Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546135
C I N E M A A U D I O S O C I E T Y. O R G 45 calls for, not for automatically "blanketing" the score in halls. Dennis: I build a lot of my own multichannel reverbs within Pro Tools. I might love a particular stereo reverb, like the UA EMT-140, and want to use it in an Atmos context, so I build it manually using multiple stereo objects, one per point in the space. It works, but it takes time. One of the current limitations I'd love to see Dolby address is object linking. Right now, you can only link a pair of objects. So if I've built a reverb across many objects and I want to move it in the room, I have to do it two objects at a time. There have been mixes where I've wanted to do something genuinely creative and build custom setups with my vintage outboard gear, where the sound is unmatched compared to digital plugins, but sometimes I have to stick with what's fast and efficient. If I am using a multichannel reverb, I'll go straight to something like iZotope Symphony 3D or LiquidSonics Cinematic Rooms. Reverbs were always one of the weakest, last things to become really usable in the plugin realm for music. Most of them took a while to get to where they were sonically pleasing and felt natural and real. Those are two I trust now. Michael: Lately, I've been loving incorporating hardware reverbs into Atmos mixes. I still use plugins like Seventh Heaven, which I love, but there's something special about running a pair of Lexicon Model 200's as front and rear quads and then building an immersive environment around them. Sending my Prophet 5, Xpander, or Juno-60 through those reverbs creates a depth and character that's hard to replicate any other way. The combination of classic hardware and Atmos can sound absolutely incredible, giving the listener the feeling of being completely surrounded by the space rather than just hearing a reverb effect. For mixers who don't have your resources—time, gear, a dedicated stage, engineering staff—do you have any advice? David: Whatever time you have, spend a meaningful part of it planning before you hit the stage. Even if you don't have weeks, you can have a conversation—communication is very important with everyone involved. Talk to the composer, music editor, or post supervisor if there's no dedicated score mixer, before you receive music turnover. Find out what stems they're delivering. Tell them what you're going to need. Even on a tight schedule, knowing in advance how to set up your template will save time in the mix. If you're working in Atmos, build even a simple object plan. Know how many objects you'll need for each food group, and if objects are limited for music, make sure there's a plan. You don't need all 118 objects and six beds to benefit from the format—you just need to arrive with a mapped-out plan for the mix. And keep it simple. I've seen mixers hurt themselves with templates so complicated that when something failed, they couldn't troubleshoot it with a room full of people behind them. As with any format, Atmos can "get away from you" and get gimmicky. I've had challenges in the early days as we were doing the R&D, but I've now learned what I can manage—and it works. Start with what's reliable and build complexity slowly. Above all, use the format to serve the story, not to demonstrate the format. The question is never "What can I do with Atmos?" It's "What does this scene need?" Dennis: I have two recommendations for all mixers—one is personal and one is technical. On the technical side of mixing, always think of balance. I feel that's the single most important aspect of a good mix. It speaks to panning, EQ, production, reverbs and will, at least in my opinion, make or break a mix. On the personal side, be nice and always remain calm. Be nice to everyone you work with. We live in a very high stress environment and business. People have a lot of pressure to create a great product. Additionally, in the film world I work in, there's a lot of money riding on the film's performance. Finally, remain calm especially when technical issues stop the flow of the session. We work in a very intimidating environment with equipment that most people don't understand and certainly don't know how to operate. So when something goes down, they get concerned and if you display anxiety, they will freak out. Find a way to work around the problem calmly (there's almost always a way around any issue). That's your job! If you're nice and calm, people will want to have you around. That's a huge part of success. Michael: Don't get caught up in thinking you need a huge stage or unlimited resources to work in Atmos. Start simple and focus on the creative decisions. The technology will keep evolving, but good storytelling and good musical choices don't change. If you can, build your project in Atmos from the beginning so those decisions carry through every deliverable. Most importantly, spend your time listening rather than fighting the workflow. The simpler and more reliable your setup is, the more creative you can be. For all the differences between a Disney dub stage, a scoring room, and a home Atmos facility, the three keep circling the same idea. What unites them isn't a plugin or a speaker count—it's that they all do the hard thinking early so that when the room is full and the clock is running, they're free to listen to the music instead of fighting the format. The objects, the beds, the custom arrays, the reverbs built one channel at a time—it's all just scaffolding for a decision that hasn't changed since long before Atmos existed: Where does the music need to be, and what does this moment need to feel? The format only gave them more room to answer.