Auro 11.1, the immersive cinema sound format of global digital cinema leader Barco, has recently made its debut in the Taiwanese movie industry. The action blockbuster Black and White: The Dawn of Justice – released on 2 October – is the first Taiwan-made movie to be mixed in the format. Created by an international production team, the movie currently runs in theaters across China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
Set in the fictional metropolis of Harbor City, Black and White: The Dawn of Justice is the sequel to 2012’s Black and White: The Dawn of Assault. For this latest instalment, director Tsai Yueh-Hsun pulls out all the stops to create a movie that is much grander in scale than its predecessor: an international team of filmmaking professionals, 3D production companies from Asia, Europe and the US, unique special effects, and – for the first time ever in Taiwan – the immersive cinema sound format: Auro 11.1.
Becoming part of the action
Using a 3D sound reproduction speaker layout based on three axes (width, depth and height), the Auro 11.1 system creates a life-like acoustic experience. By allowing sound to come from all around and above, moviemakers are given a powerful tool to immerse their audience in what’s happening on screen. The latest installment in the Black and White series lends itself perfectly to present the spectacular possibilities of the format: from the high-speed car chase that opens the movie, to the heroes’ breathtaking attempts to save their city from total destruction.
Spreading the experience
Black and White: The Dawn of Justice is the latest addition to an impressive list of movies mixed in Auro 11.1 by Barco. Over the last few months, the format was featured in blockbusters like Transformers: Age of Extinction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lucy, Kanchi and many, many others. And the list of Auro-powered releases keeps growing, with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, John Wick and The Penguins of Madagascar in the pipeline for the end of November.
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 4,000 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.158 billion euro in 2013.
About AuroTechnologies
Auro Technologies (www.auro-3d.com; www.auro-technologies.com) is a spin-off of the Galaxy Studios Group and owner of the Auro-3D® Technology Suite. The Auro-3D® system has been designed by Wilfried Van Baelen, founder of Galaxy Studios, which is renowned worldwide for its state-of-the-art leadership in audio innovation for music and film sound. The Auro-3D® suite offers ground-breaking, easy-to-use and unprecedented levels of sound reproduction capabilities to the professional, automotive, broadcast and consumer electronics (such as gaming, smart phones, multimedia PC, notebooks, tablets, audio players, digital TV, media libraries and packaged media) markets.
