Before I hit you with a paragraph of jargon and numbers, let me tell you that you can just skip right ahead to below the break and find out what on earth all this tech talk has to do with Pixar (and get to the second Pixar story too, for that matter).
Right. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Your best sound experiences in cinemas today probably involve a Dolby 5.1 sound set up. This means you have 6 separate channels of sound. Left, Centre, Right, Left Surround and Right Surround make up the 5, and the .1 comes from a subwoofer or "low frequency effects" channel. From the summer, however, Dolby are rolling out their new theatrical 7.1 system. The two extra channels added here will be Back Left Surround and Back Right Surround.
This system has been developed by Dolby, apparently in collaboration with Disney Pixar who will debut 7.1 with Toy Story 3 in "select cinemas".
The Dolby press release is trying to ride on the coat tails of 3D's success a little, I feel:
Dolby Surround 7.1 brings a more exciting sensory experience to audiences for 2D and gives content creators control over audio placement in a theatre when mixing 3D movies. The ability to compose audio with visual elements of 3D allows content creators to immerse the audience deeper into the movie with dramatic realism.
At least sound editors and mixers will now be able to execute better defined 360-degree spins around the auditorium. And if you're wondering how long it will be until 7.1 systems are available for the home… they already are.
I wish they'd just leapt forward to 9.1 for cinemas, a system which it would be pretty much worthless going beyond.
In other Pixar news, it seems that Stitch Kingdom have repeated their neat trick of spotting Rapunzel was heading for a name change. This time, they've put together the pieces to see that The Bear and the Bow may well be destined for a rechristening as Brave.
Previously we heard tell that Brave was an internal code name or short hand for The Bear and the Bow, but just like the codename Cloverfield ended up on the actual posters, it seems this handle may be sticking too.
According to Stich Kingdom, Disney have both registered domain names for Brave as well as a series of copyrights and trademarks. They're still being a little cautious, but they've gotten me convinced: like Tangled burst out of Rapunzel, I think The Bear and the Bow is going to make way for Brave.
As long as they're still making the film, I don't care what they call it. It could be Little Boys Rough Fun Time With No Soppy Girls for all it really matters.
- Disney Pixar Add Cast to Rapunzel, Bear & the Bow and Toy Story 3, Reveal Plot of Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh
- The Truth About Pixar's Brave and Ronnie del Carmen's Short Film Details Revealed
- Pixar Announces Up, Newt, The Bear and the Bow and Cars 2
- New Toy Story 3 Character: Sparks
- Pixar's Day & Night: Is it 2D or 3D?
- First Look: Pixar's Day & Night
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