We’re granted many pleasures when it comes to mobile technology. We often get to enjoy our fave movies and music videos on the go. We can easily view them on our mobile devices. While we get a great on-the-go experience, we may forget the details that make the experience worthwhile.
I’m not an avid movie-goer since I barely have the time. So when I was offered the chance to view a couple of movies in Dolby Atmos, I took it no questions asked. I am by no means even close to understanding sound engineering and producing, but there’s such a qualitative difference, that it’s noticeable even to the untrained ear.
What is Dolby Atmos?
Dolby Atmos makes it easy for filmmakers to place or move specific sounds anywhere in the movie theatre, including overhead, to create what one filmmaker described as “a virtual reality of sound.” As a result of this 3D surround sound, audiences feel as if they are inside the film, not merely watching it.
The Sound of Transcendence with Dolby Atmos from Dolby Laboratories on Vimeo.
I recently got to see the sci-fi thriller Transcendence in Dolby Atmos. Transcendence is a great movie to watch in Dolby Atmos because precise sound placement and quality is important. An example of sound placement being important: Johnny Depp’s character, Dr. Will Caster’s voice is in the walls of a lab (at some point in the movie), and you get to experience his voice coming from the walls. They did this by making his voice come from behind us or around us as if he was int he walls of the theater. The direction where the sound is coming from is extremely noticeable. Simply amazing!
Silent – The Short Film
With the wonderful work that Sound Engineers and producers bring, we might take great sound and engineering for granted. Leading up to this year’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre, Dolby and Academy Award-winning Moonbot Studios premiered the animated short film, SILENT, at The Oscars Scientific and Technical Awards.
The film celebrates the importance of sound in storytelling, and the technological advancements that continue to enhance the movie-going experience.SILENT features two unlikely allies – “Morris Lessmore” (original character of the popular children’s short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore) representing ‘picture,’ and “The Kid,” representing ‘sound’ – as they discover how to collaborate to create movie magic. It’s worth a couple of minutes of your time:
Where can you find movies filmed with Dolby Atmos?
To find a Dolby Atmos equipped theatre and showtimes, please visit iwantdolbyatmos.dolby.
