Atmo

The word atmo is an abbreviation of atmosphere and literally means “envelope of air”. The term Ambi from Ambiente is also often used for this. Atmo is a term from the fields of film, radio and television. This refers to the acoustic mood. To be precise, atmo describes the interaction of environmental sounds in a place. These sounds are automatically included in the recordings. Atmo creates a vivid image of what is happening, for example in a café. Atmo is often used selectively in radio broadcasts. In order to be able to use atmo in a contribution, the background noise is recorded with a microphone.

Of course, background noises are also recorded during interviews. Care must be taken that what is said is not overlaid by the noise. You also have to make sure that you always record several sequences of atmo. This way, when you change sections, you can make sure that you convey the continuity of the place. In radio features, background noises have the same importance as original sound and music. Atmo is stereo, only for reports it is often recorded in mono.