For a while, it was something of a fad to use what’s called fake stereo where someone attempts to quiet one side of a mono feed in order to make it seem like it’s a two-channel recording. An increasingly large percentage of producers and directors are calling in outside sound design services so that they can be sure their viewers get to hear everything the way it was really intended. These crews mix a pair of separate audio tracks that are then designed to play in two different speakers.
These could be attached to a physical stereo system or simply be a pair of earbuds. Either way, mixes provided by sound design services are designed to create what’s known as a central image to give the illusion that people are hearing music or sound effects live. When someone hears a sound appear to move from the left channel into the right, it makes it seem as though it’s actually being created by an object going past them.
Members of the movie going public have come to expect this when watching films, because cinema sound systems often make use of this effect. Those who work with a sound designer to produce a good quality stereo mix can help to recreate the feeling of being at a movie theater even if a person happens to be watching something on their smartphone.
Sound design services from Chromavision can spruce up almost any kind of production, so head on over to their page for more information.
