AES New York 2019
Immersive & Spatial Audio Track Event IS10

Saturday, October 19, 10:30 am — 11:30 am (1E06)

Immersive & Spatial Audio: IS10 - Music Production for Dolby Atmos

Multichannel music productions are increasingly using Dolby Atmos, the audio format originally conceived for the cinema. The speaker setup provides ceiling speakers, which are located in very different positions on the ceiling depending on the number of speakers. This requires special strategies for recording and mixing, so that the result is great regardless of the speaker configuration in the listening room. On the one hand, caution is advised when reproducing direct sound vertically from the ceiling to the listener, as musical instruments are nearly never located directly above the listener during live performances. On the other hand, the ceiling speakers should be used, as they make a significant contribution to the immersive effect.

For larger speaker configurations, additional speakers are added to the side. These make it possible to localize stable sound sources on the side. Sideways positioned instruments lead to largely undesirable results for music because the interaural level differences in this case can be very large and thus appear uncomfortable for the listener. It is therefore recommended to use signals for those speakers that do not lead to such large level differences. One possibility to avoid this unwanted effect can be reached by simultaneously reproducing signals from both side speakers that are so short that their localization from the side does not lead to a disbalance of the mix.

During the workshop Lasse Nipkow will explain the most important phenomena that can be used for music in Dolby Atmos and explain how they can best be used for a loudspeaker setup in a large auditorium. During the presentation various sound and video examples will be shown.

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