Immersive Talk with BZ Lewis
Can you please introduce yourself, tell us your job title, and tell us a little bit about what you do, and how you ended up doing it!
My name is BZ Lewis, and I’m a composer/producer/engineer, working in Stereo and Dolby Atmos. I’ve been in the biz for 30+ years, earning 6 Emmy Awards and a multitude of other recognitions along the way via my recording studio, Studio 132. My favorite thing is using immersive audio to help tell the story of the artists I work with. I’m a voting member of the Grammys, a BMI member writer and publisher, and I’m the chair of the Audio Engineering Society's San Francisco chapter.
Can you tell us about your studio space? Where its located, any history of the building, the approximate size of the studio?
I used to have a larger studio in San Francisco, but after getting married and having children, we decided to move across the Bay to the hills of Oakland in 2007 so I could be a parent, husband, and musician- all under one roof. We found a house big enough to handle a studio, and after consulting with Skywalker architect Chips Davis and “The room whisperer” Bob Hodas for the stereo side, we converted the two car garage into a studio with a 17 X 12 control room, a 10 X 9 drum room, a 5 X 4 vocal booth, and even a closet where I often mic a guitar amp. All rooms feature beautiful floating hardwood floors with or without area rugs, and each room is available for recording. It’s small but mighty-believe it or not I often record live bands, I do a lot of acoustic instrumental recording, podcasts, and of course, Atmos mixing.
Can you give an overview of the key equipment you use in the studio – consoles/ DAW/processors/sound sources/signal distribution etc?
My father had Sound Tools (an early version of Pro Tools), and he introduced me to digital recording back in the 90’s, so I’m all about Pro Tools. Even though my software and computer are up to date, my physical rig is embarrassingly old. I still have two very functional HD I|O’s from Avid that connect to my Yamaha O2R96 via 16 channels of AES/EBU. Laugh if you want, but it does everything I need it to do- and more. I have I/O for 32 discreet tracks at once if I need it, which is handy for Atmos mixing and routing.
What type of work do you do in your studio?
My work includes composing for projects with Intel, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Sony; TV shows include The World Poker Tour, People Magazine investigates, Dateline, too many MTV credits to mention; and my band production credits encompass such artists as Roberta Flack, Blame Sally, Ann Moss, Victor Krummenacher, Kitka, Swordtongue, Magilo, Samri, Monica Pasqual, and Chelsea.
My favorite thing to do is mix my artists in Atmos. I’m just wild about the format! As soon as we’re done tracking- and sometimes even when there’s a tiny bit more to do, I’m itching to get things “happening” in terms of the immersive mix.
Is there a particular Immersive format you specialize in?
Since my room layout is 7.1.4, I’m happiest making 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mixes. My Atmos mixes are almost exclusively for music projects.
How and when did you become interested in immersive audio?
I had ZERO interest in surround until I attended an immersive listening session sponsored by the Recording Academy, and instantly, I knew this was something I absolutely had to do. In 2022 I put together a proper Atmos rig, received Dolby’s blessing, and I upgraded to my Genelec system late last year.
What made you finally equip your studio for immersive, and can you describe how you did the upgrade? If you worked with any external people or had work done on the studio, can you provide some details?
Once I really started to draw out with a pen and pencil how I could make it all work, I realized it wouldn’t cost too much to get a 7.1.4 system up and running, mostly with gear I already had. But after a few years of working with sub-par speakers, and with the benefit of knowing the business was there for me, I upgraded my speakers to the Genelecs. They sound absolutely incredible.
Now that you are working in immersive, can you describe how you approach it, how it differs from stereo mixing, and what creative opportunities/challenges it presents?
Mixing in Atmos is the easy part. It’s the successful folding down to Stereo and Binaural that’s the real challenge. Whenever I can, I usually do both the stereo and Atmos mix in the same session- for many reasons, but having tonal consistency between the two formats is key. On the other hand, when you’re converting an existing song from stereo, with all the compression and “Glue” that’s just magical with two speakers, being able to peel away layers away from the front wall while still maintaining that sense of “glue” is an incredibly rewarding complexity when it’s done right. Luckily, I like good challenge.
Can you describe your Genelec monitoring system (format, models etc)? Can you tell us why you chose Genelec, and how the monitoring system helps you to work in immersive?
My monitor setup is a 7.2.4 room with Genelec speakers, with 2 7360’s for subs, 8341A’s (The “Ones”) for the front, 8340As for sides and rears, and 8330As for the height. Before I made the purchase, I did a ton of research with several speaker manufacturers. I also had a lot of help from Tom Menrath at ASG who helped to connect me with other immersive studios in the area to listen to listen to all kinds of immersive set-ups. Ultimately, I found that the immersive rooms with Genelecs were among my favs, plus ASG was able to get them for me, and I couldn’t be happier.
Did you use GLM (Genelec Loudspeaker Manager) to calibrate your system, and can you describe what difference that makes?
Earlier I talked about Bob Hodas tuning my room on the stereo side back before Atmos was a “thing”, but this time around I had a room tuner named Erik Foreman tune my Atmos system. But I used the GLM to set up the stereo side of my mixing, plus I have a case where I often have my immersive clients sitting behind me while I mix, so I have another GLM-tuned location for them while I’m taking up the “sweet spot”. I also constantly monitor the SPL’s with the GLM while I’m working both in Stereo and in immersive. It’s SO easy to go over 85DB, so having a DB meter on-screen is very helpful!
Can you list some of the immersive projects you have worked on recently, and is your immersive room bringing you new business? Was it a good commercial decision?
One of the best decisions I ever made was to obtain these speakers. These speakers, with their amazing translation, allows me to listen and make sonic decisions with the detail needed to produce commercial releases. I just don’t worry about how things will sound once it leaves my studio. If it sounds good here, it’ll sound good “out there”. Sara Lovell, Sowrdtongue, Ben Krahne, Samri, and BZ “7x” are some examples of my mixing work.
How do you see the future of immersive audio over the next few years?
It’s only gaining more and more traction. Immersive audio in cars are becoming normal, and can you even buy a receiver these days that doesn’t have some sort of Atmos decoder inside? Didn’t every artist who won a Grammy this year have some sort of Atmos component to their release? The future is here!
