We wrap up our Oscar nominees series with the team from Dunkirk. In this two part episode, the artists show how the carefully engineered track builds and maintains tension for the entire running time of the movie, with music playing almost continuously from the opening shot of soldiers walking down the street to the moment Finn falls asleep on the train. They talk about how the mixing time works: they make a complete pass through the film and screen it every week during the final mix; and finally, why director Christopher Nolan feels you don’t necessarily need to understand every word of dialog in his films.

“Everything is evaluated for its emotional content as it goes into the mix. Even the dialog has a pace, and a pulse, and a purpose in our mix, and it sits exactly where [Christopher Nolan] orchestrates it to be.” Gary Rizzo

“[Composer] Hans [Zimmer] is making the sounds that the audience hears, and I’m making the sounds that the characters hear.” Richard King

Oscar nominees: Alex Gibson, Gregg Landaker, Richard King, Gary Rizzo, Mark Weingarten