Kortrijk, 20 December 2012 – Digital cinema pioneer Barco is proud to announce that the Dutch production company Fu Works has chosen to release its latest film, ‘The Bombardment’, in Barco Auro 11.1. ‘The Bombardment’ will hit the screens on 20 December at CineMec in Ede ‒ the very first cinema in the Netherlands to equip a theater with Barco’s new sound technology. The producers, director as well as CineMec all agree that Barco’s 3D cinema sound technology significantly enriches the moviegoing experience and is a perfect fit for ‘The Bombardment’.
Directed by Ate de Jong, ‘The Bombardment’ tells the story of a young boxer and a wealthy female socialite whose quest for love is overshadowed by the German invasion and subsequent bombing of Rotterdam in 1940. “We are excited and grateful to be able to mix this film in the revolutionary Barco Auro 11.1 format. As the movie is filled with dramatic flyovers and enveloping war scenery, the sound format is the perfect fit for our movie,” comments Ate de Jong.
Creating natural, enhanced sound
Gerben Kuipers, owner of CineMec, considers Barco Auro 11.1 a fantastic tool to create natural enhanced sound: “I was astounded when I first saw the demo and delighted to pioneer the Barco Auro 11.1 technology into our theater. The sound format really adds value to the cinema experience. ‘The Bombardment’, the largest Dutch production to be launched this holiday season, will be a great showcase for the technology: cinemagoers will have the feeling they’re right in the middle of the 1940 bombardment in Rotterdam. We’ve really crossed a new border in the cinema experience.”
Three layers of sound
The Barco Auro 11.1 sound format creates sound in three distinct layers (surround, height & overhead) rather than the single layer used in the traditional 5.1 sound format. Thanks to its 11.1 configuration, the technology not only enables sound mixers to move objects around in space but it also allows them to reproduce the immersive aspects of a film soundtrack in a way that is more compatible with their current workflow. Auro 11.1 provides the best acoustical experience at the most commercially viable price point in the market and does so without the need to create object-based soundtracks that are designed to be optimized for the consumer market.
Audio to complement the 3D experience
Barco Auro 11.1 is currently deployed in over 50 installations worldwide and an increasing number of directors are embracing the new audio format. “We are delighted about the interest in our revolutionary 3D cinema sound format, both from today’s filmmakers like Fu Works and from cinemas like CineMec,” concludes Brian Claypool, Senior Director Strategic Business Development of Barco’s Entertainment Division “In fact, Auro 11.1 is the next logical step in our quest to create value for what we call the ‘cinema of the future’. It is a great way to add value to the moviegoing experience and motivate people to keep going to the cinema for an entertainment experience that can’t be obtained anywhere else.”
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3,700 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of EUR 1.041 billion in 2011.
© Copyright 2012 by Barco