Dolby Creator Talks

Our coverage of the 2024 Oscars continues in this episode with our guest, Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC. Robbie is a two-time Academy Award® nominee for Cinematography. In today’s episode, he discusses his second collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos on the film "Poor Things," following their acclaimed work together on "The Favourite," which earned Robbie his first nomination for Best Cinematography. This year, "Poor Things" boasts 11 Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Lanthimos and Best Picture. In this wide-ranging conversation, Robbie explains how he crafted the film’s unique, almost dreamlike look, which was mostly captured in-camera, and on film, without post-production effects:“[Yorgos] wanted to have a kind of porthole, vignetted, wide angle [aesthetic]… And I'd kind of done a bit of photography lately where there's a lot of lenses [that] don't fit on the large format sensor, so you get this vignette. So I said, ‘well, hang on — if we use a 16 mil lens on a 35 mil negative, that might happen.’ And it worked out really perfect. We had this 4mm lens for 16 mil, that when you put it on 35 mil, just had that perfect circle… You get these aberrations around the very edges of it and it has this organic quality to it, which was very sweet… None of that was post. That was all real.“—Robbie Ryan, BSC, ISC, Director of Photography, “Poor Things”Be sure to check out “Poor Things” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks 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. 

With our continuing Oscars coverage, today we are joined by Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC. He discusses how he got his start in the film business, working with legendary director Martin Scorsese, the challenges of shooting “Killers of the Flower Moon,” as well as how his research into Osage traditions and rituals became directly woven into his photography for the film.“A lot of it I remember was based on the sun and the sun position. And even the rituals. For example, a burial happens when the sun is at the zenith. So okay, that's usually a time of day you don't want to shoot as a cinematographer. You want to avoid it. But I thought it was important to respect that. And so we decided to have the sun in frame in those moments. And that's why precisely there's a scene of Mollie's mother's burial and the camera's looking straight up at the sky. These are shots that aren't meant to be cool. We're honoring, hopefully, the way they themselves honor the sun.”—Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC, Director of Photography, “Killers of the Flower Moon”Be sure to check out “Killers of the Flower Moon” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!Please subscribe to 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. 

We have an all-star team of sound artists whose work on “Oppenheimer” is nominated for a 2024 Academy Award®. They are certainly no strangers to that award show, as they already have NINE Oscars between them!Today’s panel includes:- Richard King - Sound Designer and Supervising Sound Editor- Gary A. Rizzo - Re-recording Mixer- Kevin O’Connell - Re-recording Mixer- Willie D. Burton - Production Sound MixerWe discussed how they approached getting inside the head of the brilliant but troubled “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer, as well as working with the brilliant, and very particular director Christopher Nolan, who loves working with IMAX cameras so much, he used some unconventional methods to record the dialogue.“The IMAX camera is very noisy. Usually [Nolan] would do the wide shots with the IMAX camera and then he'll use the 70mm for dialogue. But there's times that we have short scenes — like three, four, five lines. But what we have to do is — he will say, ‘cut, print,’ and the actors will re-act that scene, just like they did it on camera. Re-doing it, wild. The same pacing. Oh yeah… We try to get everything we can for post, knowing that he wants to use all his original track on production. Now, whether he totally used it all? [But] I think he used most of it.”—Willie D. Burton, Production Sound Mixer, “Oppenheimer”Be sure to check out “Oppenheimer” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks 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. 

As part of our continuing Oscars coverage, we are joined by Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC. He discusses how he got his start in the film business, working with Christopher Nolan, shooting “Oppenheimer” on film, how they did all those in-camera practical effects, and his fears about creating a dynamically visual film… with so much dialogue.“I was scared sh**less in the beginning, because you are very much out of your comfort zone. In the old days - when in doubt - throw in a wide shot, throw in a vista, and give the people breathing space, et cetera. But this was full-on, very intense, on the human face all the time. So there was a challenge. But also, I think, a very fun one. It definitely brings you to a state of mind where you have to really focus on what is being said and on the progression of the story.”—Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC, Director of Photography, “Oppenheimer”Be sure to check out “Oppenheimer” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks 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. 

Five-time Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman joins guest host Jon Burlingame to discuss her first Academy Award® nomination for the music of “American Fiction.” Karpman took a rather unique approach to composing this “jazzy” score, by thinking of the actors’ voices as musical instruments themselves.“There's a lot of dialogue. And the way the score is constructed is using the actors — particularly Erika Alexander, who plays Coraline, his love interest, and then Jeffrey [Wright], who plays Monk — using their voices as musical instruments. Jeffrey has a great tenor sax vibe, and Coraline has got this sexy alto. And so when they speak, it's under a rhythm section. And then the saxophones and Elena Pinderhughes on flute will come in to kind of move around that. But I did think of the actors as part of the jazz combo, with a rhythm section backing them up.”—Laura Karpman, Composer, “American Fiction”Be sure to check out “American Fiction” ahead of the Academy Awards, live from the Dolby Theatre® on March 10th!For more awards season coverage, please subscribe to The Dolby Creator Talks 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. 

