that large can be challenging. To do so, BL&S installed a Dolby Atmos system and Dolby vision projection system, working with the production team and director to mitigate acoustical challenges in the room so that the audience could experience the film the way it was intended.

Supporting the Dolby vision projection system included meeting unique power requirements and providing special chillers for high-power laser equipment as well as specialty projection booth design and fabrication. BL&S installed its proprietary shaker screen system, which was designed to allow images of 70' wide or more to achieve ideal brightness specifications on large screens. This unique system reduces the “speckle” artifacts that occur with laser projectors on very large screens.

The team worked closely with Dolby and the audio and rigging vendors to implement a speaker layout that would deliver audio coverage to Dolby Atmos specifications across the vast seating area. To deaden the sound in the large balcony area, the team positioned extra-large acoustical fabric.

The details paid off. The client was thrilled with the premiere. “The audience reaction was amazing, and being in that room with thousands of people seeing the biggest movie of the year for the first time was truly special,” said Cinema Installation & Production Services Department Manager Sean McKinnon.

was a significant undertaking. Due to the unique design of the room and the seating capacity, it was challenging to provide speaker coverage for both the main floor orchestra and the under balcony as well as the balcony itself. In a conventional theatre, the speakers are typically aimed for one seating section whereas here there were three. In addition, the stage had a 44'-wide stage opening, so the movie screen would need to be custom built for the space.

Thanks to its previous collaboration with speaker manufacturer L’Acoustics, BL&S was able to obtain a 3D model of the theatre to help with arranging the 5.1 surround sound system components in the appropriate places. The BL&S team immediately began preparing for the big event, building and testing all the sound racks, amplifiers, and L’Acoustic line arrays, and designing a custom 2:1 ratio high-contrast screen with MDI digital view at their Boston shop before shipping the equipment across country for installation.

The team flew to Las Vegas and began preparing the theatre first thing in the morning before the big event and had the venue show-ready by the next afternoon. The event was a success, and the client was thrilled with the picture and sound quality.

“We love a challenge, so we jumped on board!”

Having been the technical advisor at the TCL Chinese Theatre for the TCM Film Festival for the past 10 years, the BL&S team knows the facility extremely well. Due to the tight timeframe for the film premier, BL&S needed to build a full working system in Boston and then ship it to the west coast for installation within a matter of days. To ensure against any downtime, the team also built a live, redundant backup so they could automatically switch over to a new system in case of any issue with the original equipment. “We literally had a week to put the equipment together. Then a week into the planning, we got a call that the organizers wanted us to handle two other auditoriums, including one that had a 35mm projector that hadn’t been run for two years,” said Cutler.

A cross-country journey

When the BL&S trucks left Boston on July 15, they were equipped for running three auditoriums. The theatres were still running regular programming as well as a film festival, so the premier setup work needed to be done during off-hours. The 25-person BL&S crew arrived at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning before traffic backed up, and hand carried the heavy gear into the projection booth for installation. Eight BL&S technicians worked to ensure all the equipment was installed and configured seamlessly. This involved shipping out special lenses; bringing in cinema processors, radio mics, lighting, and masking; working with the director of photography to meet their exact specifications; and carefully setting up the projection equipment in a tight timeframe. Each piece of equipment had to be carried from the curb up a narrow, curved staircase and up a ladder into the control booth.

A growing project

At the same time, Sony Pictures asked BL&S to also handle a special preview of the movie that weekend at the iconic Cinerama Dome. BL&S brought in a technical team, had the 35mm prints made up, and supervised the show. In addition, BL&S was asked to oversee another screening of a 70mm print of The Hateful Eight at the Cinerama Dome.

By Tuesday morning after the shows, BL&S had moved all its equipment out and restored the theatres back to their standard configuration, ready to show their regular content.

A fantastic feeling

“The beloved animator Chuck Jones once commented that any great endeavor requires two elements – hard work and a lot of love,” said Cutler. “In the end, only the love should show. When a show goes off well, there’s a magnificent, almost spiritual feeling. There was so much excitement about the film, and when you see an audience lose themselves in a great piece of cinema, that’s very rewarding.”

infrastructure for the show, including the sound system, temporary projection booth enclosure, power distribution and screen. BL&S worked closely with Steve Oliker from Oligopoly Productions, a longtime associate and experienced event producer within the entertainment industry.

BL&S and Dolby previously collaborated for the premiere of to Warner Bros.’ Batman V Superman at Radio City Music Hall in March 2016. Beginning with Batman V Superman, BL&S designed and prefabricated a screen system that included the necessary vibration inducing screen shakers required for laser projection on a high gain screen. The system, also used for the premiere of A Star is Born, includes over 85 pads, each moved by a small solenoid driven by a control/driver system. Each pad’s location is precisely set using parameters as defined by Dolby’s engineering group; each is precisely positioned and its frequency tuned each time the screen is set up. The huge 30' x 70' screen and frame has to be installed and removed very quickly.

