To many individuals out there, going to the movies (as casual an outing as it may be) is an experience that is both revered and awe-inspiring. Further, it is, and has always been, a form of entertainment based on complicated and calculated technologies coming together in unison for a singular event. Film, both the medium and its exhibition, is only as good as the sum of the visual and auditory aspects; a film’s most tangible components.
Together they can create fireworks, but when one lacks, so too does the other. To put it simply, you don’t notice when things are working well, only when they aren’t. Sure we pay money, top dollar in fact, for visual spectacle but to the average cinema-goer, sound is highly underrated. That’s only because with so much going on onscreen, 3D, eye-popping explosions, gorgeous IMAX scenery, etc., it’s sometimes overlooked how symbiotic visuals and sound really are.
Enter Dallas based LOOK Cinemas and Dolby ATMOS. The former will be giving cinema folk a premier and rather upscale movie watching (and dining) experience that ups the visual ante while across the country the latter will soon start showing people what they’ve been missing from the sound systems of their local multiplex. LOOK Cinemas’ purpose and business plan is to cater to film fans’ sophisticated tastes all the while showcasing the harmony between both the visual and auditory wonderment.
GoSeeTalk, along with some other local Dallas film sites, was recently treated to an evening at LOOK for a special advance screening of Oblivion which was also the inaugural screening of the Dolby ATMOS System. If you’re not familiar with ATMOS it vastly improves upon the standard 7.1 surround sound and instead of channels gives each speaker dynamic movement. It also incorporates placing speakers on the ceiling creating an, up to, 64 speaker and 128 audio stream environment which gives “the illusion of an infinite field of sound all the way around you”.
Have a look at the informative video below for a better and slightly more technical explanation.
One way LOOK is changing the movie-going experience is being among the first to adopt the above mentioned and groundbreaking auditory advancements. In short ATMOS is the new pinnacle of the theatrical sound experience as it offers auditory immersion like nothing you’ve heard before.
It made a world of difference when utilized and exhibited in Universal Pictures’ Oblivion (which we learned that director Joseph Kosinski worked with Dolby ATMOS techs during the the post-production of Oblivion). Not only was seeing, er hearing this on display in the new theater amazing in its own right, following the film we were treated to an explanation from the Stuart Bowling (the Dolby Marketing Director in the video above) who gave a post-film presentation and was on hand to talk to fans about the new system, and soon to be standard. Here are some excerpts from his Q&A:
Here are some photos of the cinema which just recently opened in Dallas. For those of you in the DFW area, check out LOOK Cinemas for a variety of cinema experiences with all the conveniences of their upscaled concessions as well as the integration of two full bar/restaurants (Nick & Sam’s and Coal Vines).
If you love film, the movie-going experience, and take them both seriously, then you owe it to yourself to check out the LOOK Cinemas website for more info. Or better yet, just go there and explore and experience it (and the Dolby ATMOS sound system) for yourself.
