Dolby Laboratories has officially announced the formation of its worldwide Production
Services Group. Historically, Dolby has provided audio service to the global cinema
industry to enhance the movie experience. With this new initiative, the company
expands its world-renowned expertise to offer more services to more segments of
the entertainment industry.With the many digital cinema initiatives worldwide,
Dolby has expanded its services to address the needs of industry professionals working
in the medium. Clients have come to rely on Dolby to provide system installation
services, content-loading into D-cinemas, as well as audio mastering and verification.
Dolby now plans to offer similar mastering programs and quality assurance for digital
pictures.
“Until standards are firmly established, the industry needs to support those
theatres that have installed early digital systems,” said Tim Partridge, vice president,
Professional Division. “However, that means making multiple masters, since each
system is quite different. With the video expertise we now have in-house, we are
able to provide the same quality assurance for the various digital cinema masters
as we have done for years in audio.”
For traditional film distribution, Dolby recently expanded its well-established
print checking program to include North America, and has helped ensure the quality
of US release prints for 34 major films during the first nine months of operation,
including the recent releases Jungle Book 2, Daredevil, 8 Mile, and catch
me if you can. The company also provided print checking services and installation
and alignment services for the Sundance Film Festival. During February, Dolby introduced
a new screen monitoring service, which provides distributors and theatre management
feedback on the presentation quality of films while they are playing, as well as
data on how the theatre itself performs.
In addition, Dolby continues to offer the broadcasting industry similar quality
assurance services—from audio mastering to complete station commissioning for audio
signals—as more and more TV productions are mixed and delivered in multichannel
audio. Recently, for example, audio mastering support was provided for 5.1 production
of the NFC Football Championships.
“In the past two decades, Dolby has offered a wide range of technical service
to film and television productions,” said David W. Gray, vice president, Production
Services. “We have grown to understand the needs of entertainment companies as they
embrace digital technology and particularly multichannel audio. Since we already
have experience with the issues, both commercial and technical, we are well-placed
to offer our expertise.”
John Iles, director, Production Services, noted “Internationally, Dolby Production
Services continues to expand the range of services offered at major international
film festivals, such as Cannes, offering hardware and engineering assistance for
the numerous digital cinema screenings that are now being held at these events.
Audio consultancy was also provided through the entire production chain of the film
Pinocchio, one of Europe's first major digital cinema releases.”
Dolby Production Services Group has over 75 sound and cinema experts available.
Of these, 55 work out of Dolby offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Wootton Bassett,
England, while the remaining 20 are based in major entertainment cities around the
world.