mixing mono production background in 5.1

[Smallbudgetguru]

Have you tried a slight spread? Does it work? My answer would be "whatever works"

[Pedantic Sound]

Cut the track in half, drop into stereo track and pan? Kinda depends on what the BGs are.

[Smallbudgetguru]

Also, is this interior or exterior? Busy location or quiet room? makes a big difference

[blazerflame]

Thanks guys for the feedback!

I haven't really try the spread out the bg yet, I will head back to the studio tmr and try it out. The bg are bunch of exterior noisy bg.

[Henchman]

Cut surround bgs BG's to complement the mono production sound

[soundboy]

Sometimes I'll bleed the mono BG to the L and R with divergence.

[nzl62]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Cut surround bgs BG's to complement the mono production sound

This.
I also split and off set into a stereo. But if you are serious about the 5.1 sound on the doc, you'll really need at least a couple more stereo BGs to compliment.
I use divergence quite a bit on the mono production effects and dialogue. 10-20% to add a bit more power and spread across the fronts. Works well when there isn't much body to be added to the LR screen channels

[Steven1145]

Beware of diverging mono sources too much in a 5.1 mix. The fold down to stereo might make those mono elements louder than they appear in the 5.1.

And yes, whatever works with the mono stuff, but add some real stereo clips for a sense of width.

[blazerflame]

Is divergence the 'center %' on the pro tools surround panner?