Stems

General Notes and Recommendations

  • These are sometimes called “printmaster stems”, as they are the constituents of the printmaster. This also differentiates them from the M&E stems.
  • There should be a set of stems that corresponds to each printmaster audio configuration, e.g. Immersive, 7.1, 5.1.
  • There should be a separate set of stems for Theatrical and Nearfield.
  • Any changes made during the printmaster pass must be also done to the stems to ensure that the sum of the stems equals the final printmaster.
  • “Wide” stems are recommended. Separating Foley and Backgrounds from Effects and separating Group/Crowd from Dialogue is common. Music can be split into Score, Source and Vocals, Sound Design can be separate from Effects. The stem layout is determined by the Re-Recording Mixer.
  • A separate set of composited Dialogue, Music and Effects stems can be made if delivery requirements call for them. These must be clearly labeled and archived separately from the wide stems.

Formatting Recommendations

  • It is common to put all stem types into one DAW session for a given audio configuration. Each stem type can be delivered separately if delivery requirements dictate.
  • Theatrical and Nearfield stems should have the same layout for consistency.
  • 7.1 and 5.1 stems must be individual consolidated channels as Broadcast Wave (.wav) files and in separate workstation sessions. The workstation session may contain a 7.1 or 5.1 session track, or it may contain individual mono tracks. Each track must be named to reflect its audio configuration and channel assignment.
  • Immersive stems should be delivered as multiple wide beds with any associated objects in its own DAW session. The stem bed layout will be dictated by the immersive audio configuration e.g. 7.1.2, 7.1.4, 9.1.6.
    • In an immersive Mix, the Re-Recording mixer may configure beds and object channel configuration as desired. Dialogue, Music and Effects content must have separate beds and objects.
    • In general, the first stem bed track begins at track one and goes to track 10, 12 or 14 respectively. The next stem bed follows. After all stem beds, the objects then start at the next numbered track.
    • All objects for the program should be contained in the stems session.