| Date | |
|---|---|
| Author | DCM |
| Categories | Guest Posts |
DCM’s Head of Content and Distribution Lucy Stern spoke to Julian Pinn, Director of Cinema Marketing (EMEA) at Dolby about digital cinema, developments and predictions for 2013 and what sets cinema apart from other mediums.
Lucy Stern: What were the most exciting developments for Dolby in 2012? How have they enhanced the cinema experience?
Julian Pinn: A key development from Dolby Labs in 2012 has been the industry launch of the Dolby Atmos concept. Dolby Atmos is a revolutionary new approach to cinema sound that radically upgrades the listening experience for cinemagoers by effectively immersing them in a potential hemisphere of sound from all around the auditorium.
In addition to the regular channel-based sound mix, with Dolby Atmos, the sound team can now place an impressive number of static or moving sound objects around the audience significantly enhancing the power that sound has in connecting the audience emotionally with the narrative of the movie or campaign—whatever the genre, from fast-paced action sequences to subtle-ambiences.
With over 60 theatres and studios worldwide already featuring Dolby Atmos and with over 18 titles created in Dolby Atmos, we are confident that 2013 will see an impressive launch of the Dolby CP850, the cinema product necessary for cinemas en-masse to adopt this latest cinema sound innovation from Dolby Labs.
From content creation tools to cinema products and consultation, Dolby Atmos builds on more than 40 years at the heart of the global motion-picture industry, further extending the palette of creativity and presentation integrity, advancing the art of cinema in this digital age.
LS: How has going digital changed cinema advertising for you?
JP: The cinema industry’s technological transition from 35 mm to digital cinema has enabled Dolby Labs to further extend the quality-potential of the cinema-going experience by offering technologies and platforms such as Dolby 3D (including high frame rate 3D), Dolby Surround 7.1 and Dolby Atmos.
All of these developments would not have been possible with traditional 35 mm film.
With the quality potential unlocked, cinema offers advertisers a very powerful communication medium to their target demographic.
LS: What are your predictions for cinema in 2013?
JP: As the mass conversion to digital cinema becomes ever more established, we expect to see a re-evaluation from cinemas of their differentiators and competitive strategies. It can be said that standard 2D Digital Cinema has already become the vanilla offering with 3D being the most dominant differentiator for digital cinemas to date.
The key differentiators for 2013 and the mid-term future are likely to bring a continued interest in high frame rate presentation, following the success of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D in HFR; the realisation of laser projection offerings, which look likely to help 3D peak light levels and other premium experience offerings, such as an attention to architecture, seating, etc; along with an increased establishment of the next generation sound immersive systems such as Dolby Atmos.
LS: What do you think sets cinema apart from other media?
JP: Cinema is a captive and social place that acts as a hub for storytelling. A theatrical event, audiences experience premium content from a wide range of genres and thus the demography of each audience can often be identified and targeted.
Care must be taken for the cinema advertiser to be sure its campaigns respect, entertain and inform the fee-paying audience, and rise to the typical quality of the succeeding movie content.
Ultimately, a cinema ad that adds value to the cinema-going experience provides for impressive recall levels when compared to other media.