284 - Assistants - The Invisible Glue of Hollywood, with Carlos López Estrada

Composer Daniel Pemberton returns to Dolby Creator Talks to discuss his inventive new original score for “Project Hail Mary.” In conversation with guest host Jon Burlingame, Pemberton breaks down how he built a custom musical language for the film using everything from wooden blocks, body percussion, treated vocals, bowls of water, and even a squeaky water tap recorded on his iPhone. He also reflects on balancing the film’s vast sci-fi scale with its intimate emotional core, and how experimentation, failure, and discovery shaped one of his most ambitious scores yet.“Developing all your own sounds… I call it mixing your own paints. You've basically spend a long time mixing paint colors rather than buying it off the shelf. And that's how you get stuff that feels very original, like this. And I've got millions of these and most of them don't work. You spend ages when you experiment. When you have time to fail, you have time to create ... Hopefully there'll be something in there that'll work.”—Daniel Pemberton, Composer, “Project Hail Mary”Be sure to check out “Project Hail Mary” now in theaters in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Getting a project made in the entertainment industry can be a mystifying process. But one thing is for sure: nothing would happen without the Hollywood assistants who help champion them and assist (and, yes, sometimes cajole) the executives into getting a green light. To help shed some light on all this, filmmaker Carlos López Estrada hosts another insightful Satellite Session, featuring a panel of top executives, producers, agents, and assistants, to explain how Hollywood assistants work, and why they are so essential to the entertainment industry. As well as how it could be a pathway “in,” for those of you aspiring to build a career here yourselves.Joining the discussion: - Abhijay Prakash – President of Blumhouse - Keenen Kunsh – Assistant to Abhijay Prakash, Blumhouse - Christina Chou – Motion Picture Literary Agent, CAA - Brendan Kim – Assistant to Christina Chou, CAA - Mindy Ramaker – Creative Producer and Former Assistant to David Lynch - Caroline Tsai – Assistant to Jenn Han (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”)This is another installment of our ongoing “Satellite Sessions” series, which we’re bringing to you in partnership with Antigravity Academy and the 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 Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

https://tinyurl.com/k7nu9zs5 Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees via the link above. Categories and nominees include: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Frankenstein, with Dan Laustsen and Director Guillermo del Toro - Marty Supreme, with Darius Khondji - Sinners, with Autumn Durald Arkapaw - Train Dreams, with Adolpho Veloso BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - Bugonia with Jerskin Fendrix - Frankenstein with Alexandre Desplat - Hamnet, with Max Richter - Sinners, with Ludwig and Serena Göransson BEST SOUND - F1: The Movie - Frankenstein - One Battle After Another - Sinners - Sirât Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts. Alt link to playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC4e6_QLepbQXk1s6dbTa9bCdVfDAU_W5 Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Join us for a behind-the-scenes conversation with Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw about her work on “Sinners” — and the creative choices that shaped the film’s look from the very early stages of conception. Autumn breaks down how she and director Ryan Coogler developed the visual language together, from camera and lens selection to lighting strategies designed to support performances, tone, and mood, especially in those challenging night scenes. Along the way, she reflects on collaboration, preparation, and the real on-set problem-solving that is always involved in filmmaking.“How our team collaborates: It’s the authority [director Ryan Coogler] gives each department to pour themselves into it… everyone has a say, your opinion matters. Any great filmmaker knows that it’s never about one department… When we approach stuff, we want the lighting to be a character, but we also want it to feel of the space — and so that requires us to collaborate very closely with production design… When you give people that respect and you consider them and you give them that authority, they work very hard for you and they care.”—Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC, Director of Photography, “Sinners”Be sure to check out “Sinners,” now streaming on HBO Max, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Join us for a behind-the-scenes conversation with the Oscar-nominated sound team behind “One Battle After Another,” as they share how they shaped the film’s world through sound—from intimate character moments to large-scale action. They discuss what it takes to capture great audio on set, build powerful sequences in post, and blending dialogue, effects, and music into a mix that plays on the biggest screens — plus how their collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson guided the sonic identity of the movie from start to finish.“Knowing Paul [Thomas Anderson] — and knowing any director — something happens on set, sound-wise and [in] production, and [if] you don’t have a reference for it… it could potentially be a problem. You have the cars — the actual cars — you have the drivers, you have the road, you have the permits. Can we just spend a little time and try and get some good recordings of these vehicles? Because they’re going to be really useful. It’s such an iconic sequence. People are like, ‘oh man, that chase at the end of the movie is amazing.’ And we worked and worked and worked on that sequence trying to find what that was supposed to be.”—Chris Scarabosio, Re-recording Mixer, Supervising Sound Editor, and Sound Designer, “One Battle After Another”Joining today’s conversation:- José Antonio García - Production Sound Mixer- Tony Villaflor - Re-recording Mixer- Chris Scarabosio - Re-recording Mixer, Supervising Sound Editor, and Sound DesignerBe sure to check out “One Battle After Another,” now streaming on HBO Max, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji joins us to discuss his stunning work on “Marty Supreme.” In this episode, Khondji unpacks his bold visual approach with director Josh Safdie, from shooting on film with classic anamorphic lenses and expressive close-ups to building a richly textured 1950s world through production design, lighting, and color. He also shares how collaboration across every department shaped the film’s emotional power.“Anamorphic can be very minimal… The important thing is the way it renders closeups; it makes people bigger than life, like black and white does… The real old classic anamorphic of the fifties—I wanted to go back to this feeling… Anamorphic is like a magnifier. And Marty is seen through the film like that.”—Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC, Director of Photography, “Marty Supreme”Be sure to check out “Marty Supreme,” now available for at-home purchase or rental, as well as in select theaters, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®. Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Join us for our conversation with Academy Award®-nominated cinematographer Adolpho Veloso, here to discuss his stunning work on “Train Dreams.” In this episode, Veloso breaks down his natural-light approach to capturing the film’s poetic portrait of early 20th century America, from shooting digitally on the Alexa 35 to embracing a 3:2 aspect ratio inspired by old family photographs. He also shares how close collaboration with the actors, along with memory and metaphor, shaped everything from handheld camera movement to the film’s unforgettable wildfire sequence — all in service of telling an intimate story on an epic visual canvas.“It’s such a special project. I feel like everybody involved knew that in advance. And especially with Joel [Edgerton]. I can’t see anyone else playing this part, for all the possible reasons. His physicality. You believe he’s a logger. You believe he’s doing that hard work. But he is also really able to deliver everything without a lot of words, without big emotions. Everything is so subtle, so internal. It was kind of amazing to see that happening… I remember the first makeup test we did… he was like, ‘Do you mind if we change this to the other side so you shoot the other side of my face?’ He told us, ‘I just want you to see both sides, because I feel like this side makes me look more vulnerable and this side makes me feel more assured.’ He wasn't asking us to shoot any particular way, he was just so aware of himself as an actor, and also as a director himself, he was just giving us the tools so we could do whatever we wanted with those tools. But he made sure we knew that. And we obviously learned from it and we used that. So it's amazing to work with an actor that is so aware of those things.”—Adolpho Veloso, Director of Photography, “Train Dreams”Be sure to check out “Train Dreams,” now streaming on Netflix, in Dolby Atmos®.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

