Goldcrest Post has completed a major upgrade to its sound department, expanding its capacity to deliver soundtracks in Dolby Atmos Home Theater format. State-of-the-art immersive sound technology has been added to the facility’s Studio A to accommodate streaming, broadcast and home theater projects requiring Atmos sound. Goldcrest’s largest mix stage, Studio Q, was upgraded to support Dolby Atmos Home Theater in 2018.
“We are committed to providing producers with the resources they need to meet today’s exacting delivery requirements,” says Managing Director Domenic Rom. “Our stages offer the latest tools to produce rich, immersive soundtracks in an intimate environment that promotes collaborative mixing.” Goldcrest Post has already delivered several projects with Dolby Atmos sound, including the HBO Max series Gossip Girl and the Apple TV+ documentaries Who Are You, Charlie Brown? and Dads. Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, which recently won Emmy Awards for Sound Editing and Sound Mixing, was also mixed in Goldcrest’s Studio Q.
Studios Q and A are each equipped with two Avid S6 consoles supported by ProTools workstations, MADI routers, 2K NEC projectors and Dolby Atmos Mastering Suite. Immersive monitoring includes a mix of JBL and Meyers Acheron studio speakers. In addition to Dolby Atmos Home Theater 7.1.4, the stages support mixing in Dolby 7.1 and 5.1. “The two rooms are similarly equipped and provide a consistent mixing environment,” says Engineer Bob Troeller. “The workflows are designed for maximum efficiency. Each room has a dedicated Pro Tools recorder and Dell server running the Dolby Atmos Home Theater software. This allows all dialogue, music and sound effects deliverables to be recorded simultaneously which helps in streamlining the delivery process.”
The upgrade is part of Goldcrest’s plans to grow its sound and picture resources to keep pace with the rise in streaming and broadcast television production. “We have a lot of great projects in-house and more on the way,” notes Re-Recording Mixer Bob Chefalas. “We believe that demand for Atmos delivery will continue to rise, and we are ready for it.”
The facility’s new resources are already drawing an enthusiastic response. “Everyone agrees the rooms sound great,” states Audio Department Manager Nicole Tessier. “We’ve also upgraded our talk-back capabilities which improve the interactions between our remote clients and mixers. We’ve had a lot of success with remote sessions using ClearView and Source Connect Pro X.”
