Topics covered in this article:
- Assigning audio tracks to Beds
- Revealing the Object column in the Edit page
- Bus/Object toggle
- Assigning Objects – Object output path selector
- Object modes – Object Control Mode Master
Introduction
After the I/O and Object mapping is configured, the next step is to configure tracks for Dolby Atmos mixing. Start by creating one 7.1.2 track and either 118 mono tracks for Objects or a mix of stereo and mono tracks (adding up to 118 outputs) if stereo outputs were used in the I/O Setup Output tab.
Assigning Audio Tracks to Beds
With the introduction of the renamed Mapping to Renderer column in the I/O Setup Bus tab, Beds now appear in the Edit and Mix windows as a discrete output category separate from Output and Bus. To assign a track to a Bed, click on track output and any Beds mapped to the Renderer in the I/O Setup Bus tab will appear to the right of the Bed category in the Edit window.
Object Column
The Object column in Pro Tools is where mono or stereo audio tracks are assigned to Objects, toggled between assignment to Bus or Object, and the Object mode is switched to send or receive panning/size metadata to or from the Renderer.
The Edit window Object column in Pro Tools is revealed from the menu bar View > Edit Window Views > Object or in the Edit Window View selector.
The top of the Object column displays a connection status indicator that will show if a connection has been established with the Renderer. Green indicates a successful connection. Orange shows no connection. If this indicator is Orange, the connection status should be checked in Setup > Peripherals > Atmos.
The Object Column View will be active for mono and stereo tracks. There are four controls accessible from the Object Column View:
Object Output Path Selector
This is where mono or stereo audio tracks to be used with Objects are assigned to busses mapped to Object outputs in the I/O setup. These busses feed Renderer inputs configured as Objects, and it is this allocation combined with the mapping to Object output in I/O Config which links each track’s Pro Tools panner to the matching Renderer input for correct metadata capture. Note that Object mapping must also be complete in the bus page of the I/O setup for the Object to be available in the list of available Objects.
If the I/O setup uses mono outputs, the list of available Objects will appear as mono.
If the I/O setup uses stereo outputs, a mono Audio track will display the available Objects as mono subpaths.
A mono Audio track will show the assignment as mono regardless if the I/O setup uses mono outputs or stereo outputs with mono subpaths.
If the I/O setup uses stereo outputs, a stereo audio track will show the assignment as stereo.
If a master file is open in the Renderer, Objects not used in the master file can be assigned but will not be available (grayed out and italicized).
Bus/Object Toggle
Mono or stereo Audio tracks can be toggled between assignment to an Object bus or to a multichannel bus mapped to outputs in the I/O setup that correspond to Bed inputs on the Renderer. This allows tracks in Pro Tools to be automated in order for the audio to contribute to either a Bus or an Object at different points in time throughout the session. For example, if an audio element has been pre-mixed in a Bed but warrants being made an Object, this can be done without having to move the audio clip elsewhere in the session.
Option-click will globally switch all mono or stereo tracks with Object bus assignments between Bus and Object.
The Bus/Object Toggle can be automated as well, if needed.
Object Control Mode Master
To the right of the Bus/Object Toggle is the Object Control Mode switch. This switch has three modes:
Master = Green play icon 
– Set by default if no other tracks are already assigned to the same Object.
Off = Gray play icon 
– Multiple audio tracks can be assigned to the same Object. However, only one audio track can be assigned as Master to write pan/size metadata to the mapped Object.
Record = Red record dot 
– Used to record Object pan/size metadata from the Renderer when using a Pro Tools workstation as a Master recorder with one or more additional Pro Tools workstations connected to the same Renderer. This workflow is available only when running the Dolby Atmos Renderer externally on an RMW.
Output Window button
Clicking the Output Window button (fader icon) brings up the panner for the track. This is the same as clicking the Output Window button (fader icon) from the I/O column.
Navigation
Next: Module 5.5 – ProTools Ultimate - Using the Supplied Templates
Previous: Module 5.3 – ProTools Ultimate - Audio Output Routing, Bussing and Bed and Object Mapping