I always explain to my friends, when I try to "sell" the Atmos, that there are two main approaches of mixing (like always have been in stereo and multichannel):
- Realistic: Trying to emulate what we percieve in a big hall or theater. Ambient, reverberation, etc. Few content is sent to Heights, even to surrounds.
- Artificial: Discrete sounds spread anywhere and even moving/panning from locations.
The first one is the most difficult to achieve and we usually don't enjoy too much because it is more similar to stereo.
The artificial one is the one that we use to enjoy more. Either because we like that mess of sounds, or because we feel that we are amortizing the installation effort of so many speakers.
There are some mixes in the middle of both aproaches, perhaps the Steven Wilson style.
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