303 - The Immersive Sound of Cairn

The sound team behind “Cairn” joins guest host Alistair Hirst to discuss the immersive sound design and mix of this survival-climbing game from acclaimed French indie studio The Game Bakers. Built around the tension, focus, and physicality of climbing a massive mountain, the game uses detailed Foley, breathing, wind, environmental soundscapes, and a sparse musical score to make every handhold, footstep, and moment of silence feel essential… and perilous.“The core gameplay is climbing. So that was all about the small Foley sounds, differentiating between different [holds]… There’s [also] a whole breathing system, which is the primary stamina feedback. It was really nice for the developers to say, ‘Hey, we want audio to be the primary feedback to the player on the stamina,’ rather than having stamina bars.”—Martin Stig Andersen, Audio Director, Sound Designer, and Composer, “Cairn”Joining the conversation:- Martin Stig Andersen – Audio Director, Sound Designer, and Composer- Lukas Julian Lentz – Lead Sound DesignerBe sure to check out “Cairn,” available now in Dolby Atmos, on supported systems. Dolby Atmos is just as impactful for indie developers as it is for major AAA games! Game developers interested in bringing Dolby Atmos to their own projects can learn more here.Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts, now available as a video podcast on YouTube and Spotify.Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Rewriting can be one of the hardest, most important, and most mysterious parts of the writing process. In this panel discussion, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker (and Dolby Creator Lab Grant winner) Carlos López Estrada leads a practical, honest, and often very funny conversation about taking notes, protecting your voice, finding the “note behind the note,” learning when to hold on… and when to let go.Joining today’s conversation: - Marcus Gardley – Playwright and Screenwriter - Aiyana K. White – TV and Screenwriter - George Watsky – Writer, Musician, and Multi-disciplinary Artist - Jon Cohen – Head of Film, Bad Robot ProductionsThis 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 Academy CAPE (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, now available as a video podcast on YouTube and Spotify! Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Showrunner Oren Uziel and director of photography Darran Tiernan join us to discuss how Prime Video’s “Spider-Noir” was designed, shot, and finished for two distinct visual versions at once: “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color.” They break down the creative and technical challenges of building both looks simultaneously, from old-school noir influences to modern custom LUTs, as well as the enormous collaboration required across the camera, lighting, production design, costumes, makeup, and visual effects departments."Nothing was brought to set that hadn't been looked at already through both LUTs... It's measure twice, cut once. This was prep twice, shoot once."—Oren Uziel, Executive Producer and Showrunner, “Spider-Noir”Be sure to check out “Spider-Noir,” now streaming on Prime Video, in both black & white and color, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos®.Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts, now available as a video podcast on YouTube and Spotify!Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

The Audible Original® adaptation of “Mexodus” brings the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical into a new immersive audio experience in Dolby Atmos®. Created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, “Mexodus” is a live-looped, two-person musical set in the 1850s, telling the powerful story of the Underground Railroad that led south, following enslaved people who sought freedom across the Rio Grande into Mexico. Quijada and Robinson join sound designer Mikhail “Misha” Fiksel to discuss both the live stage production and the Audible Original adaptation, and how they used music, sound design, foley, live performance, and an immersive audio mix to bring this story to life, in two radically creative ways. “My obsession with this [immersive audio] medium is that it's [for] an audience of one. For most people, it's an intimate experience between their ears. So literally the sound is kind of actually inside them. But using spatial dynamics, you can place the audience at different kind of perspectives, different vantage points… It's no longer a realistic experience, but much more [a] sort of impressionistic and psychological experience for the audience.”—Mikhail “Misha” Fiksel, Sound Designer, “Mexodus” Be sure to check out The Audible Original adaptation of “Mexodus,” now available on the Audible app in stunning Dolby Atmos. “Mexodus” tour dates and ticketing information can be found here. Please subscribe to Dolby Creator Talks wherever you get your podcasts, now available as a video podcast on YouTube and Spotify! Many, many thanks to YOU, our audience, for being with us for 300 episodes! We can’t wait to bring you our next 300. Learn more about the Dolby Creator Lab and check out Dolby.com. Connect with Dolby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Season two of Netflix’s anthology series “Beef” received 16 Emmy Award® nominations, including recognition for its bold cinematography and meticulously crafted sound. In this conversation, creator, showrunner, writer, director, and executive producer Lee Sung Jin — who also goes by Sonny Lee — joins members of his creative team to discuss how they gave the second season its own distinct identity while still retaining the DNA of the show. “The dialogue is kind of musical in a way. We are chasing these rises and falls to land a joke or a dramatic moment. And we all collectively feel it. And so that's what's great is that I think most teams would be like, ‘Sonny, you're crazy. You don't need to spend any more hours on this.’ But they're like, ‘Ugh, you know what? We know what you mean and it can be a little bit better.’ … I think whether in the mix, or with James [Laxton] in color [grading], what I love about this team is that we want it to be perfect. And it's really hard to do that on TV time and TV resources.” —Lee Sung Jin, Creator, Showrunner, Writer, Director, and Executive Producer, “Beef” Joining Lee Sung Jin for this conversation about “Beef” season 2: - James Laxton, ASC – Director of Photography - Christopher Gomez, MPSE – Supervising Sound Editor - Penny Harold, CAS – Re-recording Mixer - Andy Lange, CAS – Re-recording Mixer Be sure to check out “Beef,” now streaming on Netflix 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.

