Schauburg Celebrates Sensurround's 40th Anniversary and
shows "Earthquake" in 70MM |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Thomas Hauerslev | Date: 22.05.2014 |
 In 1974 cinema sound was revolutionized by the introduction of the
SENSURROUND
sound system. A cinema audio system with which movie makers
could simulate very deep subsonic bass rumble during a fictional
earthquake in Los Angeles. The first movie in this system was called
"Earthquake", and the sound system surprised audiences across the
world with bass sound levels so powerful, that the audience could feel
the shakes in the cinemas where the film was shown.The Schauburg Cinerama cinema in Karlsruhe, Germany is proudly celebrating the 40th anniversary of SENSURROUND and "Earthquake" in October 2014 during the 10th Todd-AO Film Festival. Cinema manager of the Schauburg, Mr. Herbert Born has started preparing this special performance: "It takes a lot of preparation. We are bringing in - literally - a truckload of subwoofers to re-create SENSURROUND. We don't have the original horns, and besides, they are not up to today's standards any longer. We do have several of the original control boxes, which we will use with some modifications. This is the third time in 10 years we have done SENSURROUND at the Schauburg, and our audience appreciate it. We have guests coming from near and far - even from abroad - to experience this unique sound system". SENSURROUND was developed by Universal Studios to create a special cinema experience which was NOT possible to get in home theatres. It was truly an EVENT when "Earthquake" came out with auditorium shaking sensations. No one had heard anything remotely like this before, and a few years later SENSURROUND inspired Dolby Stereo's "Baby Boom" bass format which is basically still with us today (Sensurround was the "Daddy Boom"). During the release of "Earthquake" there were many urban legends about ceiling tiles which would vibrate loose and fall on the audience, and a cinema owner in Luxembourg who thought that the number of subwoofers proposed by the installer wasn't enough so he doubled it. The Result was that the first time they played “Earthquake” the hotel next to the cinema was evacuated because people were convinced a real earthquake was happening. It is difficult to say which is true or not, but rest assured "Earthquake" in 70MM SENSURROUND at the Schauburg in October 2014 is quite safe. |
More in 70mm reading: Schauburg Cinerama, Karlsruhe, Germany 10. Todd-AO 70mm-Festival 2014 in70mm.com's SENSURROUND Page - FEEL THE SHAKES …in Sensurround “Earth-Shattering” - A new dimension to the motion picture …in Sensurround - Weltbewegend - Eine neue Dimension für den Film Internet link: schauburg.de Film Journal International dbaudio.com |
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