Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today that it is teaming with both Dolby Laboratories, Inc. and Barco to mix The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in both the Auro 11.1 system and the Dolby Atmos cinema sound system with the goal of delivering a more natural and realistic soundtrack that can move sound around and above audiences.
The studio has also converted its landmark William Holden Theater to support both technologies for mixing. The studio teamed with both Dolby and Barco to install a 56-speaker system and related equipment that is capable of mixing and playing both formats. The resulting facility, which combines state-of-the-art audio technologies with the latest projection technology, including 4K digital projection and 3D capabilities, reinforces Sony Pictures Studios as one of the industry?s landmark post-production destinations.
Commenting on the announcement, Rory Bruer, president of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures, said: ?We?re thrilled to be working with Barco and Dolby, both to convert the William Holden Theater and to incorporate these innovative technologies into ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’. We are always looking for ways to offer greater definition and further enhance the moviegoing experience. These technologies are one more way that we offer consumers a richer and unique theatrical experience.?
Paul Massey and David Giammarco will be creating both the Dolby Atmos and Auro 11.1 mixes. Commenting on the announcement, they said: “We are thrilled to have these groundbreaking formats available for audiences viewing ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’. Both Atmos and Auro will allow us the creative freedom to fully immerse the audience with ?3D? sound as Marc Webb’s vision of Spider-Man’s world unfolds. Every member of the audience will experience what it’s like to be Spider-Man swinging from building to building above a busy New York street!”
Auro 11.1 by Barco, which was developed by Auro Technologies, is designed along three layers of sound (traditional surround sound, with height, and overhead layers). Thanks to this layered approach, the technology not only enables sound mixers to move objects around in space, it also allows them to reproduce the immersive aspects of a film soundtrack in a more natural way.
?Barco has channeled our industry-leading cinema technologies into an immersive audio solution that provides uniquely significant benefits to studios and exhibitors around the world,? comments Brian Claypool, Senior Director of Strategic Business Development for Barco Entertainment. ?We are deeply honored to have this opportunity to work with Sony Pictures and by empowering film makers with the perfect rendering environment that integrates seamlessly with their existing workflows, we can help them easily and cost-effectively deliver the most realistic, natural and comfortable immersive listening experience to bring their movies to life.?
?Dolby Atmos, the world?s first and only object-based cinema sound platform available today, marked a giant step forward in the evolution of movie storytelling. We are proud to have pioneered an approach to sound that delivers a sense of being in the moment alongside your favorite characters,” said Doug Darrow, Senior Vice President, Cinema, Dolby Laboratories. “We have successfully deployed Dolby Atmos in hundreds of cinemas around the globe, and dozens of the world’s leading filmmakers embrace our new approach to sound.?
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be released in theaters internationally beginning April 16, 2014, and domestically on May 2, 2014.
