This principle is best simulated in a stereo recording by using a pair of microphones to pick up an entire ensemble, rather than combining multiple tracks through a mixer. For example, if a sound source is to your left, the sound arrives at the left ear before it arrives at the right. The other psychoacoustic principle, interear time delay, helps you localize a sound source according to the difference between the instants at which a sound arrives at each ear. Move the pan pot to the right, and the apparent sound source shifts to the right because that sound's level is greater in the right speaker. If you move the pan pot to the left, the signal's level is greater in the left speaker, and the apparent sound source moves to the left of center. It's as though there were another speaker at that location in fact, this virtual speaker is often called a phantom center. If the pan pot is centered, the signal's level is equal in both speakers, and the listener's brain is fooled into believing that the sound is coming from the point halfway between them.
In a stereo mix, each input channel's pan pot determines the relative level of the corresponding signal in the right and left speakers, and the main fader controls the signal's overall level. Relative level is the way in which a sound's volume at each ear helps determine its source's location. Two basic principles of psychoacoustics let engineers do this: relative level and interear time delay. The space between the speakers is called the stereo sound field, and individual sounds in a mix can be placed at any location within this space. In any event, you need to understand surround-mixing technology before you jump in head first if you are unfamiliar with this technology, see Introduction to Surround Sound and Setting Up Your Studio for Surround Sound.Ĭonsider a typical stereo sound system with two speakers placed in front of a listener centered between them. Sometimes up close and personal is the right approach, but other situations call for a wide panoramic shot. I like to think of 5.1 surround mixing as similar to using different camera angles for shooting a movie. Where do you place the listener with respect to the performer - in the “audience” or in the midst of the ensemble? With five main channels surrounding the listening position, the number of mixing decisions has increased substantially compared with stereo, and engineers are only starting to comprehend the enormity of the task. Now audio-only music recordings are being mixed in 5.1 surround, and the old rules have been thrown out the window.
Surround sound mixer software movie#
Of course, movie soundtracks have been using surround sound for years, but the basic formula is pretty straightforward: dialog in the center, music in the front left and right, suround effects in the rear, low-frequency effects (explosions, earthquakes, and so forth) in the subwoofer, which is the type of setup you'll find in a 5.1 surround sound home theater system. Wouldn't you know it? Just when recording engineers have mixing in stereo down cold, 5.1-channel surround sound comes along.
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