This week we sit down with the Oscar-nominated sound team behind Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” to explore the film’s epic and deeply expressive soundtrack. Sound designer and supervising sound editor Nathan Robitaille, supervising sound editor Nelson Ferreira, re-recording mixer Brad Zoern, and production sound mixer Greg Chapman break down their long-standing collaboration with del Toro and the bold creative choices that shaped the film’s sonic identity. From early sound exploration and practical effects to dynamic use of Dolby Atmos® and the creation of the film’s unforgettable creature voice, this conversation offers a deep dive into how sound drives the emotion, scale, and storytelling in one of the year’s most ambitious films.“Guillermo is really, really great about wanting to fill the space. This comes from working with him for a long time. We were able to anticipate all this stuff. There's moments where he wants the concentration on the screen and he wants to pull everything back in the room. Dolby Atmos allows us to do that so beautifully and separate stuff and make it where we can focus. This movie lends itself to Atmos… It's just such a great tool and it was so much fun on this mix to use all that. We have such a beautiful visual to work with. We have to meet that standard with the sound.”—Brad Zoern, Re-recording Mixer, “Frankenstein”Be sure to check out “Frankenstein,” now streaming on Netflix, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for THIS episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

The sound of “Sinners” is bold, immersive, and essential to the film’s emotional power — a standout achievement that has earned the film a spot on the shortlist for Best Sound at this year’s upcoming Academy Awards®. We’re joined by re-recording mixer and sound designer Steve Boeddeker, supervising sound editor Benny Burtt, re-recording mixer Brandon Proctor, and production sound mixer Chris Welcker to break down how they layered music, dialogue, and sound design to shape the film’s mood, rhythm, and storytelling, including that incredible sequence conjuring musical spirits from the past and the future.“This comes back to Ryan being bold and taking big swings. From the effects standpoint, this was obviously a big music moment, so we were doing whatever we could to not mess it up. We started by being very specific with anything we cut, and anything we cut, we cut in rhythm with the music… And then Ryan really just wanted to be in Sammy’s head, so it ended up being effects getting out of the way almost entirely, with just a few moments standing out.”—Benny Burtt, Supervising Sound Editor, “Sinners”Be sure to check out “Sinners,” now streaming on HBO Max, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

After winning the Cannes Jury Prize in 2025, “Sirât” has been added to the shortlist of potential nominees for Best Sound at this year’s upcoming Academy Awards®, a rare achievement for an international feature film. We are delighted to welcome acclaimed filmmaker Óliver Laxe, sound designer & supervising sound editor Laia Casanovas, re-recording mixer Yasmina Praderas, and production sound mixer Amanda Villavieja to talk to us about how they crafted such an immersive and visceral track for this powerful film.“We wanted to make a genre film inspired by American cinema from the ‘70s…. I come from underground cinema, from documentary. I like reality. I’m quite an orthodox filmmaker. But we wanted to make a genre film. We wanted to make a popular film. We wanted to transcend the cinephile audience. So I was afraid. The proposition [from sound designer] Laia [Casanovas] was, ‘let’s make a sound that was crispy. That you really feel it. We are having an experience in the cinema.’ I like when you go to a theater and you feel with your body, with your skin. The images, the sound — that was the goal… I’m really happy because it’s not just a film, thanks to the sound. It’s a ceremony.”—Óliver Laxe, Director, Writer, Producer, “Sirât”Be sure to check out “Sirât” in Dolby Atmos®, where available. The film will be in theaters in New York and LA on Friday, February 6, followed by a nationwide rollout later in February.Check out our playlist of exclusive interviews with the 2026 Academy Award® nominees. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts.You can also check out the video for this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.