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."I have a theory that — especially in the early days of computer graphics — sound needed to be real. Even more so, like real sounds. Synthesized sounds are hard to do [and] not so interesting, usually. So I knew we needed to be real. But in this case, it has to ground visuals that you can't believe, right? So the sound had to be organic and real. So the first thing I did is record as many animals as I could."— Gary Rydstrom, Sound Designer and Re-recording Mixer, "Jurassic Park" (1993)Rydstrom and his team recorded dozens of animals and layered those tracks together to create the unforgettable sounds of the dinosaurs, as showcased in the behind-the-scenes documentary: "The Making of 'Jurassic Park,'" directed by John Schultz, which we feature in today's episode:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256908/"Jurassic World: Dominion" will be available in theaters on June 10th in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, where available.https://www.jurassicworld.com/Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

On today's episode, we welcome the filmmaking team behind the new 3-part documentary about Kanye West from directors Coodie Simmons & Chike Ozah, which debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is now available on Netflix.This film features some of the most intimate and vulnerable footage you may ever see of the iconic and enigmatic hip-hop star. It's clear that Kanye gave the filmmakers not just unprecedented access to his personal life, but also a great deal of his trust."Kanye was always my brother. We had like 500 hours of footage on Kanye, but it was years of us being connected, you know what I mean? So it was more than just filming... It was a relationship. He was definitely a little brother, which I always wanted. I think I found a little brother in Kanye."— Coodie Simmons, Co-Director, "jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy"Joining the conversation is re-recording mixer Paul Hsu, to tell us how he crafted such an incredible soundtrack, often from single audio sources and decades-old videotapes.Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Part two (of two) of our exclusive, in-person interview with the filmmakers. If you missed part one, be sure to check out that episode (#121) from earlier this week, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts.Joining us again are directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as "Daniels"), as well as the film's sound designer and sound effects editor, Andrew Twite, and the re-recording mixer and sound supervisor, Brent Kiser.Today we're devoting the entire episode to the music of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" because it was such an intensive process. So much so that the composers, the indie band Son Lux (comprised of members Ryan Lott, Ian Chang, and Rafiq Bhatia) spent an unusually long time working very, very closely with the filmmakers on this project:"They came on before we started photography. They helped us write some songs that needed to be on camera. Like the fake musical and stuff. They gave us their entire library of all their personal projects, as well as all their records [and] instrumental versions. And we cut the whole movie to their music. And then they were on during the whole edit, working on the score. So they were part of the project for over two years and created over two hours of original music."— Daniel Scheinert, co-director, co-writer, and co-producer, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"If that sounds like a lot, that's because it was. As part of this episode, we also speak with Ryan Lott, the founding member of Son Lux, to describe his journey working on this film and all its many parts, including crafting different musical styles for each multiverse, collaborating (and singing a duet!) with Randy Newman, as well as discovering the artistic potential of working in Dolby Atmos®."There were times where we were very specific about 'the front wall' and keeping most things really focused on the front wall. And then, finding moments and specific elements too that could basically embrace you, sonically. And I started to think, during that mix, how that is a musical choice. That's an artistic choice. That's not just a technology choice. That's not just an engineering thing."— Ryan Lott of Son Lux, composer, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"Be sure to check out "Everything Everywhere All at Once" at a cinema near you, now playing in Dolby Atmos®, where available.Many thanks to our friends at A24 for helping us pull this conversation together! If you enjoyed this two-part conversation with the filmmakers, please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, as we have many more episodes just like this one coming up in the near future!You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Part one (of two) of our exclusive, in-person interview with the filmmakers of this mind-blowing new film, now playing in cinemas. We are joined by the directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as "Daniels"), as well as the film's sound designer and sound effects editor, Andrew Twite, and the re-recording mixer and sound supervisor, Brent Kiser.If you haven't seen "Everything Everywhere All at Once" yet, it is an incredible example of genre-bending experimentation taken to the absolute extreme. And the directors worked closely with the sound team, in order to craft one of the biggest independent action films in recent memory."We knew we wanted to create something that somehow bridged the gap between big blockbuster action films and really intimate risk-taking indie films. And we wanted to find a way to do both at the same time. To carve out space for independent films in theaters, because that's something that's slowly being carved out more for these big, big IP blockbuster films. And we wanted to create a family drama that could basically stand up against those films. So we knew we wanted to make it really entertaining, but also we wanted to give ourselves a challenge of creating a multiverse film — that actually stared at infinity and actually went all the way to its logical, terrifying conclusion — and yet still pulled you back from the brink of meaninglessness and gave you a warm hug by the end."— Daniel Kwan, co-director, co-writer, and co-producer, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"To see just how the filmmakers pulled off that incredible challenge, be sure to check out "Everything Everywhere All at Once" at a cinema near you, now playing in Dolby Atmos®, where available.Many thanks to our friends at A24 for helping us pull this conversation together! Remember: This is only PART ONE of our conversation with the filmmakers of "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, so that you don't miss PART TWO, which will debut later this week.