BL&S Production Manager Jon Newlander directed the production, assisted by newly appointed Los Angeles Business Development representative, Lori Harris.

handled everything, including hiring a staging company, collaborating with the studio’s technician, carefully installing and calibrating the digital cinema projector, bringing 300 chairs from the Wang Center up the freight elevator, adding drapes and carpet to block out light and sound to ensure optimum presentation quality, and more.

Based in Charlestown, Spaulding was thrilled to be able to give the local community, as well as patients, staff, and donors the opportunity to screen the film. They were extremely happy with the premiere.

View a timelapse video of BL&S’s set up for this Boston premiere at The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. WBZ-TV's Lisa Hughes reports.

Along with the Dolby Vision system, BL&S brought in a full Atmos sound system to complete the full audio and picture presentation. Another unique characteristic of the job was that the 30' x 70' screen provided by BL&S had to be shaken constantly by 89 pads, each moved by a small solenoid driven by a control/driver system. Since the position of each pad was precisely prescribed and the screen and frame had to be installed and removed speedily, BL&S engineers designed and fabricated a system of extra screen trusses and group mounting assemblies to allow relatively quick installation by the IATSE Local 1 stage crew.

After installation of the screen, an unexpected situation arose: the large volume of airflow from the auditorium to the stage house pushed the screen surface upstage due to house ventilation and lobby doors opening. This caused the screen structure to press against the frame, making the pads visible. BL&S developed a solution on site using blowers and ducts, and repositioning certain structures installed by the stage crew to good effect. BL&S also provided a custom temporary balcony projection booth as well as a backup projection system using a Barco 32b digital cinema projector.

Batman V Superman premiered in New York City on March 20th, 2016. The final result of the premiere team’s hard work and ingenuity was superb.

proved invaluable to the event’s success. Over the course of three trips, including a dry run in mid-October, BL&S navigated logistical and technical challenges inherent to presenting such a high-profile event, all while managing the project across two languages. The team brought in two Barco 4K 32B Digital Cinema projectors and DoReMi servers, working with the house to optimize their existing screen. An additional sound system was brought in to fulfill the Dolby 7.1 mix. The BL&S team prepared overnight and all day of the premiere to ensure the best possible presentation.

Spectre premiered on November 2nd, 2015 on Mexico’s national holiday – Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead.”  The timing and location of the premiere in Mexico City was tremendously important to residents, as the opening sequence of the film takes place in Mexico City on Day of the Dead. During the film’s production, filming closed down many streets in the heavily congested city for several weeks. Needless to say, locals were thrilled to be part of the premiere. The red carpet was one of the most elaborate BL&S has seen, using many set pieces as décor to create a fitting entrance for the spectacular event.

Turning a ballpark into a cinema

Transforming a portion of the almost 40,000-seat ballpark into an intimate movie theatre setting is a complicated, multifaceted process. BL&S needed a presentation screen that would withstand the elements and highly unpredictable weather in Boston. They also needed to ensure high quality audio in a notoriously difficult environment.

Keep off the grass: Preparing under pressure

The BL&S team had an extremely tight window of time to install, tune, and test the digital cinema equipment. Between the city’s noise ordinances and concurrent events being hosted at Fenway Park up until the evening of the screening, there were few opportunities to validate the audio system performance prior to the event. Moreover, the team faced an unusual quandary in bringing heavy projection and audio equipment in for the event: they weren’t allowed to touch the grass.

Specialty audio equipment installation

BL&S conducted several pre-site visits to determine the structural load, and the logistics involved with moving equipment in and out of the park according to the organization’s guidelines. BL&S then set out to find the right equipment for the venue. They partnered with Gulf Coast Sound, who helped engineer the Dolby 5.1 sound system designed to cover 2,000 seats of the park.

Outdoor film presentation

To present the film in this outdoor setting, BL&S installed a 22x50-foot screen over the visitor’s dugout facing the ballpark seats. They designed the screen structure with special dark-colored material that promotes air flow so it wouldn’t blow over in high wind, and created the optimum film presentation environment by blocking out extraneous light and the surrounding buildings from view.

A unique cinematic experience

The team’s creativity and diligence paid off. 2,000 lucky people walked into Fenway Park that beautiful September night to a real treat. The movie looked and sounded extraordinary. BL&S produced crisp audio and images of the action-packed film, becoming the first known company to present a film premiere at the historic park. “One scene where a minivan was blown up sounded so real it practically shook the park,” says a Boston Light & Sound production staff member.