News

Chace Uses Innovative Workflow in Simo Theatrical / Home Theater Mixes of Kutcher’s Spread

11.29.09

November 2009 - Remix of Anchor Bay acquisition accomplishes novel approach to audio post production.

The producers of Anchor Bay Film’s Spread, starring Ashton Kutcher and released this month on Blu-ray Disc, benefited from some sonic sleight-of-hand that allowed the film’s 7.1 home video mix to be prepared at the same time as the 5.1 theatrical mix. Some clever planning from the engineers at Chace Audio by Deluxe saved both money and time for the distributor of this romantic drama.

Spread had been mixed previous to its acquisition, but once Anchor Bay Films became involved, both the studio and the producers decided to make some aesthetic mix changes before releasing the film theatrically.

Using the previously mixed 5.1 dialog, music, effects, Foley, and background stems, Chace created new 7.1 DME, 5.1 DME, and 5.1 composites simultaneously at the Rick Chace Theatre, their theatrical mix stage. Mixer and Technical Operations Manager Chris Reynolds developed the workflow that allowed him to record discrete side and rear surrounds for later incorporation into the near-field mix while creating the theatrical mix at the dub stage.

“Once the theatrical mix was done, the near-field 7.1 only required minor adjustments to the surrounds (made in Chace’s Studio G) before the 7.1 composite near-field was created,” says Reynolds. “In total, the 7.1 work took less than a shift - significantly less time than would have been required if the surround separations weren’t being created during the theatrical mix.”

The new mix focused primarily on dialog and music, with specific attention paid to raising the dialog level throughout the film and especially during its more intimate sequences. The music, originally left/right stereo in several sections, was re-mixed to ensure that the surround and LFE (low frequency effect) channels were used to their fullest extent.

Due to Reynolds’ innovative planning, Post-Production Supervisor, Nancy Valle, and the Spread producers were provided with new theatrical and near-field 5.1 DMEs, composites, and fully-filled M&Es as well as a new near-field 7.1 DME, composite, and fully-filled M&E for a very competitive price.

Valle was thrilled with the results, stating, “This is the third 5.1 theatrical mix I\'ve supervised with Chace and I\'ve done over a dozen 7.1 nearfield mixes with them. At the end of the day, I want to know that the mix is going to sound great, regardless of whether a viewer is watching in a theater or in the comfort of their own home. It\'s refreshing to know that I can get both at Chace.”