Bob Clearmountain's Perspective on Immersive Mixing

In January 2024, AudioTechnology had the opportunity to speak with veteran mix engineer Bob Clearmountain at Apogee Studios in Santa Monica, CA. The topic of conversation was around adapting to immersive mixing formats such as Dolby Atmos.

00:32 - What constitutes a good Atmos mix as a listener?
02:34 - Do you get any pushback from artists on how you use the centre channel?
04:13 - When you pull a vocal out of a stereo mix and pop it into its own centre channel, does that create any weirdness in the rest of the mix?
05:36 - Which Apogee plug-ins do you like to use?
06:21 - You have a particular way of using your SSL console to mix Atmos. How can this setup be replicated in a DAW?
07:47 - Can you explain your bus compression setup?
11:42 - Can you describe mixing objects vs mixing on a bed using your setup?
14:13 - Do you put anything else in the centre channel?
16:17 - It’s interesting there isn’t yet an accepted wisdom about what should be put where in an Atmos mix.
16:43 - Can instruments have more dynamic range in an Atmos mix?
18:17 - With the Huey Lewis Sports album example, how would you make different creative decisions in Atmos?
20:29 - With the amount of creative space Atmos provides, it seems a mix engineer would now be hired as much for their taste than simply their ability to mix?
22:44 - How do you know when the creative canvas Atmos provides is being used to reinforce or detract from a song’s narrative?

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