Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1451070
12 S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y b y M a t t F o g l i a C A S DOLBY ATMOS Beds or Objects? In addition to re-record mixing, I'm a professor of audio production at Middle Tennessee State University (outside of Nashville), focusing on sound for picture. At the end of the fall semester, two graduate students whose final projects I'm the primary advisor for, turned in some music mixes. Both students are researching approaches, techniques, etc., of mixing music and sound for picture in immersive formats (focusing on music in the fall). Dolby Atmos is their primary format, although they are also exploring DTS:X and Sony 360 Reality Audio. While mixing in Atmos, one student took the approach of primarily using beds with limited objects, while the other student went full-on objects (other than the LFE). I've come across the "beds or objects" discussion on one of the Dolby Atmos-focused Facebook (FB) groups and, being intrigued by my students' approaches and those of professionals, I decided to dig into this a little bit more. While I could have interviewed a handful of mixers, I decided to use the FB group to reach a broader audience and get a few more responses. I posted a survey to the FB group and 23 folks were kind enough to share. Not an overwhelming amount, but enough to provide some variation. While the questions aren't anything crazy, they can provide a little insight. For some questions, participants were able to expand on their responses to provide additional clarity. Here are the questions and responses.