Training and development: Time to get Atmos-ready

Felix Krückels created the Dolby Atmos Remote Audio Control Room (RACR) based in Darmstadt for Sky Germany in 2022 to produce all top Bundesliga matches going forwards in immersive audio

There is an increasing appetite from broadcasters to provide more value to its customers with more immersive content, and there has never been a better time for audio mixers to get trained up in the art of Atmos. Thankfully, A1 mixer Glenn Stillwell tells us that is easily done with a new training course that runs through some of the basics; and the best news is, it is absolutely free.

There has never been a better time for audio mixers to Atmos-up. Technology has made immersive sound super accessible; family-friendly 3D soundbars are pleasing to the eye as well as the ears, and Dolby Atmos is built into Sky Glass at source. There are thousands of songs in spatial audio on Apple Music and the big over the top (OTT) services like Netflix and Amazon Prime all provide immersive content; in fact, Netflix has so much of it that it even uses a two-channel spatial audio renderer for viewers still slumming it in stereo.

Big ticket events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup are broadcasting in immersive audio as standard and immersive-first mixing in live sports is increasingly common. Dolby started looking at ways to support the live production industry by demystifying live Atmos mixing during the pandemic, and has now launched two immersive training courses to help more A1s get comfortable with mixing in ATMOS and to add value to the production effort.

The time is now

According to sound supervisor Stillwell, who has been working with Dolby Laboratories as a live mixing consultant since April 2018 and has been instrumental in structuring the training, any time is the right time to get trained up.

“It is always the right time for training, but the pandemic was an especially good time to advance your skillset, which is when we first introduced this training,” he says. “It was so well received by the community we decided to continue the program and expand the capabilities to support a wider range of clients.

“Audio mixers are always keen to be at the forefront of their craft and most are extremely comfortable mixing live in Atmos, but the demand for immersive mixes as live deliverables is constantly increasing.

“There are several things driving the take up of immersive mixing. Linear networks are playing catchup to the over the top streaming networks who have been delivering video on demand assets in Atmos for so many years that it has become the standard.

“Film and episodic television pushes the boundaries, and traditional over the top broadcasters are increasingly plunging into immersive mixing for live production. The combination of immersive monitoring in production environments and enhanced binaural stereo for delivery means the barriers to immersive for live content are slowly being broken down.”

What is it?

There are two levels of Dolby Atmos training, both of which are completely free of charge; one is remote, the other is in-person. The in-person training course is a full hands-on session. The course covers the creation of a mixdown from a live sports capture and evaluates the mix in a real life environment. Although free of charge, the advanced training takes approximately two days and trainees have to get themselves to San Francisco to take part.

Perhaps more realistic for most people is Dolby’s remote training course which covers the basic configuration for Dolby Atmos and a familiarisation of the process. Hosted in Lab 413 at Dolby HQ, it is hosted over Zoom, the session lasts approximately one hour. In a bid to cover as many eventualities as possible, Stillwell has two entirely separate audio configurations in the room, which cover immersive training on both a Calrec and a Lawo console in mirrored configurations.

Stillwell explains: “It is a one-person show where the instructor switches between a variety of sources to provide the training. We have four fixed cameras in the studio, including an overhead camera which shows the entire desk layout. We use a handheld camera for an up-close view of the desk, and we also have inputs to show the desk user interface, as well as an input for PPT slides.”

The kit list

He continues: “We use a Utility PC for UPMAX, a Dolby DP590, a Linear Acoustic LA-5291 Professional Audio Encoder, a Mac Mini for Atmos streaming audio playout, an Electro-Voice RE-20 announcer’s microphone and a suite of Genelec Audio Monitors in a 5.1.4 config with GLM software. The switcher is connected to an HDMI router, and once the trainees are logged into Zoom, they are ready to go.

“The Lawo and the Calrec consoles are both in the same room and Genelec’s GLM software allows us to quickly load the room for 5.1.4 for the Lawo, and then switch to Calrec by just loading the individual profiles. It makes the whole process very quick and efficient.”

The course puts in plenty of groundwork before even laying hands on a console with an overview of what immersive means, and the difference between the practicalities of mixing immersive audio for live content like sports (5.1.4 format and channel-based) and immersive audio for post-production (9.1.6 format and object-based).

Stillwell also spends some time explaining how to build Atmos channels onto a console which may not be designed for immersive mixing, with main outputs consisting of a 5.1 surround mix, a height-channel mix and a LoRo downmix to provide the operator with the best representation of what is happening in someone’s home.

In additional to the practicalities of set up and monitoring, the training includes some real time lessons learned in the field; for example, Stillwell covers downmixing techniques which he describes as “ear candy”, such as placing the PA into the overheads to, “trick the brain into cancelling it out from the field of play”.

As immersive techniques continue to adapt to changing requirements, Stillwell says the course is always developing as feedback from clients who take the training is applied to future training.

“Immersive audio will continue to add newer properties every year,” he says. “Within 10 years, 5.1 will become a pseudo standard across most platforms and allow artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning to virtualise the immersive needs of consumers.”