Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546135
by sending Pro Tools sessions, but that can become a cumbersome workflow for the music editor and the re-recording mixer. Keeping my deliverables channel- based keeps an efficient workflow, and I'll communicate any creative Atmos ideas to the re-recording mixer directly. So, I usually give them a well-thought-out 7.1 or 5.1 stem set with meaningful separations and the flexibility to do what they need in the final mix. From the scoring side, I'm the one preparing those stems, and I'm always thinking about giving the re-recording mixer real options. The solo woodwind on its own stem, the heavy drums separated from the rest of the orchestra— those decisions exist so the person at the stage can solve problems without throwing the whole cue out of balance. Good composers make this easier because they're already writing with the dialogue and the effects in mind. They want the music in the movie. Michael: On one of my most recent projects, an independent horror feature called Valley of the Horntak, I served as both the composer and re-recording mixer. Working in both roles allowed me to plan the entire sonic process from the earliest recording sessions through the final mix. We recorded percussion at LA Percussion Rentals in Santa Clarita, which has an incredible collection of instruments heard on scores ranging from Back to the Future to Star Wars and many others. The percussion was captured in 9.1.4, allowing the size, movement, and spatial detail of those performances to carry all the way through to the finished soundtrack. When we played the recordings back in my 9.1.4 studio, it felt as though you were standing in the room with the instruments. Achieving that level of immersion on an independent horror feature was especially rewarding. Although the film may not receive a full theatrical Dolby Atmos release, we screened it in 7.1 at AMC for the cast and crew, and the benefits of building some of the instrumentation natively in Atmos were still clearly audible. Even in a traditional surround environment, the added depth, scale, and spatial detail translated great. Where does the music actually live in the room? How do you think about placing it spatially? David: I create and use custom object arrays to place the 5.1 or 7.1 orchestral stems. I'll place an object in the room respectively for each channel and adjust the height and size for each object based on what's working for the story. The low strings might sit in a base layer, just slightly elevated off the screen. The woodwinds a little higher. The brass a little higher than that. I'll also sometimes have the surround objects sitting a bit higher than the LCR, which creates a sort of ramp from the screen to the audience. The imaging gives the orchestra spatial definition, but it still feels unified—you're immersed in it, not disoriented by it. And by lifting it slightly off the screen, we're not sharing real estate with sound effects and dialogue. The music has its own consistent sonic image in the room. Dennis: The orchestra needs to be the anchor and stay grounded for the most part. I'll use elevation with objects. For something like choir, I'll often elevate it separately from the orchestra—not to disconnect it, but to give clarity. You can hear the choir and the orchestra as distinct things without them feeling disconnected. Someone like (composer) Danny Elfman uses choir on almost everything, and that separation can be the difference between a muddy texture and a genuinely immersive one. Michael: For me, the biggest thing is being able to place something exactly where you want it and let it own that space. Instead of panning a piano off to the side and adding reverb to push it back, I can place it right up front with real size and presence, while giving the bass and other instruments their own defined locations. A lot of the power comes from confident placement—deciding where something belongs and committing to it. When every element has its own space, the mix feels bigger, clearer, and more immersive. Michael Keeley CAS