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BAHRAIN Cinema Company (Cineco) unveiled its Dolby Atmos at City Centre Bahrain for the screening of Jupiter Ascending.
Two screens, Cinemas 1 and 20, at the mall’s cineplex, have been fitted with the equipment to deliver what its makers claim is the ‘next generation of cinematic sound’.
Dolby Atmos provides sound from five directions, with speakers now littering the ceiling and double the number of speakers on four walls.
Sound is pushed into a ‘3D space’ rather than clearly coming from one of only four directions, and with the ceiling speakers it can come from front-to-back and vice-versa.
Despite the system supposedly packing more oomph, it was actually the quieter, more subtle moments where it really stood out. There was a scene in the movie where the characters encountered a swarm of bees and it felt like they were literally flying around the heads of moviegoers as the low, monotonous buzzing was that clear.
However, in loud action scenes, a wall of sound is exactly that, and I didn’t notice much difference compared to a normal cinema screen offering when the volume was ramped up.
Bahrain Cinema Company is the first to introduce Dolby Atmos in the kingdom, and with the announcement of IMAX entering the Bahrain market, as featured on GulfWeekly’s cover this week, it’s certainly an interesting time to be a moviegoer in Bahrain.
— Kristian Harrison
