Anyone here figured out a seamless way to mix stereo and ATMOS simultaneously?
I’m trying multiple approaches. But have yet to figure out a really efficient workflow to that end.
I created a simple template that has a 7.1.4 mix bus with a mix convert plugin on it (7.1.4–>stereo) and a 7.1.2 Bed group fader with a mono eq plugin on the LFE low passing at 120 Hz I think. I use 7.1.4 reverbs to start with that get folded down to stereo because of the mix convert plugin on the master. When I bounce out a finished mix I choose “L and R only from multi channel “ from the drop down menu. When it’s time to mix it in Dolby Atmos I do a “Save As” of the .npr file, replace the Mix Convert plugin with the Dolby Renderer plugin, assign the 7.1.2 group fader as a Bed track and start mixing. It has worked really well for me thus far. HTH.
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Also, when creating your template start with the Dolby Renderer plugin on the master and assign the group track as a bed then remove the Dolby plugin and add the mix convert plugin and save your template. That way when you switch back the Dolby Renderer plugin it will remember the bed track.
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I think this will likely change in the next version. It’s a hunch, but based on how updates have gone recently both DaVinci Resolve and Pro Tools have been slightly ahead on features, and one new-ish feature is “live rerender”.
If I understand that workflow correctly you will be able to essentially tap a re-render that the Atmos Renderer does and then use that as an input for a group or bus. In other words you’d mix into the Renderer as usual but then monitor either that Atmos output or any re-render output live, which would be stereo in your case.
Avid has a video on it that you can look at. Incidentally, this is also a way to get processing on your lower channel count outputs easily, meaning your 7.1.4 mix is downmixed by the renderer to stereo and then you put a limiter or compressor on that new master, if you want to.
Just a hunch, but I’d be surprised if Steinberg didn’t include this.
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If it’s not an old music project,You need to go Atmos route.
You don’t need a compressor to make elements sit, use objects size and distance.
Dolby add a slight reverb, so keep that in the mind.
If you want to stick to channel based Atmos you do the old way.
Start like you would in stereo and gently spread it in 3d.
Nuendo allows you to export your Dolby Atmos downmix to stereo 1to1 or what ever you have set in Atmos render to.
Thanks so much for the replies. I may be misunderstanding, but it seems that these strategies are FOLDING DOWN the ATMOS mix to stereo. That’s not what I want. I’m looking to do a ground up stereo mix and a ground up ATMOS mix at the same time.
Right now, my approach is 2 separate folders (one Stereo & one ATMOS) routed accordingly to separate master outs. I start with a stereo session, duplicate all of the tracks and place them in the ATMOS folder. Then I route those tracks to the Bed/Renderer Out. I can solo either folder for monitoring. But this approach is pretty labor intensive, especially setting it up and I was hoping for a more streamlined approach using one set of files WITHOUT folding down.
Well I would think it would conceptually be the same for 5.1/stereo as Atmos/stereo. In my experience there is really little to nothing to gain from running two separate sets of paths to get a mix done. Instead there are gains by either “upmixing” or “downmixing” at some point in the signal chain. Doing what I think you’re saying you are doing would involve doubling up on everything up to the bus level, meaning changes that apply to both mixes have to be done twice - unless you come up with some way of “linking” different “assets” across the two folders.
Remember that you can downmix at other stages than the final output. So if you feel like you want greater control of something at some point you could hypothetically create a group where you split things off rather than wait to the master bus stage.
When I do post for example I have everything routed to multiple groups with the widest format, 5.1, and then those groups go to stereo “duplicates” which means downmixing. And then the two sets go to stems and mix buses for both the 5.1 and stereo versions.
This way I can monitor each path separately and control each separately if I need to, but I also don’t have to do the work twice. I simply link groups using VCAs and use the VCAs to set levels. Or not.
Point being that I only have to route source tracks once (to 5.1) and pan once (into 5.1) and everything is taken care of automatically after. I find it much easier and faster to fold down from a wider format rather than mix up from stereo.
I don’t see how you would do it differently with your approach, which is to say I think it probably is as efficient as it gets without dealing with fold downs at some point. So the questions is where you would fold down if you want to change the way you work.
I could be missing something of course. Just my 2 cents without my afternoon coffee.
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I thought the whole allure of Atmos was “mix in Atmos once, deliver in anything.” What are you lacking in the atmos/stereo version? Loudness/bus compression? If so maybe look into Hornet Samp or Fiedler Audio Gravitas. I have the same workflow as Matthias. As Yoda says, “This is the (most practical) way.” Nuendo direct routing is a big help as well. That said I am not 100% sold on Atmos, especially since 99% of music is consumed on earbuds. Kinda fun but a lot of work.