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Our guest host this week, Tom Graham, is joined by some of the top colorists working today to have a roundtable discussion about HDR workflows and working in Dolby Vision®. This is a passionate conversation, with lots of technical detail, which highlights why so many of these artists are so excited to be working with these new tools available to them."We've had the ability to have bright TVs for the longest time, right? That's only a part of the equation. I think what's most exciting to me about the HDR conversation, particularly about the Dolby Vision workflow, is the conversation about better images, better data. More of it. And that includes wider color. That includes more intelligent tone mapping, that includes the ability to better represent artists' intent throughout the entire pipeline, no matter where that image is going to show up."— Robbie Carman, Lead Colorist & Partner, DC ColorMany thanks to this week's guests:Robbie Carman — https://dccolor.com/about/Joey D'Anna — https://dccolor.com/about/Dan Moran — https://www.danmorancolour.com/Patrick Inhofer — https://mixinglight.com/author/patrick-inhofer/Learn more about Dolby Vision® for Content Creators here:https://professional.dolby.com/content-creation/dolby-vision-for-content-creators/Dolby Vision® Training and Certification can be found here:https://prostore.dolby.com/To learn more about Mixing Light, check out:https://mixinglight.com/Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. Like last year, we have compiled interviews from the nominees in the Best Animated Feature Film 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 as you get to this category on your ballot! Here are the nominated films, in alphabetical order:ENCANTO: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, and Clark SpencerFLEE: Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen, and Charlotte De La GournerieLUCA: Enrico Casarosa and Andrea WarrenTHE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES:  Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Kurt  AlbrechtRAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON: Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer, and Peter Del VechoHere's a table of contents of interviews, in case you'd like to jump around:0:01:28 — ENCANTO - Byron Howard and Yvett Merino0:21:15 — LUCA - Enrico Casarosa 0:37:51 — THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES - Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller1:03:02 — RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON - Carlos López Estrada and Osnat ShurerNOTE: As always, all nominees were invited to join our conversations and we regret that we weren't able to connect with the talented filmmakers behind FLEE in time for our podcast posting deadline.Thanks to all the studios for helping us pull these interviews together! Be sure to check out ENCANTO, FLEE, LUCA, THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES and RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON before Oscars voting ends!Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Welcome to our continuing coverage of this year's Academy Awards®. Like last year, we have 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 have a much better idea of what to watch for as you get to the Best Cinematography category on your ballot! Here are the nominated Directors of Photography, in alphabetical order by film:DUNE: Greig FraserNIGHTMARE ALLEY: Dan LaustsenTHE POWER OF THE DOG: Ari WegnerTHE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: Bruno DelbonnelWEST SIDE STORY: Janusz KaminskiHere's a table of contents of interviews, in case you'd like to jump around:0:01:48 — DUNE — Greig Fraser0:15:51 — NIGHTMARE ALLEY — Dan Laustsen 0:38:35 — THE POWER OF THE DOG — Ari WegnerNOTE: As always, all nominees were invited to join our conversations and we regret that Bruno Delbonnel and Janusz Kaminski were unavailable to join us in time for our podcast posting deadline.Thanks to all the studios for helping us pull these interviews together! Be sure to check out DUNE, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, THE POWER OF THE DOG, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH and WEST SIDE STORY before Oscars voting ends!We have one more episode of our special Academy Awards® coverage, coming coming in the next few days. That episode is devoted to the Best Animated Feature category. So if you haven't already, please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. 

Director Matt Reeves joins us again this week to discuss The Batman. This is part 2 of our special 2-part episode on this movie, where we discuss the film's incredible cinematography. If you haven't already, be sure to check out part 1, where we break down the sound and music of The Batman, in our podcast archive from earlier this week, or on YouTube:https://youtu.be/uZ_3Kdm_ZhEJoining Matt is Director of Photography Greig Fraser (who joins us separately, later in this episode, as he is currently on location in London), and Supervising and Lead Digital Colorist, David Cole.But this episode is not just a deep dive into the technical aspects of their fascinating post-production process, but also includes details on how Matt and Greig managed to make such an epic movie feel like you, in the audience, were right there in the middle of all the action."When we shot things, even like the Batmobile chase, even though there's a tremendous amount of visual effects in the movie, I didn't want you to be aware that we were doing them at all. And so we always used the parameters of how you would do it if you were doing it practically. And so [with] the Batmobile chase, we're putting cameras and we're locking them onto hard mounts, so you're watching a lot of hard mounts and that kind of stuff. And then, 'what's in focus?' And it's in the middle of rain. And 'what does that rain look like?' And there were times when Greig would take a filter and put a little bit of silicone on it... so that when you put it in front of the lens and when it got wet, you had the sense that it wasn't just that we were in rain that was perfectly photographed. The lens itself got wet. So you feel like you're in the middle of it. And so everything was about putting you squarely in that experience."— Matt Reeves, Director, Co-Writer, and Producer, "The Batman"Be sure to check out The Batman at a Dolby Cinema near you.Please subscribe to Sound + Image Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode.Learn more about the Dolby Institute and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.