Academy Award®-winning composer Michael Giacchino returns to Dolby Creator Talks for his fifth appearance, this time to discuss his latest score for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” In this conversation, Giacchino explores how he approached Peter Parker’s new emotional reality: One where the character is alone, isolated, and carrying difficult memories no one else shares, by reshaping familiar musical themes, excavating pieces out of the melody, and introducing a dark, synth palette beneath the orchestra. He also reflects on his working relationship with director Destin Daniel Cretton, recording an 85-piece orchestra at Abbey Road, and finding the right balance between the spectacle befitting a Spider-Man movie, and the loneliness at the heart of this new chapter for the beloved superhero."For me, musically, it was... 'do we abandon the theme that we had for three movies and just go with something brand new? So it felt like he’s in a wholly new place?' That was my first thought. But the more I tried to do that, I kept thinking, 'well, no, maybe it's not so much about inventing anything new, but it's about taking away from what we already have.' So if I have a full melody written out, what notes can I pull out of that melody, that would represent the pieces of his life that have now gone away?"—Michael Giacchino, Composer, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”Be sure to check out “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” now playing in theaters in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos® where available.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.

Justin Gray’s Grammy®-winning album Immersed was composed, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered all with Dolby Atmos® in mind, from the very beginning. In this conversation, guest host Ben Givarz is joined by Gray, co-producer Drew Jurecka, immersive mastering engineer Michael Romanowski, and Dolby’s Greg “Stryke” Chin to discuss how the team crafted a captivating musical experience featuring 38 artists from around the world, where every performance, microphone placement, production choice, and mix decision was designed to put the listener at the center of the music. Together, they explore how Immersed reimagines what an album can be when space is treated not as an afterthought, but as a core part of the composition itself.“Space is a really, really powerful storytelling tool and a powerful production tool. And so when I sat down to write the music, I definitely set out with this thing: I want to make a project where I write the music from the start, produce it for immersive audio.”—Justin Gray, Composer, Immersive Mix Engineer, and Producer, ImmersedBe sure to check out Immersed, available in Dolby Atmos on enabled streaming music services such as Apple Music and Amazon Music.Stay connected with our guests on Instagram:- Justin Gray- Michael Romanowski- Drew Jurecka- Morten Lindberg- Greg "Stryke" ChinListen to other classic and contemporary artists mixed in Dolby Atmos on enabled streaming music services.Interested in creating content in Dolby Atmos? Check out our FREE resources to give you a jump start!- Dolby Atmos Music Accelerator: https://www.dolby.com/creator-lab/music-accelerator/- Dolby Atmos Essentials Course: https://learning.dolby.com/- Dolby Atmos Music Support: https://professional.dolby.com/music/Professional-resources/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.

Composer Claudia Sarne joins guest host Jon Burlingame to discuss her bold, hybrid score for “Supergirl,” and how she blended orchestra, choir, synths, and experimental textures to match this more complicated, emotionally wounded version of the iconic DC character. Sarne also breaks down how she built Supergirl’s theme gradually across the film, letting it emerge piece by piece as Kara steps into her heroic identity. “[Director] Craig [Gillespie] did not want the theme to play properly until she had emerged into the suit and walked into the character fully. We hinted at it earlier on when she's still in the trench coat, and in her first fight sequence — which is this bus sequence with the Sklarians. The first thing that I wrote on this was on that Sklarian bus sequence where she's floating in space. It's sort of lonely piano, and it opens out, and you almost get to a theme, but you don't quite. It just hints at something. When I had that… just a tiny architecture of something, I took that and made it into the theme. That kind of was the genesis of what happened in the whole film and with the music. I took that as the seed and expanded from there.” —Claudia Sarne, Composer, “Supergirl” Be sure to check out “Supergirl,” now playing in theaters, in Dolby Vision® and Dolby Atmos® where available. 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.

*NOTE: This episode contains spoilers.“Disclosure Day” is at once a conspiracy thriller, a first-contact story, and a wildly inventive showcase for cinematic sound. In this conversation, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, and Andy Nelson join us to discuss crafting the film’s immersive soundtrack, from its disorienting opening wrestling sequence, to Emily Blunt’s alien-clicking language, to John Williams’s score, and its many spectacular action sequences. But underneath the film’s mystery and spectacle, the sound team was guided by something much simpler and more human.“We came to the one word direction, which was: ‘Empathy.’ So the movie, any time that we can have a sense of empathy… you can connect with people or disconnect, but feel internalized with other people's feelings. That's what [director Steven Spielberg] said early on.”—Gary Rydstrom - Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer, “Disclosure Day”Joining today’s conversation:- Gary Rydstrom - Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer- Brian Chumney - Supervising Sound Editor- Andy Nelson - Re-recording MixerBe sure to check out “Disclosure Day,” now in theaters and Dolby Cinemas® 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.

The team behind Pottermore Publishing and Audible’s “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions” joins guest host Richard Addis to discuss one of the most ambitious audiobook productions ever attempted. Featuring more than 200 actors, original music, detailed sound design, and fully immersive Dolby Atmos® mixes, the series brings all seven books to life in a new way — while staying true to the text, the characters, and the world fans know so well. *NOTE: This interview may contain spoilers from the Harry Potter series.Joining today’s conversation:- Ann Scantlebury - Head of Audio Development, Pottermore Publishing- Chris Jones - Senior Director of Production, Audible- Lawrence Kendrick - Co-creative Director, Sound Designer and Composer, String and Tins- Rob Baker - Head of Engineering, Forever Audio“We can take people on the Hogwarts Express. They can go through the doors into the Great Hall. They can hear the footsteps echoing. They can be there and they can have it all playing out around them. To us, that was incredibly appealing. It was always about creating something that felt very real to the listener, really putting them in the heart of the action.”—Ann Scantlebury, Head of Audio Development, Pottermore PublishingBe sure to check out all seven of “Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions,” now available on Audible in 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.