Dolby Atmos and Mercedes-Maybach in a car where you do not just hear an Atmos mix, you build one. A documentary film with producer Daniel Grunenberg, made as a hybrid: real interview, real B-roll, AI layers on top.
The Setup
Dolby Atmos does not sell on paper. You have to hear it, and you need someone who can explain what actually changes between a stereo mix and an Atmos mix. For this collaboration between Dolby Atmos and Mercedes-Maybach that person was Daniel Grunenberg: producer, co-founder of Atmos Studio Berlin, and the man behind the viral hit Geiles Leben.
The second lead was the car. The Maybach in this project is a prototype. You plug in a MacBook, the rear-seat monitor becomes an external display, and the Atmos session opens and mixes right there in the vehicle. Not a showroom demo loop. An actual workstation on the back seat.
The Shoot
Two locations in one day. Atmos Studio Berlin first, the Mercedes-Maybach after. We recorded a 50-minute interview with Daniel Grunenberg and Eric Horstmann, the studio's co-founder and mix engineer. A reporter from AUTO BILD was on set as well.
Several versions were cut from that material for Dolby to promote the event. This one is the director's cut.
The Hybrid Build
The spine of the film is live-action: the interview, the studio scenes, the B-roll inside the Maybach. All really shot. On top of that sits a second layer that is entirely AI-produced. Clips of Daniel in the studio, shots of the Mercedes-Maybach, and the blue-violet sound orbs that make the Atmos room visible.
One rule held it together. The AI layer is not allowed to claim anything that did not happen on set. It translates sound into image, it does not replace reality. Every generated shot sits on a real statement, and the quotes in the film stand exactly as they were said in the interview.
