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Curriculum

Home » Courses » Dolby Atmos Mixing For Music » Curriculum

Our Dolby Atmos Mixing For Music course is a 12-week part-time course with further study and practical time expected.

Each week, you’ll focus on a specific topic within Atmos mixing for music, with each topic building on the knowledge and skills from the previous week. Much of your time will be spent in our dedicated Dolby Atmos studio alongside classes in our teaching spaces at Angel.

Each subject addresses the practical and technical skills you need to develop a rounded knowledge and skill set within each area. The course curriculum is structured as follows:

Weekly Timetable

The course curriculum is scheduled across fourteen weeks of teaching.

Please click on the individual weeks listed on the left-hand side of this page to see what will be taught during your weekly timetable.

Week One – Introduction to Dolby Atmos
Week Two – DAW Setup, The Dolby Atmos Renderer, and Atmos Signal Flow
Week Three – Binaural Mixing and Translation
Week Four – Reconstructing and Translating a Stereo Mix into Atmos
Week Five – Atmos Mixing Workflows and Custom Template Creation
Week Six – Field Trip to Dolby Soho
Week Seven – Industry Q&A and Professional Insights, Part 1
Week Eight – Putting it all together: Start the Finish Mixing
Week Nine – Dolby Atmos Speaker Calibration Overview
Week Ten – Mastering in Dolby Atmos, Quality Control, and Deliverables
Week Eleven – Industry Q&A and Professional Insights, Part 2
Week Twelve – Final Presentations and Industry Networking

Weekly Timetable tabs on the left-hand side.
- Week One
  Introduction to Dolby Atmos
  - Activity: Studio Immersion
    ○ Critical listening of professional Atmos mixes on 7.1.4 studio monitors compared to consumer setups like soundbars and headphones.
  ● Takeaway: Understand the transformative power of Dolby Atmos playback across different environments.
- Week Two
  DAW Setup, The Dolby Atmos Renderer, and Atmos Signal Flow
  - Activity: Sound Placement Experiments
    ○ Manipulate audio objects in a 3D space using the Dolby Atmos Renderer.
    ○ Experiment with divergence and psychoacoustic effects.
  ● Takeaway: Hands-on familiarity with the Renderer’s core features.
- Week Three
  Binaural Mixing and Translation
  - Activity: Headphone Spatialization Techniques and Utilizing Binaural Metadata
    ○ Compare Apple’s Spatial Audio to Dolby Binaural (Tidal/Amazon) on consumer-grade headphones to understand the end-user product.
    ○ Using AudioMovers’ Binaural Renderer for Apple Music software for real-time monitoring.
    ○ APL Virtuoso software: an immersive 3D audio experience similar to using multiple loudspeakers, but all through headphones instead.
  ● Takeaway: Master the nuances of binaural playback consistency.
- Week Four
  Reconstructing and translating a stereo mix into atmos
  - Activity 1: Reconstruct a stereo mix from stems and specially place elements to create an immersive version while maintaining the originals glue, energy and punch.
  - Takeaway 1: Develop a reliable workflow for adapting stereo mixes, using the stereo master as the sonic reference and gain staging as a foundation.
- Week Five (Session One)
  Atmos Mixing Workflows and Custom Template Creation
  - Activity: Build a custom, professional-grade Atmos mixing template. Use raw stems to create a full Atmos mix, applying advanced techniques like VCA’s and the “128 Master Fader” system for mix bus control.
  ● Takeaway: Develop an efficient and organised mixing workflow that allows for creative focus and technical consistency.
- Week Five (Session Two)
  
  One-on-One Mix Feedback Session
  
  ● Activity: Finalizing Atmos mixes with one-on-one instructor feedback.
  
