Of all the professional audio techniques and phenomena coming to prominence in recent years, Atmos from Dolby has been undoubtedly one of the most explosively popular.
Earlier in 2022 SCV were lucky enough to catch up with an audio production specialist at the forefront of the Atmos movement – Starboard Music Group's Richard Whittaker.
Whittaker’s extensive portfolio includes mixing projects for rock music behemoths such as The Who, with more recent work seeing a significant swing to the immersive world of audio.
Starboard’s latest Atmos credits include big artists from a swathe of different genres including Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Ronan Keating, Richard Carpenter, Frank Turner, Jesy Nelson and Nikki Minaj, Nathan Dawe, Shane Codd, Aurora and a good deal more.
Inside The Studio
Reporting from precisely the spot ‘where the magic happens,’ Starboard Music's Atmos mixing configuration consists of the following pieces:
- 3x Focal Twin 6 Be Studio Mains (left, centre and right)
- 2x Focal Solo 6 Be Monitors (sides)
- 2x Focal Shape Twin Monitors (rear)
- 4x Focal 100 ICLCR5 Soffit Mount Speakers (ceiling)
Scoring a brief one-on-one, we asked Richard about his first introduction to Focal and how their Be Beryllium range found a home in his professional studio:
A friend of mine bought a pair of Twin 6 Be’s and as soon as I saw and heard them, I just knew I had to get some for myself.
Previously, it has taken me a short while to acclimatise to a new set of studio monitors but the 6 Be's were pretty much instant…I just knew I could trust them and that my mixes would translate everywhere.
Running through Richard’s recent works and multiple immersive sound credits, we asked how his Focal monitors specifically lent themselves so well to the Atmos mixing world:
The clarity, detail and depth - this is essential when match mixing as it's imperative the Atmos mix remains sonically correct and rooted to the stereo mastered version.
Follow Richard’s official Instagram page for updates of new releases along with some achingly attractive gear shots for the recording professionals among us.
Mixing for Atmos? Get In Touch
SCV’s pro audio team are on hand to advise on studio monitors for mixing projects of any scale – contact us here for further info.