Filmmakers experiment with 3D virtual sound tech

Amol Gupte's feel-good Hindi film 'Hawaa Hawaai' premiered here using Dolby Atmos, a cutting edge technology, which offers filmmakers freedom to play with sound and offer lifelike experiences.
Gupte, whose debut direction, 'Stanley ka Dabba' was the first Bollywood movie to be shot on a still digital camera, says he chose to screen his latest film using the new 3D surround and is quite upbeat about the technology.
Atmos, uses a computer algorithm, to drive audio across the hall and allows sound to stream in from every direction of a cinema hall. It is independent of the placement of speakers in the theatre and allows audiences to feel as if they are inside the film, not merely watching it.

"It is an object-based system and does not depend on where the speakers are placed. It is not directional and hence sound in the theatre can be experienced from every direction, from the sides and even from the top of the hall," says Ashim Mathur, Head of Marketing, Dolby Technology India Pvt Ltd.
Dolby Laboratories, a San Francisco-headquartered company specialising in audio noise reduction and audio encoding, has brought the new technology to India.
Although theatres in Mumbai and Chennai are already powering films with this technology, Mathur points out that the installation at the city's Delite theatre, which hosted Gupta's premiere, is the biggest in Asia.

"Delite is a huge 980-seater hall, we made our largest installation here, not just in India but Asia too", says Mathur.