As Dolby Atmos has become a mainstream standard for high-quality sound and an immersive cinematic experience, sound designers are increasingly open to experimenting with immersive environments. My own fascination with Atmos began during my first year of my sound design studies. When I started to work in this medium, I realised that even though there was a lot of material on the technical side across various online platforms, the individuality in workflows made it difficult to know whether my own work aligned with the industry standard. Rather than consulting more manuals on Atmos, I wanted to know more about the practical implementation of this technology and how it could be used creatively. Recognising that the majority of professionals learn in auto-ditactic ways and constantly develop their own practices by relying on their previous experiences, I decided to conduct two surveys, one for sound designers and one for re-recording mixers. In this thesis, I will investigate how working in this medium influences and transforms the creative process of sound designers and re-recording mixers. Using the results of these two surveys, I will examine how the implementation of Atmos can facilitate the creative process in sound design and how Atmos can help enhance the screen's narrative in return.
As Dolby Atmos has become a mainstream standard for high-quality sound and an immersive cinematic experience, sound designers are increasingly open to experimenting with immersive environments. My own fascination with Atmos began during my first year of my sound design studies. When I started to work in this medium, I realised that even though there was a lot of material on the technical side across various online platforms, the individuality in workflows made it difficult to know whether my own work aligned with the industry standard. Rather than consulting more manuals on Atmos, I wanted to know more about the practical implementation of this technology and how it could be used creatively. Recognising that the majority of professionals learn in auto-ditactic ways and constantly develop their own practices by relying on their previous experiences, I decided to conduct two surveys, one for sound designers and one for re-recording mixers. In this thesis, I will investigate how working in this medium influences and transforms the creative process of sound designers and re-recording mixers. Using the results of these two surveys, I will examine how the implementation of Atmos can facilitate the creative process in sound design and how Atmos can help enhance the screen's narrative in return.