Dolby Atmos: Behind The Scenes Of The Hunger Games Catching Fire

While the march of the Hunger Games trilogy inexorably continues forward, we luckily get to take a peek behind the curtain with director Francis Lawrence and sound designer Jeremy Peirson as they discuss the production of the film. Perhaps most important to Audioholics is a brief chat and some perspective about Dolby Atmos, which creates a more lifelike audio experience with localized sounds in front, beside, behind, and on top of the audience.

If you’re the cynical type, you might guess that this new format is a gimmick which will mostly be used for the occasional random effect to make audiences ooh and aah. Fortunately, while it might be easy to write off Atmos as nothing more than a ruse to attract more ticket sales, we get an insider’s outlook regarding the raison d'être for Atmos. As it turns out, sound effects simply meant to get the audiences looking around weren’t first and foremost on Mr. Lawrence’s mind; the far more critical use of Atmos was for creating the expansive soundscapes of the film. Be it life in a bustling city or being stuck deep in the jungle, in real life we are always presented with a vast audio scenery which Atmos can recreate with a level of authenticity that simply wasn’t available previously. According to Mr. Lawrence, Atmos is “the best sound system out there, the best system to work in, and the best soundscape.”

For the complete discussion, see the video below.