Mixing in Surround Sound

It’s time for another mixing in surround sound tutorial. This week Sefi explains how to get the best use out of the Centre speaker!

The Centre Speaker

Keep the centre clear. When we mix for cinema you want to keep the centre channel clear for the dialogues. This helps the dialogue to sound more present, allows for greater dynamic range (read more about that here) and means the music and sound design elements won’t be fighting for space over the dialogue.

So, for example, if in a classic mix you place your snare drum in the centre of your stereo field you can still do that by placing the snare in the Phantom stereo created between your left and your right speakers but keeping the actual centre speaker clear for the dialogues. The same can be said if say, a spaceship, is flying from left to right across the screen. You don’t have to have it play in the centre speaker at all. Instead, just pan naturally across the front left and right and it will create the feeling of movement.

What a typical centre speaker looks like in a home cinema system. This is a great list of the best home cinema systems you can buy!