The 31st annual ShoWest motion picture industry convention in Las Vegas attracted thousands of visitors from around the world for four days of screenings, sponsored events, technology exhibits, awards ceremonies and educational seminars. ShoWest gives people who work behind the scenes in the movie business the opportunity to interact with the familiar faces of film—A-list stars, multi-million-dollar grossing directors, producers and executives.
Once again, Electro-Voice sound systems from Boston Light & Sound (BL&S) provided the soundtrack for ShoWest’s most anticipated events, including trailers for Mission: Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code and Superman Returns. For the third year in a row, EV’s XLC line arrays were used at the Le Theatre des Arts (Paris Las Vegas), and EV’s Variplex II XL cinema systems were used at the Jubilee Theatre (Bally’s).
EV’s Monte Wise worked with BL&S and Dolby Laboratories on system design and setup during the show. “The Theatre of the Arts and the Jubilee are the venues for a continuous stream of big studio preview screenings, manufacturer demonstrations and technical seminars,” Wise commented. “High quality audio is obviously a key element in selling blockbusters to potential buyers in the cinema industry, and EV sound was crucial in creating a lasting first impression—making a sonic impact to match the onscreen action.”
Dolby has tuned the systems for ShoWest for the past eight years and supplies processors and expertise to ShoWest along with the EV equipment, turning the two live venues into state-of-the-art 5.1 movie palaces. “When you have Hollywood’s biggest talents in your theater, everything has to be perfect,” says Russell Allen, Dolby’s manager of exhibitor support. “These people made the movie and know the soundtrack intimately—they’re hard to impress.”
“One of the great things about using the XLC and its bigger brother, the X-Line, at events like this is watching the studio sound mixers and sound editors’ faces when the systems are cranked up,” says Chapin Cutler of BL&S. “They’re used to coming into a traditional movie house and fighting to get fidelity and punch from an installed system. At ShoWest, we have the opportunity to show them how their audio tracks can sound, and they are amazed.”
For more information, visit Electro-Voice at www.electro-voice.com, Boston Light & Sound at www.blsi.com, Dolby at www.dolby.com and ShoWest at www.showest.com/filmgroup/index.jsp.
