Todd-AO/Soundelux And Dolby Laboratories Announce ""Sonic Whole Overhead Sound"" Theatre Enhancement

1-Oct-02

Todd-AO/Soundelux (a part of Liberty Livewire Corporation's Audio Division) and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. premiered an experimental overhead sound concept on the occasion of an exclusive re-release of Paramount Pictures' ""We Were Soldiers"" on Friday, September 20 in Tempe, Arizona.Dubbed ""Sonic Whole Overhead Sound"" by the producers of ""We Were Soldiers"" producers, this enhancement is the first movie theatre audio system to wed a new overhead speaker system with the standard DolbyÆ Digital Surround EXô sound system. It is an innovation of ""We Were Soldiers"" director Randall Wallace, working with the sound experts of Todd-AO/Soundelux, and Dolby Laboratories.""While working on the sound mix for 'We Were Soldiers,' I wished out loud for some way to give the audience the full impact of helicopters blasting overhead, artillery shells crashing down, jets screaming by, bullets whizzing through the air directly above,"" said Wallace. ""Lon Bender, the film's sound designer, told me that he and other sound specialists had been thinking along similar lines with other projects, but no major feature films had ever pulled together the technology on a practical level.""Lon Bender, President of Liberty Livewire's Audio Division, said, ""This theatrical run utilizing a speaker array mounted overhead in a theatrical auditorium represents a significant evolution in sound and its ability to involve and, when appropriate, overwhelm theatre audiences. A central overhead speaker array affords the sound community a new tool for designing truly immersive cinema sound, ultimately helping to achieve the creative intent of the filmmaker.""""As part of its ongoing commitment to innovation, Todd-AO/Soundelux has outfitted its largest and most modern stage in Studio City, California to accommodate recording in this exciting new format,"" Bender said.According to David Gray, Dolby Laboratories' Vice President for Hollywood Film, ""Dolby is very excited to be involved with the 'We Were Soldiers' project. We have been doing experiments with an additional channel for Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks for some time and the center ceiling channel is a natural extension of sonic dimension for this film.""""In seeking to make a limited deployment of this technology, it was logical for us to seek out partners such as Wallace and Dolby Laboratories, who share our enthusiasm and desire to innovate and to aggressively embrace technology in the service of filmmakers and moviegoers,"" said Bender.

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