Good source for 5.1 mix training?

[elambo]

It might be a book. Might be a DVD. Might be a website. Might be a guy I hire to come in to sit with all our engineers.

But what would you consider a good, solid method of training for 5.1 mixing? Something to cover the basics, mid-level stuff, and the more hardcore techniques.

[Rick Sanchez]

Originally Posted by elambo

It might be a book. Might be a DVD. Might be a website. Might be a guy I hire to come in to sit with all our engineers.

But what would you consider a good, solid method of training for 5.1 mixing? Something to cover the basics, mid-level stuff, and the more hardcore techniques.

Broadcast/home entertainment and theatrical each have their own little quirks, but a lot of it is trial and error. I used to bring in lots of DVDs and listen to them. It's fairly easy to hear different techniques just by soloing and muting different channels and so much of it is subjective. Some producers like to hear almost nothing in the surrounds and some like a very full surround.

It would not be a bad idea to hire an experienced mixer/engineer to give a technical overview and downmix tips to a staff who is gearing up for the first time. Aesthetically, you're going to get a wide range of opinions, but the tech side is fairly standardized.

[Front End Audio]

Focal Press: Surround Sound, 2ed - Book
Surround Sound, Second Edition by Tom Holman
Tomlinson Holman is the definitive source for all things Surround Sound.
This book has been a wealth of information for me and my surround sound endeavors. Mixing in surround is so much fun! I hope this helps if nothing else it is a good starting point for anyone interested in surround sound mixing.

Cheers,
Nicholas

[E Baxter Put]

You might want to go to the Dolby web site and read through some of the documents in their online library. There is a ton of information about setting up your system and mixing in surround. The manuals for the various encoders, decoders and cinema processors have a lot of info as well.