Dolby contributed to the success of the challenging project in the form of technical support in each country to ensure the best screening for each of the invited premiere audiences around the globe. Along with its satellite partner Arqiva, Dolby also provided the satellite and fibre optic links for the live connections to Australia, Asia and Central America which made the whole global extravaganza possible.
"We were very excited to be asked by Disney to be involved in this complex project," said Richard Welsh, director, Digital Cinema Services, Dolby Laboratories. "Providing this service is a logical extension to our satellite delivery of digital features, and means we are now able to offer integrated content delivery and technical support services for cinema, covering all of aspects of picture and sound for the big screen."
Audiences in Australia and Asia were first to experience the new movie, with the added benefit of seeing live interviews with cast and filmmakers, beamed by satellite in to the hosting cinemas to introduce the film. Later in the day, other countries in Europe and South America were also connected to London by the Dolby satellite service to simultaneously experience a spectacular live pre-screening entertainment show, including red carpet interviews with stars that included Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Artherton, Sir Ben Kingsley and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Dolby engineers in each country provided the vital local support, while in the UK, the host venue was the Vue Westfield - one of the newest and most innovative purpose-built all digital cinema complexes in Europe. Dolby broadcast and screening engineers coordinated global services from the London venue, including providing off-air monitoring in a big screen cinema environment, while the premiere was also screened simultaneously on all 14 screens at the west London venue, as well as to 20 other cinemas across the UK.
"This was an incredibly complex and ambitious worldwide event," said Saul Mahoney, executive director, technical, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK. "But it was definitely a case of mission accomplished on the satellite front and Dolby and Arqiva really delivered to help us ensure this truly global event was a tremendous success."
(Jim Evans)
