Stem Creation Guide. Introduction

Transcription

1 Stem Creation Guide

2 Introduction The way we approach mixing in Dolby Atmos is to keep the drums and bass in the stereo bus. This will ensure that your tracks maintain the overall power, weight, and punch that you re used to having in the rhythm and low-end sections. We remove the melodic and FX elements from stereo bus and place them into objects sounds that can be placed and moved around and above the audience, creating an immersive 360-degree experience. These types of elements might include parts like Keys, Pads, Synths, Leads, Percussion, FX, and Vocals. Our Dolby Atmos DJ format currently allows for one stereo bed and 11 stereo objects. With this in mind, we ask artists to approach the stem creation with the final format of a maximum 12 total groups/stems. 1

3 Example of What Stem Groups Look Like Stereo Bed Stems Stem 1: Drum bus (Bounce all your main drums to one stem) Stem 2: Bass stem (These stems will both end up in the stereo bed but typically should be bounced separately. If there are other things you want to keep in the stereo bed, that s an option and choice you can make!) Object Stems Stem 3: Vocals (Object 1) Stem 4: Leads (Object 2) (If there are multiple lead melodies, please bounce separately.) Stem 5: Pads (Object 3) Stem 6: Strings (Object 4) Stem 7: Keys (Object 5) Stem 8: Guitars (Object 6) Stem 9: Percussion fills (Object 7) Stem 10: FX 1 (Object 8) 2

4 Format Please bounce stems as 44.1 or 48K, 24-bit WAV audio. (Keep processing and mastering chain on all stems when possible. If you do outside mastering and don t have access to these stems mastered, please advise.) FX Returns Reverb, delays, and other FX return tracks should be included with the signal that was sent to them. If you have a reverb unit that has instruments being sent to it, solo that instrument or group as well as the FX return channel so the stem has the return included. If multiple tracks are being fed to an FX bus or aux track, it s best practice to give each stem a separate FX return so each sound retains its own FX, keeping the feel you intended it to have in the original. Organizing Your Tracks Delete unused tracks. Rename all tracks by their character or instrument. Group similar tracks. Color the tracks and groups in a way that helps organize. (It s always good practice to load your exported stems into a new session to make sure they all printed correctly and everything is sounding correct.) To stay organized and help set up the session in Dolby Atmos, it is useful to create a folder to export the stems with the Artist Name Song Name Stems BPM. If you have any questions, please don t hesitate to ask: Gabriel Cory: Gabriel.Cory@dolby.com Luke Argilla: Luke.Argilla@dolby.com Jonathan Lessner: Jonathan.Lessner@dolby.com Stereo Reference Track Whenever possible, please provide us with a stereo master of the track for reference. This helps us immensely as we are able to A/B our Dolby Atmos mix with the original mastered release, giving us the ability to match the dynamics and EQ balance as closely as possible. 3

5 Bouncing Stems from a DAW While the above method is the best practice for creating stems for Dolby Atmos, here are additional instructions for quickly creating stems and efficiently bouncing them in the three most-used digital audio workstations (DAWs): Logic Pro X, Ableton Live 9, and Cubase 8.5. Logic Pro X 1. Use the left and right locators to set the length of the stem from the beginning of the session all the way to the end. 2. Go to File -> Export -> All Tracks As Files. 3. Set Save Format and Bit Depths to the same as the session setting. 4. For Normalize choose Off. 5. Add Resulting Files to Project Browser should be Cleared. 6. Click Save. To bounce in groups and busses or to have FX return tracks: 1. Use the left and right locators to set the length of the stem from the beginning of the session all the way to the end. 2. It s usually best to solo all the tracks and returns in a group and go to File -> Bounce -> File or Section (or + B). 3. Set the Destination to PCM. 4. Set File Format, Resolution, and Sample Rate to be the same as the session setting. 5. Set File Type to Interleaved. 4

6 6. For Dithering choose None. 7. Go to File -> Export -> All Tracks as Audio Files. 8. For tracks that are in groups and busses or have FX return tracks, it s best to solo all the tracks and returns and go to File -> Bounce -> File or Section (or + B). 9. Turn Normalize to Off and make sure the Sample Rate and Bit Depth match the session format. Ableton Live 9 1. Use the left and right locators to set the length of the stem from the beginning of the session all the way to the end. 2. Be sure that you leave enough time after the last region for any reverb or delays that might extend further out. 3. Set Render as Loop to Off. 4. Go to File -> Export Audio/Video or hit Command-Shift-R. 5. Set File Type to WAV. 6. Set the Sample Rate and Bit Depth to be the same as the session settings. 7. Set Dither Options to No Dither. 8. Under Rendered Track select All Individual Tracks. 9. Set these all to Off Create Analysis File, Normalize, Convert to Mono, Upload Audio to SoundCloud, and Create Video. 10. Click Export. 5

7 Cubase 8.5 (Mac) 1. Use the left and right locators to set the length of the stem from the beginning of the session all the way to the end. 2. Be sure that you leave enough time after the last region for any reverb or delays that might extend further out. 3. Go to File -> Export -> Audio Mixdown. 4. Set the Channel Selection to Channel Batch Export. 5. Select the boxes of all the tracks you wish to export. 6. If you don t have a master of your song available, select Output Channels -> Stereo Out to create a reference of the current mix. 7. In the name field, type the name of your track. 8. In the path field, click on the arrow to the right of the text field and click Choose. 9. Create a folder for your stems that has the following information in the name: Artist Name Track Name Stems BPM. 10. Select the Naming Scheme button. Make sure that Channel Name and Project Name are both in the Results field (preferably in that order). 11. In the File Format field, select WAVE. (Clear all other boxes.) 13. Set your Sample Rate and Bit Depth to the same as the session settings. (Clear all other boxes.) 14 Under Import into Project, all boxes should be Cleared. 6

8 15. Set Post Process to None. 16. Select Deactivate External MIDI Inputs. 17. Make sure Close Window after Export and Update Display are Cleared. 18. Click Export. Again, if you have any questions, please don t hesitate to ask: Gabriel Cory: Gabriel.Cory@dolby.com Luke Argilla: Luke.Argilla@dolby.com Jonathan Lessner: Jonathan.Lessner@dolby.com Dolby, Dolby Atmos, and the double-d symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks remain the property of their respective owners Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. 7