Mono compatibility for movie sound??

[El-Sid]

Just want to ask this of some of you experts here...

i have been mixing the original sound for a feature and for the first time i have been given all the diligently recorded stereo atmos and background tracks from all the locations too.

i was/am very happy with the results and had to (fortunately) only use very few stock sounds and backgrounds.

but... switching the mono button on my controller yesterday suddenly freaked me out (havent done that for a long time!!). most of the backgrounds seem to collapse and are no longer as pleasing or spacious any more.
i know that behaviour is usual when going from stereo to mono but i just feel the need to ask here what importance mono compatibility has these days anyway for movie sound?

some more info:
-the film is an independant feature destined for festivals and hopefuly DVD (broadcast wont be an issue).
-the original stereo backgrounds were recorded with coincident pairs (MS and XY Schoeps).
-my correlation meter stays almost alway in the green; phasing doesnt seem to be a general issue.
-my mix will be eventualy going to a dolby studio for finalizing, mastering, dolby etc.

any answers or tips would be gratefully appreciated.

Sid

[pethenis]

Originally Posted by El-Sid

Just want to ask this of some of you experts here...

i have been mixing the original sound for a feature and for the first time i have been given all the diligently recorded stereo atmos and background tracks from all the locations too.

i was/am very happy with the results and had to (fortunately) only use very few stock sounds and backgrounds.

but... switching the mono button on my controller yesterday suddenly freaked me out (havent done that for a long time!!). most of the backgrounds seem to collapse and are no longer as pleasing or spacious any more.
i know that behaviour is usual when going from stereo to mono but i just feel the need to ask here what importance mono compatibility has these days anyway for movie sound?

some more info:
-the film is an independant feature destined for festivals and hopefuly DVD (broadcast wont be an issue).
-the original stereo backgrounds were recorded with coincident pairs (MS and XY Schoeps).
-my correlation meter stays almost alway in the green; phasing doesnt seem to be a general issue.
-my mix will be eventualy going to a dolby studio for finalizing, mastering, dolby etc.

any answers or tips would be gratefully appreciated.

Sid

I'll leave the mono compatibility issue for others, but if there's not a phase problem, I guess you're suffering from the same thing as working on HD video and looking at 1080P the whole time, finishing the edit and then downconverting to SD. Ouch!

Stereosounds in mono are, like you said, not so pleasing. But as long as they don't completely vanish (or cause strange stuff in your LtRt), I wouldn't worry about it.

I really like well recorded mono sounds!