Studio Ion Inc. × Moonbow Music Inc.: New Dolby Atmos Production Environment Through Collaboration Between Urban and Nature-Integrated Studios

Studio Ion Inc. (Representative Director: Takashi Kokubo / Suginami-ku, Tokyo) and Moonbow Music Inc. (Representative Director: Hiroyuki Kato / Yokohama, Kanagawa) are jointly launching a spatial audio production support service centered on Dolby Atmos.

The main feature of this service is the proposal of a new production environment through the collaboration of an "urban studio" and a "nature-integrated resort studio."

By combining a highly efficient editing and production environment in the city with the intensive, stay-type production at "SAGE Studio" located in the forests of Mt. Kaikoma, Yamanashi Prefecture, they realize an immersive creative environment that goes beyond the framework of traditional music production and MA studios.

Both companies have been working on advanced audio expression, including 3D audio, binaural recording, and spatial audio production. In this joint service, they integrate their respective technologies, knowledge, and production environments to provide high-quality Dolby Atmos production environments and technical support for artists, music creators, video producers, and VR/MR content creators.

Comprehensive Support for Dolby Atmos Production

This service provides production support in a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 environment.

Recognizing that many DAWs now come standard with an Atmos Renderer function, they also offer hands-on support based on the user's own production environment. They provide production support that looks ahead to actual distribution and release, while performing final adjustments and rendering checks in the studio environment.

In addition to collaborating with the recording studio "Moonbow Music Yokohama" operated by Moonbow Music Inc., the company's "Moonbow Music Tokyo 1st and 2nd" studios also enable spatial audio production verification using an 8ch cube monitor environment.

At SAGE Studio, utilizing a Genelec monitor environment and under the supervision and support of sound designer Takashi Kokubo, they realize immersive spatial audio production that fuses the natural environment with a high-quality monitor system.

Furthermore, Dolby Atmos engineers from Moonbow Music Inc. will also participate in this environment, providing hands-on production support. Professional engineers will consistently handle everything from material recording to editing, mixing, Dolby Atmos production, and final delivery.

The monitor systems at SAGE Studio and Moonbow Music Yokohama are unified with Genelec, and calibration is performed using the Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM). GLM is Genelec's proprietary acoustic management system that automatically measures and corrects the sound pressure level, distance, phase characteristics, and frequency characteristics of each speaker, optimizing differences in acoustic characteristics between rooms. This allows the acoustic environments of both studios to be matched with high precision, enabling creators and engineers to move seamlessly between studios while working. Because work can continue while maintaining decisions and mix balance made during production, both efficiency and quality are achieved.

By fusing the mobility of an urban studio with the creativity of a nature-integrated studio, they offer a new spatial audio production experience that cannot be obtained through traditional studio work.

Future Plans

Both companies aim to create an environment where more creators can easily utilize spatial audio technologies, including Dolby Atmos.

They will also continue to disseminate and research next-generation spatial audio technologies such as binaural, ambisonics, and audio technology for VR/MR.

Through this initiative that bridges urban and nature-integrated studios, they aim to redefine the value of "the place where sound is created" itself and create a new spatial audio culture.

They plan to announce these technologies and initiatives sequentially in the future.

About Studio Ion Inc.

Studio Ion Inc. (https://www.studio-ion.com/) supports Dolby Atmos production based on the long-standing spatial audio research and production achievements of sound designer Takashi Kokubo.

Mr. Kokubo has created numerous sound designs suitable for public spaces and various environments, including the Earthquake Early Warning sound and ID payment sounds.

For about 40 years, he has been involved in the development of original binaural microphones and 3D audio production, continuing his unique HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) research. By controlling acoustic characteristics from the content production stage, he pursues spatial audio expression that achieves a higher sense of immersion.

He also conducts research and demonstrations of his unique 3D audio approach, "Cyberphonic." By reproducing sound localization and spatial perception more naturally and three-dimensionally, he proposes an immersive sound experience that goes beyond traditional stereo and general binaural recording.

At "SAGE Studio" in the forests of Mt. Kaikoma, Yamanashi Prefecture, 3D audio recording and Dolby Atmos production are possible in a setting surrounded by nature. They also accommodate field recording utilizing the natural environment and stay-type production, offering a creative production environment in a lodging/camp format.

By verifying and finishing audio works created while sharpening the senses in nature using the high-precision monitor environment of an urban studio, they realize the production of higher quality, more immersive spatial audio works.

About Moonbow Music Inc.

Moonbow Music Inc. (http://moonbow-music.com/) has a track record of producing numerous 3D audio content, including audio recording with binaural microphones, sound effects production, MA, and mixing.

They also contribute to the development of creator communities and the dōjin audio culture by regularly holding workshops on spatial audio and 3D audio in collaboration with Tsukumoa LLC and Aysis Inc.

They can propose spatial audio conversion from standard stereo sources and handle a variety of spatial audio production needs, not only binaural but also audio for VR/MR, interactive content, and facility acoustic design.

Furthermore, they are advancing the research and utilization of ambisonics technology, and through collaboration with Dolby Atmos production, they are realizing a more flexible spatial audio production workflow.

They also offer their own 3D audio recording solutions, creating 3D audio involving higher-order ambisonics recording using Yamaha Corporation's Vireal® microphone and AMANE (https://amane.midd.jp/jp/) by Awīgu Tasaburō LLC (https://awige.jp/).

They can make proposals from the recording stage according to the desired experience.