Question by k_albarron: In Filmmaking, can Dolby 5.1 surround sound be created in post-production?
In Filmmaking, can Dolby 5.1 surround sound be created in post-production, or must it be recorded with multiple microphones on a multi-track recorder?
I’m looking to create digital surround sound with a film that has already been shot with a single mic in DV.
thanks.
Best answer:
Answer by marshmellow_of_doom
You can change a mono track into a stereo track with many editing programs (I used Final Cut Pro to do this before) (some editing programs are more flexible with sound editing, though; I haven’t had much success with audio mixing in Adobe Premiere) . Thus, I can imagine you could also convert your single track into a surround sound track (just duplicate the track on multiple directional tracks, adjusting the volume for your desired effects).
But, in order to get the full benefit of surround sound, it is much better to have some difference between the tracks (although this difference between the tracks can be overexaggerated, in my opinion, creating an odd effect; an example that comes to mind is of when my class was watching a film and suddenly there is the sound of a character yelling from the right and it was so shifted to the right that many of the people in the class looked right in the room to see what the noise was, and then realized it was in the speakers). I can imagine a way that you could make a more genuine surround sound in postproduction, however: make a separate recording of whatever ambience effect is suitable (like crickets, for instance) and add it lightly in the background tracks, mixing the soundtrack you already have appropriately in the forward tracks. Best to just tweak, tweak, and tweak the balance again until you get the right effect.
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