Don't you love behind-the-scenes movie stuff? Some do, some don't. For those of us who dig it, seeing how a film was made and what the director, writer and actors were going for can change your entire perception of the finished film. Here's a fascinating behind-the-scenes piece about the power and importance of sound in film.
In case you haven't heard (no pun intended), Dolby has a brand new bag. It's called Dolby Atmos, and it's capable of using three dimensions of directional audio to create the sense that a film's audio is moving throughout the theater (or your home).
Director Peter Jackson, always one for staying at the bleeding edge of technology, was so impressed with Atmos that he insisted on using it on his The Hobbit trilogy. Just in the time between the three films' yearly release dates, he and his team became more adept at using Atmos to enhance the on-screen action, which means that The Battle of the Five Armies boasts audio immersion like nothing you've experienced before.
Other tools like IMAX 3D and Jackson's much-discussed 48fps are used together with Dolby Atmos projection to create a sense of realism and immersion that wasn't possible on The Lord of the Rings. Check out this nifty promo reel Dolby put together to explain how Jackson and his team used Atmos on The Hobbit. Particularly intriguing are the insights from Jackson and actress Evangeline Lilly, who expounds on the emotional possibilities created by sound.
Prospective filmmakers can learn more about Dolby Atmos here. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is in theaters now.
