Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610602
48 F A L L 2 0 1 5 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y format's features of the technology into his editorial work in order to affect the audience. "Barco can shine when you have elements, whether it be sound fx, background, or music, recorded natively with their 11.1 mic array. Sounds can be location-real and organic. However, you need, per- haps, a specific kind of scene or even movie to show that off." In Atmos, he observes a large advantage in having the full-range surrounds and starting with a 9.1 bed. "For any kind of movie, it can make this concept of 'immersion,' more obvious to the listener […] for better or worse. It's really up to the mixer and perhaps filmmaker. When I design with Atmos in mind, I think in 9.1 and objects. Thinking about 'background' sounds in particular, I'll cut wider, with more detail. Also, [I] will attempt more com- plex reverbs and delays—utilizing the real estate." Also, indicative of any new technology, there is a bit of housekeeping that is needed when bringing things onto a stage equipped with immersive technology. For Henighan, who is designing natively in Atmos, he needs to have the returns from the local renderer reassigned to the physical outputs of the RMU located on the dub stage. But, as Erin Rettig, audio engineer for 20th Century Fox, points out, a lot of mixers use the object channels to put things into the ceiling in a way that was not previously possible. Babcock, on the other hand, manages the translation of his pre-dubs to the stage through careful session organization and session setup. He explains, "Making virtual pre-dubs that can easily be flexible to make mix and object decisions without having to deal with a gigantic science project on the expensive final mix stage down-the-road [is essential]. The biggest technical hoop I have to think about is the processing chain (i.e., EQ, compressors, bus limiters, reverb, and sub sends) if I want to be able to be flexible down-the-line whether mixing natively in Atmos or not." So how does this affect the traditional editor who may begin their work for a film that will be natively mixed in an immersive format? Will they need to change their prep, thinking, and organization? Babcock feels the new tools will appear differently to each party. He elaborates, "For a mixer, Atmos mostly has been a new creative toy that is fairly intuitive to how mixers have been using their interfaces for years. Once you've learned how to mix in Atmos using their tools, it's really just about cre- ativity, discovery, and taste. For an editor, though, in addi- tion to the creative aspect of making sounds, you need to learn to think more like a mixer in regards to workflow, organization, processing, and just plainly have a vision as to what direction the end result can be. You have to be able to speak a mixer's language." Henighan does express that being a traditional mixer in an age of shrinking budgets, rising expectations, and condensed schedules is difficult. "I feel for the sfx mixers sometimes. Especially if I am doing a show or going to hand it off to them, there are two things that are happen- ing; I have to explain everything to them and try to get them up to speed and I want them to be creative and have their own take and bring their own sort of thing. That can be difficult, [because] how do you judge what they are doing? Do you let them go off and pre-mix something and play it back and go 'that is pretty good and this is pretty good, but that is completely different than what it was?'" Babcock reduces it to a simple notion, "Joint vision, col- laboration, and respect are very important." Finally, the most important concern I have when concep- tualizing editorial that comes pre-dubbed from the same individual it will be mixed by was if this removed creative decisions from the dub stage. Babcock seems encouraged by this amount of prep before "mix" and feels the opposite is true. "The possibility of more detail and fidelity is usu- ally inspirational," he comments. Henighan underscores, "In the end, when you are working with directors and pic- ture editors early on [who are] making decisions, as long as they are good decisions, when you get to the final, it is more about refining the sounds and not about scrambling and getting new concepts together." • Craig Henighan worked here when designing the sound design of Fantastic Four.