Exporting six Dolby tracks and two stereo tracks in one QT

[ahpremiere]

I have to deliver a quicktime of a full-length feature film for a streaming service. Their specs say that there needs to be 8 tracks of audio (L, R, C, Lfe, Ls, Rs, Stereo-Left, Stereo-Right.

I see a lot of conflicting advice on how to do this... Can anyone point me to a definitive workflow here or elsewhere - or explain the proper workflow. The main points of disagreement seem to stem from the (somewhat) recent removal of Dolby from Premiere and the issue of having both stereo and dolby in one.

I have six mono .wav files that my sound mixer gave me. I also have a stereo mixdown version in the form of two mono tracks, L and R. I have my locked picture video file in Premiere and as a ProRes export.

Key questions (and please let me know anything else that I'm not asking but should be):

1. When creating the new sequence, what do I choose in the Tracks tab: Master should be mono with 8 channels? Multichannel with 8? 5.1 but with 8 channels? Something else? How should I do the output assignments here?

2. Do I need to pan these tracks - either in addition to the above or in lieu of the above? Is it just left / right panning? I see some screenshots online allowing for placement of a dot in various positions of grid... don't see that in my view.

3. When I export, what settings do I need to check?

[R Neil Haugen]

Let's see if Jarle Leirpoll​ is available ...

Neil

[Trevor_Asq]

Dolby doesn’t come into what you describe.

Create a multichannel sequence, 8 channels, with timeline track 1 routed to output 1 through track 8 routed to output 8. (Save as a preset!)

No panning is needed as you’ve created a ‘direct out’ sequence.

Export audio setting needs to be NOT stereo but outputs 1-8. (In audio tab of export) - save this as a preset too.

Best to create a short test with track idents first & reimport to check.

Beware that there are issues with multichannel sequences. One is that plug-ins on master bus ONLY affect audio output 1 (eg Loudness Radar will report incorrectly). Another is that plug-ins on any track can cause glitches on outputs 3 upwards.

If you use submixes to feed multichannel stems & full mix via a DME stem (eg to correctly monitor Loudness) then there will be latency issues between the different routes (this shouldnt be a problem for your scenario)

Premiere Pro: Hot (3474 ideas) – Adobe video & audio apps

12.1.2 still has dynamics bug / audio glitch – Adobe video & audio apps

[Trevor_Asq]

Trevor_Asq  wrote

No panning is needed as you’ve created a ‘direct out’ sequence.

Sorry, incorrect - you have to pan left/right odd/even tracks as output router only allows for routing to a pair.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ISLGy9CWGq_iCKf-lwKlcADFBiWHfGrB is a sample project with some tone idents.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12CAE35Q_JJE90uc3I8OPnW1IA2J2HtkD​ - is an export preset to try (goes in ~/Documents/Adobe/Media Encoder/13.0/Presets

[bowl cuts]

Is there any way for you to share these presets again? Having similiar issues with this!

[Jarle Leirpoll · Accepted solution]

These Export settings should do it.

[ahpremiere]

Thank you, Jarle Leirpoll​, @Trevor_Asq, @R_Neil_hagen,

You've clarified a lot but I'm still a little unclear about a few details. I understand the export screenshot that Jarle, posted. But is there a way to achieve the analgous settings in the sequence setup tracks tab? To be able to create 6 tracks on the timeline that have the surround sound location controller at the top of those tracks in the mixer? And then have two other stereo tracks?  Or is that not possible?

Or to take a step back: Jarle, how would you recommend setting up the sequence in the first place to then make use of this export approach? Master: Mono vs Multichannel?  # of channels? Track Type for each track? Should I follow the approach tracks settings laid out by Trevor_Asq but then instead of using the panning left/right method I can use your 2-channel (Dolby 1-6, Stereo) export and not have to pan the tracks L/R?

[Jarle Leirpoll]

To use the settings in my screenshot, you must use a multichannel sequence. I guess you could do some clever submix routing to use a 5.1 track in the sequence, and make it send its tracks to separate output channels. But most editors I've seen do this kind of delivery have used one sequence for the edit, and nested that sequence in a new one for export. In that export sequence, you'd have to route every track to a separate output channel.

[ahpremiere]

Thank you, Jarle Leirpoll​! I really appreciate it.

One last question and then I think I'm on my way - When I do a multichannel sequence I'm unclear on whether I'm setting the track type to "standard" or "mono." I have individual mono tracks from my Dolby mix.

And more of a soapbox rant... not clear why I have to do the left/right panning b/c the tracks are grouped 1-2, 3-4, etc... as opposed to being able to select 1 through 8 as individual check boxes.

[Jarle Leirpoll]

I would use mono tracks. The panning is necessary because the programmer wrote the code that way. Is it intuitive? No, but ti works. And as Trevor has said a few times: Make presets, so you only have to do it once in your life. I believe he even gave you sample projects, so you can save presets from those.

[ahpremiere]

Thanks, Jarle!

And thanks, Trevor - those files are very helpful.

I have successfully created the file and I'm ready to deliver - I really really appreciate it.