  ● Takeaway: Getting closer to professional mixes for submission.
- Week Six
  Field Trip to Dolby Soho
  - You will have the opportunity to visit Dolby Soho, where you will meet Dolby professionals and gain insights into their expertise in immersive audio technologies.
  - Professional Listening Session: Analyze Atmos mixes in Dolby’s calibrated listening environment and discuss key challenges in spatial audio production. Exploring Translation Across Multiple Playback Environments: Experience how Dolby Atmos mixes translate between a Dolby’s 7.1.4 studio, their 9.1.6 studio, a cinema environment, a car system, and consumer playback (headphones/soundbars).
- Week Seven
  Industry Q&A and Professional insights, Part 1
  - Activity: A Q&A session with a world-renowned mix engineer, discussing their philosophy on object placement, use of space and maintaining the integrity of the stereo mix within an immersive environment.
  - Takeaway: Gain high level insight into professional Atmos mixing philosophies and alternative creative workflows.
- Week Eight
  
  Putting it all together / start the finish mixing
  
  Activity: A guided, start to finish mixing session.
  
  Takeaway: Integrate all previous concepts into a complete, efficient and creative Atmos mixing workflow from start to finish.
- Week Nine (Session One)
  
  Dolby Atmos speaker calibration overview
  
  Activity: A calibration workshop where you measure speaker placement against Dolby standard, use pink noise to level-match and set delays. A/B test an uncalibrated vs calibrated system.
  
  Takeaway: Learn why a calibrated system is essential for confident mixing, ensuring your creative decisions translate reliably.
- Week Nine (Session Two)
  One-on-One Feedback Session
  - Activity: You will work on finalizing your Atmos mix with one-on-one instructor feedback.
  - Takeaway: Getting closer to professional mixes for submission.
- Week Ten
  Mastering in Dolby Atmos, Quality Control, and Deliverables
  - Activity: Using the Dolby Atmos Album Assembler vs other methods
    ○ Loudness and controlling dynamics using different tools and techniques to adhere to Atmos loudness standards.
    ○ Trim and Downmix Management
    ○ Test fold-down compatibility and LFE tuning across various playback systems.
  - Takeaway: Ensuring streaming platform deliverable acceptance, and maximum sonic translation across different playback systems.
- Week Eleven
  industry Q&A and professional insights, part 2
  - Activity: A second Q&A session with a different renowned mix engineer, offering alternative perspectives on immersive audio, advanced workflow tips and creative approaches.
  ● Takeaway: Broaden your understanding of professional workflows and gather final insights to apply to you nearly-completed final project
- Week Twelve
  
  Final Presentations and Industry Networking
  
  Activity: Present your final Atmos mix to an audience of peers, instructors and industry guests.
  
  Takeaway: Celebrate the completion of your work by presenting it in a world-class environment, receiving final feedback and networking with the immersive audio community.

Weekly Timetable

The course curriculum is scheduled across fourteen weeks of teaching.

Please click on the individual weeks listed on the left-hand side of this page to see what will be taught during your weekly timetable.

Week One – Introduction to Dolby Atmos
Week Two – DAW Setup, The Dolby Atmos Renderer, and Atmos Signal Flow
Week Three – Binaural Mixing and Translation
Week Four – Reconstructing and Translating a Stereo Mix into Atmos
Week Five – Atmos Mixing Workflows and Custom Template Creation
Week Six – Field Trip to Dolby Soho
Week Seven – Industry Q&A and Professional Insights, Part 1
Week Eight – Putting it all together: Start the Finish Mixing
Week Nine – Dolby Atmos Speaker Calibration Overview
Week Ten – Mastering in Dolby Atmos, Quality Control, and Deliverables
Week Eleven – Industry Q&A and Professional Insights, Part 2
Week Twelve – Final Presentations and Industry Networking

Weekly Timetable tabs on the left-hand side.

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An inspiring and incredibly well designed course that gave me the best musical education I could have dreamt of. Life-altering.

David Dargahi, Alumni

The curriculum is fantastic, extremely comprehensive, contemporary and relevant to today’s industry.

Andrea Mastroiacovo, Alumni

It's impossible to graduate from Abbey Road Institute without growing as an engineer, musician, creative professional and most importantly... as a human being.

Ryan Zweng, Alumni

The course taught me what it means to be a producer and engineer in the industry, I learned things I couldn’t have learned anywhere else.

Marta Di Nozzi, Alumni

The Abbey Road Institute helped me to unlock my musical potential.

Cory Lawrence, Alumni

There is some real visionary foresight in Abbey Road Institute being established to preserve the cultural legacy of Abbey Road.