We recently finished construction on our brand new post sound facility in Burbank, CA. One of our top priorities was to have multiple mix stages under our roof, all of which ready for Dolby Atmos. The way we saw it, we might as well be on the forefront of this emerging format. Building a mix stage is challenging enough, but adding in the extra Atmos considerations meant we would be faced with lots of opportunities to learn. Lucky for us, we are all about continuing to learn here at Boom Box Post! It’s in that spirit that I want to share with you some of the details of our journey.
If you missed Jeff’s big announcement in his blog post Introducing Boom Box Post Verdugo, we are currently building a new facility that will be all our own! We are in the home stretch of construction of our new studio which will feature three Atmos-ready mix stages. We are hoping to complete construction in about a month, and then we will move on to fabric, wiring, and gear installation on the stages. Because this process has been fascinating to us as first-time mix stage builders, I thought I would share our progress thus far with all of you.
Whether you’re mixing for film in 5.1 surround or Dolby Atmos, it’s important to consider a key element of human auditory perception: localization. Localization is the process by which we identify the source of a sound. We may not realize it, but each time we sit down to watch a movie or TV-show, our brains are keeping track of where the sound elements are coming from or headed towards, like spaceships flying overhead, or an army of horses charging in the distance. It is part of the mixer’s role to blend the auditory environment of a show so that listeners can accurately process the location of sounds without distraction or confusion. Here are some psycho-acoustical cues to consider when mixing spatial audio.
With the recently released Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer smashing existing viewing records, and crashing sites like Fandango due to a rush for pre-sale tickets, it is no secret that the hype is strong with this one. On December 18th of this year, hoards of people will be heading to the theaters to witness the newest addition to the Star Wars universe.
Diehard fans know there is a lot to look forward to, but there is a new addition to the Star Wars universe that is easily overlooked: Dolby Atmos. Most theaters still show films in 5.1, but with Atmos becoming increasingly popular as part of a premium film experience, it is worth noting how far technology has come since the first Star Wars film in 1977. Therefore, I would like to focus this week’s blog post on the evolution of mixing formats and how they impact the audience experience.
