What is Dolby Atmos?
Dolby Atmos is not the first music format to promise an alternative to stereo reproduction, but it is by far the most sophisticated and has incredible creative potential. Where 5.1 and 7.1 allowed you to locate sounds in discreet speakers on the horizontal plane, Dolby Atmos adds the critical third dimension of height. It is known as an object based system. In this context, an object is a sound combined with an instruction about the direction that sound will come from and whether it is static or moves around the listener. You can position sounds anywhere between 128 virtual speakers in three axis so they come from above, as well as from the front, back and sides. This three dimensional effect means you can create a totally immersive audio experience that places the listener right inside the track.
The Dolby Atmos format works on many different speaker configurations from headphones to a full 64 speaker system. Importantly, mixes that are done properly in Dolby Atmos translate well to bineural so they can be consumed on headphones, which cover 98% of audio consumption.
Mixing in Dolby Atmos
Creatively, mixing in Dolby Atmos and other immersive platforms opens up possibilities that simply haven’t been available to musicians before. You can place instruments in space in a way that increases the head room six-fold. This can bring out the detail and level of separation between the tracks in the mix to great effect. But, mixing in Dolby Atmos can present a challenge to engineers who are new to the medium. There is a temptation to create drama with excessive movement with distracting sounds flying around the sonic space. In a great mix the format should be secondary to the music. It’s important to use the 3D space to maintain the focus and energy of the track and augment the feeling of the music.
This is a particularly important consideration when remixing well-loved archive tracks. You need to respect the original and not get seduced by the effects. The Dolby Atmos mix process is quite technical but it is worth building a high level of knowledge and familiarity with it so you can control the extended 3D environment seamlessly. Once you have competence in the system, you can really let the creativity of your mixing flow.
My experience in surround
My first experience of working in surround was in 2001 mixing live concerts for DVD in 5.1.
Soon after this I worked on Waves 360 Surround Tools, a set of processors for mixing 5.1 surround sound that has become the industry standard for sound engineers.
I went on to work on Waves Upmix, a processor that opens mono and stereo content to 5.1 surround. The process I worked on for Upmix with Itai Neoran and Meir Shashoua was patented in 2014.
More recently, I was on the development team that delivered Waves NX a product that brings 7.1 content immersive sound to stereo headphones.
Studio Dolby Atmos set-up
My studio was designed from the ground up in 2018 and constructed in 2019 to be compliant with Dolby standards. It is a highly realistic listening environment with ATC speakers built into the wall to provide great accuracy and huge dynamic range. The surround sound set-up in the studio is constructed with a 12 speaker Genelec system which has been meticulously calibrated to Dolby Atmos specifications.
As musicians, engineers and producers, we are at the start of an exciting journey exploring the creative potential of immersive audio.