(a response to a good friend who asked if anyone I knew was mixing for cinemas that were not playing films at reference level and if we should change our mixes to take that into consideration)

To my knowledge, no one in Los Angeles is monitoring feature film mixes for theatrical release at less than 85dB SPL, C-weighted, slow which is the equivalent of 7.0 on the Dolby Cinema Processor. FWIW - Each “point” on the Cinema Processor equals 3 db so monitoring at 5.0 would be the equivalent of 79db reference level. 79db is a common monitoring level for Home Theater and Near-field mixes, which are often used for Television and Streaming (Netflix etc).

The discussion about adjusting ones mixing to accommodate what is happening in the field is, for me, more a philosophical than technical one: Are we mixing for an “ideal” or are we mixing for the “least common denominator”. I often have this discussion with a director when we start a film. I don’t think there is a right answer, only what the filmmaker wants to achieve. Some filmmakers are purists and want to make films in their highest form and insist that all aspects of a films creation should utilize available state-of-the-art. Others recognize that films do not live in a vacuum, they are meant to be seen and heard and consumed by as many people as possible, so why not tailor the experience for maximum benefit?

It is unfortunate that it only takes one audience member in a cinema to ask for the sound to be turned down because it is too loud, thus ruining the experience for the rest of us. Here in the US, most cinema chains and multiplexes have standing mandates to set the Dolby CP at 5.0 or 5.5  (4.5 -6 db below standard). Yet none in our community are changing their mixes to accommodate this reality. Is it arrogance or foolishness? I don’t know.

Mixing at 79 does not make a movie necessarily less loud, though. In fact, because the dynamic range is thereby reduced, the general or overall level of a movie is actually increased if it is then played at standard 7.0 or 85db SPL. By reducing the dynamic range, you have effectively compressed the lowest and highest sounds together to make a movie effectively louder if played at the standard level. That being said, if a cinema is going to play a film at 79db SPL, and you have NOT mixed it at 79, the dialog will be woefully low and hard to understand and the aural nuances that live in quiet sounds (and dialog) will be lost. So one must ask “Who am I mixing for?”. Are you a fool for not accepting this monitoring reality and mixing at 79 to make movies play better in the cinemas that lower the processor? Or are you a fool for mixing a film at 79 and accepting that, when it plays in a legitimate cinema at 85, it is bombastically loud and compressed sounding?

There are no correct answers. One might find out from Dolby or other vendor what the statistics are for cinemas that play at reduced level, turning this into a cost/benefit analysis: if more cinemas in the world are playing at reduced level than normal level, you might owe it to the film to monitor at 79. However, your film will lose dynamics and run the risk of sounding amateur or even grating at film-festivals and screenings where it is anathema to play a film at anything other than standard level and in its highest form.

I am a purist. I believe in making films in their highest forms. This stems from decades of experience in sound as a practitioner and historian and archivist. In early cinema, audiences recoiled in fear upon seeing  L’Arrivee d’un train en Gare de al Ciotat because it was so real looking. Imagine the effect on cinema as art if the protectors of culture had banned this kind of realism in cinema simply to protect patrons? This is the chilling effect of dumbing down mixes by not using standard monitor levels. I also believe in artistic intent. If the director approved a mix that is dynamic, then it should be exhibited that way. This is for historical AND artistic purposes. We must respect artists rights as well as those of the public. We don’t put black tape over the genitals of classic Greek statues in museums, do we?

For many years, I have asked the Home Theater department of the studios to add a card or recommendation screen on their DVD/BluRay/Home Cinema releases. It recommends that, if the viewer wants to see the movie the way the filmmaker intended, they should select 7.1 or ATMOS audio. Otherwise, all Blu-Rays and DVDs offer only compressed, low bit-rate mixes made specifically for Home-Theater that are monitored at around 79db SPL. Not what the filmmaker intended. What’s particularly important about this discussion is that the Blu-Ray and its companion that runs on Streaming are the ONLY lasting legacy of a film! Once a film leaves the theaters, the only way to hear it as intended, is by listening to the 7.1 or ATMOS (Not Home ATMOS) audio mix. That is the only mix that was monitored at 85 AND is not compressed with an audio algorithm to save data space.

These are all valuable topics to discuss with your filmmakers and collaborators. Obviously, as sound designers, we learn to make compromises every day. Our work does not live in a vacuum. I can’t make the lowered monitoring compromise because I believe that art is meant as a transcendent experience and anyone who loves cinema and goes to the theater can appreciate my work and that of others for what they are given. I don’t make movies and, generally, don’t work for filmmakers who create cinematic art for the masses. As such, I don’t feel comfortable making compromises that pander to that audience. Yet I recognize that there ARE filmmakers who do, who have other perhaps less lofty goals and are succeeding on their own terms. That’s valid too.