Free, or very cheap, dolby alternative

[zecahue]

I'm pos-producing my first feature, and a couple questions came regarding the final sound mix. I really prefer to pay for good sound guys, instead of spend money just for the dolby licence, as I need to choose one.

So, will my movie sounds crappy? Is there some alternative mixing to get safe levels without dolby or DTS licencing? Is stereo mix well accepted in festivals (even the big ones)?

It won't be printed in film and there are not many sound effects nor complex dialogues. It's basically soundtrack over a voice and some ambient sound.

Thanks in advance!

*edit* soundtrack and voice not simultaneously.

 

[GaryNattrass]

I would stick with stereo and concentrate on getting that the best you can, dolby surround may not add very much and just increase cost and over complicate things.

I've done lots of feature films in straight stereo and they sound fine in the cinema or on other delivery media.

 

[David W. Jones]

Thought about a DCP release.

 

[Noiz2]

As said above stereo is fine, and recommended.
Even if you had a lot of FX I would recommend stereo unless you had a serious post budget. Serious wold be in the $100,000 and up range.
BTW Woody Allen likes mono. His films are all mixed in mono. In reality there are very few films that benifit from a surround sound track and many theatres are not going to play your surround track back in surround anyway. So for a small guy it's really a waste of energy that could go into a great mix instead.

I'm not sure what you would do with those licenses anyway since they are for 35mm release prints. Dolby Digital comes as either the DVD authoring style (and I have never seen someone pay for the license to use it - you do need to buy a license to put the Dolby logo on your film though) and the "real" Dolby Digital that is for film release. The later is printed ON the 35mm film so unless your going to film it's not an option. There is also "Dolby Stereo" also known as Dolby Surround and generically referred to as a "matrixed" sound track. The Dolby official version requires a license but there are other flavors around that can be had for free or a much lower price. But again this is used pretty much exclusively of 35mm film. Dolby ProLogic (and similar products) is essentially the video version of matrixed surround. And again there are "compatible" competitors. And I believe this also does not require a license except to put the Dolby logo on.

So for video you can go with a surround and not have to pay a license fee (do verify this with Dolby) as long as you don't say anywhere that the mix is encoded. It hurts your marketing but ProLogic and DVD Dolby Digital are auto detected by pretty much every player on the planet so to the viewer it makes no difference.

But that is home video.

BTW for the theatrical DolbyDigital the license is just the start since you can only do a DD mix on a Dolby certified stage and then you have to make 35mm prints to be able to use it. The license last I checked is around $12,000 and a stage is going to run you $300+ an hour for the three (10hr) days or so it will take to do a, very quick, final mix.

 

[Richard Crowley]

So, will my movie sounds crappy?

How your movie sounds depends on your production and post production technique, experience and equipment.
It has nothing to do with Dolby (or not Dolby).

Dolby is a release format option. It is not a production technique.

Is there some alternative mixing to get safe levels without dolby or DTS licencing?

Mixing and setting levels has nothing to do with Dolby (or not Dolby).
Dolby will not help you do a proper mix or set levels correctly. If anything, it will complicate things.
Dolby will not make a bad mix sound better. It is more likely to make a bad mix sound worse.

As others have already said, stick with ordinary Stereo. Once you have more experience and a production that really needs it, you can consider Dolby.

 

[zecahue]

As said above stereo is fine, and recommended.
Even if you had a lot of FX I would recommend stereo unless you had a serious post budget. Serious wold be in the $100,000 and up range.
BTW Woody Allen likes mono. His films are all mixed in mono. In reality there are very few films that benifit from a surround sound track and many theatres are not going to play your surround track back in surround anyway. So for a small guy it's really a waste of energy that could go into a great mix instead.

I'm not sure what you would do with those licenses anyway since they are for 35mm release prints. Dolby Digital comes as either the DVD authoring style (and I have never seen someone pay for the license to use it - you do need to buy a license to put the Dolby logo on your film though) and the "real" Dolby Digital that is for film release. The later is printed ON the 35mm film so unless your going to film it's not an option. There is also "Dolby Stereo" also known as Dolby Surround and generically referred to as a "matrixed" sound track. The Dolby official version requires a license but there are other flavors around that can be had for free or a much lower price. But again this is used pretty much exclusively of 35mm film. Dolby ProLogic (and similar products) is essentially the video version of matrixed surround. And again there are "compatible" competitors. And I believe this also does not require a license except to put the Dolby logo on.

So for video you can go with a surround and not have to pay a license fee (do verify this with Dolby) as long as you don't say anywhere that the mix is encoded. It hurts your marketing but ProLogic and DVD Dolby Digital are auto detected by pretty much every player on the planet so to the viewer it makes no difference.

But that is home video.

BTW for the theatrical DolbyDigital the license is just the start since you can only do a DD mix on a Dolby certified stage and then you have to make 35mm prints to be able to use it. The license last I checked is around $12,000 and a stage is going to run you $300+ an hour for the three (10hr) days or so it will take to do a, very quick, final mix.

This is low budget, but a serious theatrical release. Money need to be very well addressed. I want to have an idea before I go to talk with the sound guys. I just had a big incompatible hit with my producer, now I am taking care of the executive, btw not my field. I thank you guys for help me understanding a bit more about post mix

How your movie sounds depends on your production and post production technique, experience and equipment.
It has nothing to do with Dolby (or not Dolby).

Dolby is a release format option. It is not a production technique.


Mixing and setting levels has nothing to do with Dolby (or not Dolby).
Dolby will not help you do a proper mix or set levels correctly. If anything, it will complicate things.
Dolby will not make a bad mix sound better. It is more likely to make a bad mix sound worse.

As others have already said, stick with ordinary Stereo. Once you have more experience and a production that really needs it, you can consider Dolby.

Seems I misunderstood Dolby, maybe I've got to much into they marketing. I've thought that Dolby creates a kind of "standard level", beside the codec, that would maintain the same mix level in different theaters. So, my fear was to get my release to sound good in some theater, and bad in others.

Thought about a DCP release.

Yes, DCP is a nice solution, but here in Brazil DCP is still a baby born format and festivals use H.264, that's really bad because they don't have even a bitrate standard for H.264. Digital projection here is an unknown hole.

I would stick with stereo and concentrate on getting that the best you can, dolby surround may not add very much and just increase cost and over complicate things.

I've done lots of feature films in straight stereo and they sound fine in the cinema or on other delivery media.

I may do that, thanks.

 

[davefisk]

I have had stuff that I've done released in big theaters and on tv (i'm talking about low budget stuff), and I never messed with anything Dolby. I just did a solid stereo mix and that was the end of it. I did test screenings to make sure things sounded good (but that will change from one venue to the next), and made adjustments where needed.