From left: Pete Soper, Brian Long, Glenn Leembruggen
SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) has awarded the Journal Certificates of Merit to the four authors of the technical paper, “Further Investigations into the Interactions between Cinema Loudspeakers and Screens.” The paper was co-authored by Roger Schwenke, staff scientist, and Pete Soper, engineer, of Meyer Sound; Brian Long, engineer at Skywalker Sound; and Glenn Leembruggen, principal of consultants Acoustic Directions and ICE Design in Australia.
The awards were presented by SMPTE President Wendy Aylsworth at the society’s annual Honors and Awards Ceremony, held on October 24 at Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.
The 27-page paper presents a thorough investigation of the acoustical interaction between loudspeakers and cinema screens of both perforated and woven construction. By employing both large sections of screen in front of loudspeakers in an anechoic chamber and smaller sections inside a plane wave tube, the authors were able to present a more detailed evaluation of the screen materials’ effect on sound transmission into the room, as well as any effects of sound reflected back into the loudspeaker.
The results of the research should lead to improved optimization techniques for cinema sound by providing new insights into the selection of screen materials, setting of distance between loudspeaker and screen, and DSP tuning and measurement procedures.
As a sustaining member of SMPTE, Meyer Sound manufactures cinema loudspeaker systems that have been installed in exhibition venues around the world. Postproduction installations include INK Production, 20th Century Fox, Skywalker Sound, and 40 other sound design rooms and dubbing stages.
Visit Meyer Sound at www.meyersound.com, Skywalker Sound at www.skysound.com, and Acoustic Directions and ICE Design at www.acousticdirections.com.