Recorded live just a few days ago at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Academy Award®-nominated director (“Raya and the Last Dragon”) — and Dolby Institute Fellowship winner — Carlos López Estrada brings together five filmmakers, each with debut feature films in the US Dramatic Competition this year. “I have experienced what all five or panelists are experiencing right now. It's this insane, adrenaline rush of playing your first movie for groups of audiences who love film. And it's the most magical thing in the world. So we're so happy that all five people who you're about to meet agreed to come here to share a little bit about how they ended up here. And I hope you got to see some of these films because I got a chance to see all five and they're all truly magical.”—Carlos López Estrada, Director, "Blindspotting,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Summertime”Today’s panel includes directors:- Alessandra Lacorazza (“In the Summers”)- Laura Chinn (“Suncoast”)- Titus Kaphar (“Exhibiting Forgiveness”)- India Donaldson (“Good One”)- Sean Wang (“Dìdi”) — 2024 Academy Award-nominee for Best Documentary Short Film (“Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó”) and Winner of the Dolby Institute Fellowship (“Dìdi”)Once again, this discussion was part of Antigravity Academy’s Satellite Sessions — free monthly conversations with high-level individuals in film and tv, whose objective is to decentralize resources/information and make them available to as many up-and-coming filmmakers as possible — co-presented by CAPE USA (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). Follow @antigravityacademy and @capeusa for more information on even more upcoming panels.Antigravity AcademyCAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)For more inspiring Satellite Sessions just like this one, be sure you are subscribed to 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. 

Academy Award-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) joins our guest host, music journalist Jon Burlingame, to discuss his score for the latest animated Spider-Man film. If you’ve seen it, then you already know it features incredible, cutting-edge animation. But it turns out Daniel’s approach to the score was equally “experimental.” “As soon as I finished ‘Into the Spider-Verse,’ I was thinking about ‘Across [the Spider-Verse]’ because… as a composer, you don't often get a chance to have a kind of playground where you really can be very experimental and really push at the edges of what film music can be. And obviously, you want to try and do that. But not every movie will support that kind of approach. And with Spider-Verse, it really did. So I was very aware — if there was a sequel — of trying to build on what we created on the first one. Rather than say, ‘well we did this thing that was successful, let's just more of the same.’ It's more like, ‘let's see how much further we can push it.’”— Daniel Pemberton, Composer, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”Be sure to check out “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, now streaming on Netflix.Please subscribe to 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 Carlos López Estrada — Academy Award® nominee for “Raya and the Last Dragon” and winner of the Dolby Institute Fellowship — returns to The Dolby Institute Podcast for another panel discussion, this time with members of Sundance. More than just a film festival, The Sundance Institute offers a myriad of resources for emerging and independent filmmakers, but navigating them all can be overwhelming. So this very special podcast episode is designed to answer this essential question, from Carlos:“What advice can [you offer] for someone who’s just starting to make their own work — whether it’s shorts, documentaries, pilot scripts — and are trying to create from a truthful place, [while] also trying to find their voice, and wanting to be noticed by people like yourselves, knowing that many times resources and time is limited for someone who’s just starting?”—Carlos López Estrada, Director, "Blindspotting,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” “Summertime”Today’s panel includes:Ilyse McKimmie - Deputy Director of the Feature Film Program at Sundance InstitutePaola Mottura - Film Fund Director at Sundance InstituteJandiz Estrada Cardoso - Director of the Sundance Institute Episodic ProgramAna Souza - Manager of the Programming Department and Programmer at Sundance InstituteAdam Piron - Director of Sundance Institute's Indigenous ProgramOnce again, this discussion was streamed live as part of Antigravity Academy’s 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). Follow @antigravityacademy and @capeusa for more information on even more upcoming panels.Antigravity AcademyCAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)For more inspiring Satellite Sessions just like this one, be sure you are subscribed to 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 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, returns to the Dolby Institute Podcast to speak with Kris and Blitz about their collaboration on the film, which began very early in the filmmaking process. “I brought Kris on very early because I really believe in my entire team being on the same page right when we begin. I don't believe in silos as a filmmaker and, ultimately, I fancy myself more of a conductor than anything else. I need my entire symphony to start building some kind of harmony, and I can't wait till the very ending to bring on my composer when so much has already been discussed. So bringing Kris on also helped [him] understand how we were approaching music from a macro perspective, what were the intentions around these choices that then he could then expand into the scoring process. And why Kris? I mean, he's the coolest cat. That's just it.”—Blitz Bazawule, Director, “The Color Purple” (2023)Be sure to check out The Color Purple now in theaters, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®, where available.Please subscribe to 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. 

Academy Award®-nominated director Jonathan Glazer joins us to discuss his latest film, 2024 Best Picture nominee “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.“The atrocities that are being committed in the camps — and the images that we already know in our minds, from all of the documentaries and books and fiction films and so on… I had absolutely no interest in reenacting any of them… But at the same time, they were out of sight, they needed to never be out of mind. So what I was serving in my script was how those sounds could come across the wall and permeate every frame of the film, bare down on this mundanity that we're witnessing day to day. And it sort of felt like that was the second film we were making. We always talked about there are two films: the one you see and the one you hear. And I think in many ways, the one you hear was the most important one to me.”—Jonathan Glazer, Director, “The Zone of Interest”Joining the discussion is producer James Wilson, as well as Johnnie Burn, the film’s sound designer, supervising sound editor, and re-recording mixer, whose work on this film also received a 2024 Academy Award nomination in the Sound category.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/Be sure to check out “The Zone of Interest,” now in theaters.Please subscribe to 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.