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  #1  
Old 07-27-2011, 07:32 PM
duckandcover duckandcover is offline
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Default dialogue placement in surround mix

Hi, all,

I recently finished mixing my first film where I added liberal amount of dialogue reverb in the surrounds and spread the dialogue from the C channel to the L/R channel by 70% in the dialogue stem's cernter % setting. I got a note from the QC place that this has been flagged and that dialogue should strictly be placed in the center channel otherwise it could be flagged as dialogue bleeds.

I am confused as to whether or not this is the standard practice as I recall watch other films and dvds where the dialogue can be heard in the L/R channel as well as some verbs in the surround.

could some mixing gurus here chime in?

thanks!
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  #2  
Old 07-27-2011, 09:15 PM
lexaudio lexaudio is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

Quote:
Originally Posted by duckandcover View Post
Hi, all,

I recently finished mixing my first film where I added liberal amount of dialogue reverb in the surrounds and spread the dialogue from the C channel to the L/R channel by 70% in the dialogue stem's cernter % setting. I got a note from the QC place that this has been flagged and that dialogue should strictly be placed in the center channel otherwise it could be flagged as dialogue bleeds.

I am confused as to whether or not this is the standard practice as I recall watch other films and dvds where the dialogue can be heard in the L/R channel as well as some verbs in the surround.

could some mixing gurus here chime in?

thanks!
Dialog stays pretty much up the center including reverb unless it is added for an effect, like a dreamy sequence.

What you are hearing in the L/R is a product of the decoded LtRt which when encoded phases shifts the center in the the LR as is the surrounds. You can look up the technical "how it works".

So when it is decoded, there is going to be some of that still left in the L and R.

Stay with up the center. It matched better. If you are matching a room from production to ADR, and you have the production set reverb up the center and the ADR slightly left and right, doesn't it sound weird?
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Old 07-27-2011, 11:04 PM
duckandcover duckandcover is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

hi Lex

thanks for the answer!
I assume the same rules apply to the PFX even if it's not strictly DX?
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Old 07-28-2011, 02:25 AM
D'Animation D'Animation is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

Quote:
Originally Posted by duckandcover View Post
Hi, all,

I recently finished mixing my first film where I added liberal amount of dialogue reverb in the surrounds and spread the dialogue from the C channel to the L/R channel by 70% in the dialogue stem's cernter % setting. I got a note from the QC place that this has been flagged and that dialogue should strictly be placed in the center channel otherwise it could be flagged as dialogue bleeds.

I am confused as to whether or not this is the standard practice as I recall watch other films and dvds where the dialogue can be heard in the L/R channel as well as some verbs in the surround.

could some mixing gurus here chime in?

thanks!
Depends on the show or the specs - I'm talking tv here but I've done LCR dialog before and there was no hassle, usually only do 95% center but there was a fair amount of panning. I've also heard the argument that a little bit in the LR can be useful for those who have their home cinema speakers set up in weird positions but I'm not sure of that. Of course you have to check you downmix (and a subsequent upmix back to 5.1) for steering issues though as Lex mentions
.
I've never mixed for cinema but I would guess that you can't go mad with LCR as it will sound ok for those in the sweet spot, but crap for those off to the sides.
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Old 07-28-2011, 03:13 AM
mr.armadillo mr.armadillo is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

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Originally Posted by lexaudio View Post
Dialog stays pretty much up the center including reverb unless it is added for an effect, like a dreamy sequence.
That's not true. Most film mixes have reverb spread across L/R/Ls/Rs which adds some depth and width, takes the dialog away from the center and makes it sound less "spotty". Having a sound coming from only one speaker makes it stand out more, but it'll always sound a bit artificial.
There's also a tendency in recent mixes to be more creative with dialog placement - it doesn't stay strictly in the center anymore.
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Old 07-28-2011, 03:20 AM
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MIKEROPHONICS MIKEROPHONICS is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

specs specs specs...... mix to your specs
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Old 07-28-2011, 07:25 AM
lexaudio lexaudio is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

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Originally Posted by mr.armadillo View Post
That's not true. Most film mixes have reverb spread across L/R/Ls/Rs which adds some depth and width, takes the dialog away from the center and makes it sound less "spotty". Having a sound coming from only one speaker makes it stand out more, but it'll always sound a bit artificial.
There's also a tendency in recent mixes to be more creative with dialog placement - it doesn't stay strictly in the center anymore.
Not saying you can't pan, or use a 5.0 reverb. but for the most part it is up the center.

You want to give an example then? Film and TV
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Old 07-28-2011, 08:22 AM
mr.armadillo mr.armadillo is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

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Originally Posted by lexaudio View Post
Not saying you can't pan, or use a 5.0 reverb. but for the most part it is up the center.

You want to give an example then? Film and TV
Reverb: Almost every mix I heard lately.
Panning: From the top of my head, check out "District 9" or "Scott Pilgrim". Very nice track on both of those.
Spreading accross LCR: "True Grit".
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  #9  
Old 07-28-2011, 08:41 AM
Moviesound Moviesound is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

Dialogue can go wherever you want. If the director wants to put the whole film in the left surround, then they can
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  #10  
Old 07-28-2011, 08:52 AM
D'Animation D'Animation is offline
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Default Re: dialogue placement in surround mix

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Originally Posted by mr.armadillo View Post
Spreading accross LCR: "True Grit".
+1, drifting into the courtroom sc is a great example
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