Why I Mix in Atmos, and Why Team Studios Should Too

Sports Team Studios  |  David Frangioni

I have been mixing beyond stereo for three decades. In 1995 I co-produced and engineered the first 5.1 DTS surround music CD. Today I mix catalog albums in Dolby Atmos, including the KISS Dressed to Kill and Rock And Roll Over 50th anniversary sets.

A Stadium Is an Immersive Sound

Nothing about a game is stereo. The crowd surrounds you, the PA comes from above, the field is in front of you. Atmos lets a documentary or a hype piece put the viewer in that seat. Once a team hears its own building that way, it doesn’t want to go back.

Finishing In-House Changes Everything

When the mix room is down the hall, the editor and the mixer work together, schedules hold and creative calls stay with the team. A room built right for Atmos also delivers stereo and 5.1, so nothing is lost.

I Build the Room From the Mix Position Out

I design Atmos rooms the way I want to hear them when I am mixing: accurate, even and quiet. That means the right dimensions and ceiling height, real isolation, careful acoustics and a calibrated system tied into edit and storage.

The technical side is laid out at Frangioni Media: Dolby Atmos Mix Rooms for Sports Team Studios. More in my Sports Team Studios series.