Research Seminars

Surround Perspective

Jeff Levison
DTS Consultant / Levison Audio

5 November 2007

Abstract

Surround audio – its all around us! Movies, music, television, radio, gaming: all utilizing surround sound increasingly as the default audio standard. Artists and engineers have been given a fantastic audio palette with seemingly limitless approaches of expression. But what approach should one use for the listener’s perspective?

A host of questions faces surround sound creation:

• Is the performers in front on a stage and the surrounds are mostly ambience?
• Is it unreasonable to have voices appear only in the surround channel?
• Should the LFE channel be used for music?
• How does the centre channel integrate with phantom sources?
• What is the audience’s expectation?

These questions (and more) will be discussed and choices illustrated by examples of different surround perspective approaches. Comparisons will be made with sources mixed in a variety of speaker formats including mono, stereo, quad, and 5.1.

Biography

For over 30 years, Jeff Levison has worked with sound and visual aspects for films, music, and special venues. He has been at the forefront of digital multichannel audio since Cinema Digital Sound pioneered this format for theatrical releases in 1989. He went on to DTS as a Post Production Supervisor in the Cinema Division and later as a technical liaison to the music and DVD community responsible for creating multichannel audio. Mr. Levison was also the Chief Engineer at the famed Warner Hollywood Studios where he was instrumental in establishing the DVD audio mastering facility. Today, through Levison Audio, Jeff not only works for entities as diverse as Sonic Solutions and Studio Technologies, but also with recording artists like Omar Hakim, Arlo Guthrie, Chieli Minucci, and Studio Voodoo.

A voting member of NARAS, Mr. Levison is also AES TC Chair - Multichannel and Binaural Audio, a Sonic Solutions EDGe partner, and a designer of software and equipment. His surround sound film credits include Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, and Casino. Not limited to film, he has received awards and nominations for surround music productions that include Queen – A Night at the Opera, N.E.R.D. – In Search of . . . , Insane Clown Posse – The Wraith, Graham Nash – Songs for Survivors, and Porcupine Tree – Deadwing.. Jeff is a contributor to the NARAS document, Recommendation for Surround Sound Production