Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532010
34 S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y Best Practice: Calibration & EQ The Calibration & EQ seminar was led by Bryan Pennington CAS, Senior Staff Engineer at Dolby Laboratories. Pennington shared valuable insights into creating an optimal sound environment, starting with the importance of selecting the right room. Pick a room that's "longer than it is wide," advised Pennington. He emphasized the need for quality speakers— ones you personally like, frequently use, and are familiar with. If you are mixing in a home environment, these should be similar to those on the dub stage where your project will eventually be finalized. Pennington also encouraged addressing acoustic issues proactively. "Room acoustics are a lot of psychoacoustics," he explained, highlighting the need to make adjustments where room-tuning software cannot, while listening and making decisions for the nuances of a given space. The seminar placed a strong emphasis on the concept of translation—the ability to ensure your mix translates b y C A S A s s o c i a t e S h u b h i S a h n i consistently across different playback environments. "Translation, translation, translation," Pennington repeated, underscoring its importance. Testing is key to ensuring that "your room sounds like their room," whether the audience is experiencing the content in a theater, on a home setup, or elsewhere. When mixing for specific audience experiences, consider practical setups. For home viewers, it may mean placing speakers outside the screen area, reflecting how most people position their systems. In theaters, mixing involves compensating for unique sound curves like X-Curve (X30), SMPTE 222, or the Atmos curve. These curves help control high-frequency energy, especially in large, reverberant spaces by managing how sound bounces around the room. Pennington's guidance provided a comprehensive foundation for sound professionals aiming to optimize their mixing environments and deliver consistent audio experiences to audiences everywhere. Bryan Pennington CAS