ProTools / Dolby signal flow PDFs

[Soundworks UK]

Hi, I've been looking at the post pro signal flow documents recently posted on digis site.

I'm sorry if it's obvious, but why would the Dialogue bus (for example) feed into Mono sub paths and go to Mono audio tracks rather than 5.1 paths and tracks?

I presume these tracks are stem recording tracks (so would they be set to input monitor most of the time i guess?)

Also, would you guys compress/limit and or insert global eq on (for instance) the dialogue bus? and if so would you use a master fader and insert compressors / eq's on those? or use aux inputs?

Sorry if I appear dim but am fairly new to mixing in the box when it comes to 5.1

Many thanks, Simon.

[Richard Fairbanks]

I am confused by your questions. Can you post a link to the documents you are talking about?

Very often dialog is stuck to the center channel. Of course there is nothing wrong with panning dialog when called for but for many situations there is no need to pan dialog, and until recently in broadcast there was an argument for NEVER placing dialog anywhere except center. These days you will probably never want to put dialog in the LFE channel, so dialog stems are only 5.0 or less. It has been a long-standing tradition in much broadcast mixing to save tracks (and system resources) by eliminating surround tracks in dialog stems. In fact I've mixed many shows where the dialog is ONLY in the center channel. In days gone by, for TV work, you could get by with music to L,R only, effects to L,R,S, and dialog to C. That is a total of six stem tracks for Dolby Surround, and dialog strictly mono! This is still a common approach, even if people don't admit it.

[Avid]

I'm guessing the reference is to the recently posted ICON Dolby Configuration drawings, in the ICON sections of Products and the Technical Document Library.

[Richard Fairbanks]

Ah ha! Thanks for that point.

Another reason to consider mono tracks or mono bus's is to make solo more useful. It is often necessary to solo a single source from a mono track.