Movie sound designers keep on-screen sound centered and monophonic

Evidence

The possibilities for improving localization are limited by the practical number of channels the industry feels customers will buy and install in their homes. For most people, it seems that 5.1 is difficult to accommodate in their living spaces. … However, the number of screen channels remains at three for most systems. In spite of that for most of the time all on-screen sounds are delivered by the center channel. I get up from my chair from time to time just to satisfy my curiosity because, for sounds associated with on-screen action there is the powerful “ventriloquism” effect. We hear the sound coming from where we see the lips move, the gun flash, or the door slam. The hours spent by moviegoers listening to a monophonic center channel as action moves around on the screen suggests that it works very well. Only big-budget blockbuster movies do much panning of sounds across the screen. Why? It costs more to do and complicates the editing process that can sometimes go on up to hours before a film is released. When the locations of sounds are few and stable, editing becomes mostly a visual and storytelling operation. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1691 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

To hear the stereo illusion—phantom images between the loudspeakers—the listener must be in the symmetrical “sweet spot”. When listening off-center the music continues essentially unchanged, but the soundstage is distorted. A sense of ambiguous space is likely to be preserved. The recording method and style of music are determining factors. Spacious classical music is more forgiving than most popular recordings. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 395 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The ventriloquism effect lets a single monophonic center channel satisfy most on-screen dialogue — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1691; Visual cues override directional sound cues in film dialog perception; Off-center listeners lose the stereo illusion but retain musical content — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 395

Broader Connections

• The ventriloquism effect lets a single monophonic center channel satisfy most on-screen dialogue #corroborates (0.92) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1691
• Visual cues override directional sound cues in film dialog perception #complicates (0.75)
• Off-center listeners lose the stereo illusion but retain musical content #qualifies (0.70) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 395