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'Sensurround' is an audio process developed in the 1970s by Universal Studios for the presentation of theatrical movies. According to ''Halliwell's Film Companion'', the process involved "the augmentation of violent action on screen by intense waves of high decibel sound, enough, in some documented cases, to crack ribs." Originally developed as a showcase for the Universal production ''Earthquake'', the process was used in three subsequent films, ''Rollercoaster'', ''Midway'', and in the theatrical version of ''Battlestar Galactica''.
Sensurround involved the installation of up to ten large Cerwin-Vega subwoofer speakers in black-painted wood cabinets, which were placed beneath the screen and in the corners of the theatre. The sound system was driven by a separate control box attached to a 1,600 watt audio amplifier. When triggered by control tones on the film's optical soundtrack, the system generated an almost sub-audible rumble between 5 and 40 Hertz at sound pressures of 110-120 decibels, the results of which could be "felt" as well as heard. In the case of ''Earthquake'', Sensurround was activated during the quake scenes to augment the conventional soundtrack.
The much-hyped Sensurround made ''Earthquake'' a popular "event" film, but never caught on during the age of budding multiplex cinemas due to disturbances it caused at adjacent theatres. When ''Earthquake'' opened in November of 1974, ''The Godfather, Part II'' opened the same month, often playing in the next theatre auditorium. Theatre managers were inundated with complaints from audience members, literally shaken, by the bleeding of Sensurround into the theatre exhibiting ''Godfather II''. This disruption was not worth the effort for most theatre owners, nor was the $500 per week Sensurround rental fee charged by Universal.
The excessively loud Sensurround also caused additional disruptions for theatres playing ''Earthquake'', including structural damage in some cinemas. The most famous example is that of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where theatre management strung a safety net over the seating to catch errant pieces of plaster after a test screening revealed Sensurround had actually cracked the ceiling. In Germany, Sensurround movies were only allowed to be played in single standing cinemas. When ''Earthquake'' was screened in Chicago, the head of the Chicago Building and Safety Department demanded that the system be turned down or removed, due to his concern that it would cause structural damage to city theatres.
Following the success/notoriety of Sensurround, other studios devised similar technologies to mimic its effects. 20th Century-Fox released ''Damnation Alley'' (1977) in Sound 360, and Warner Bros. employed their Megasound process for ''Altered States'' (1980), ''Outland'', ''Wolfen'' and ''Superman II'' (all 1981).
In 1974, Waldon O. Watson, Richard J. Stumpf, Robert J. Leonard, and the Universal City Studios Sound Department received a special Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for "the development and engineering of the Sensurround System for motion picture presentation."
Sensurround went through several different versions as the technology evolved, including "Sensurround II" and "Sensurround III."
DVD prints of ''Earthquake'' from Universal Home Video, released after May 9, 2006, feature the Sensurround track (described as "Sensurround 3.1," which is an update to "Sensurround III"). It is doubtful the theatrical Sensurround experience could be duplicated in the home, unless the viewer has a sound system capable of enormous subwoofer output.
The British DVD release of ''Earthquake'' reads "4.1 Sensurround," although when tested on very powerful home cinema equipment, it doesn't use the subwoofer quite as much as present-day action movies.
The last two original surviving "Sensurround" control boxes are owned by Dolby Laboratories.
The alternative pop/rock band They Might Be Giants have a song called "SenSurround" (also spelled "Sensurround") which appeared on the soundtrack to '' and (in a different, faster-paced recording) their EP ''S-E-X-X-Y''. The song makes several references to the theatrical audio technique, specifically to the film ''Earthquake''.
Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots mentions "Holy, holy Sensurround" in "Damien" from the album "...and from here you'll watch the world go by" and "Cola SenSurround" in "Just a Lifetime" from the album "The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse" (full context: "Hunting the oasis but there's only cola-sensurround. A technicolour thrill... it costs a fortune, so it must be real").
In a FoxTrot strip, Jason Fox uses Sensurround when showing a homemade claymation dinosaur movie to his class.
In another Foxtrot strip, Peter Fox tries to make his own Sensurround by chugging cola and watching the Apollo 13 launch.
★ Earthquake trivia
★ Trivia for Earthquake
★ "The Audience is Shaking..."
★ Re-creating the 70mm Sensurround system
★ Excerpts from the Sensurround manual at in70mm.com:
★
★ About Sensurround
Sensurround involved the installation of up to ten large Cerwin-Vega subwoofer speakers in black-painted wood cabinets, which were placed beneath the screen and in the corners of the theatre. The sound system was driven by a separate control box attached to a 1,600 watt audio amplifier. When triggered by control tones on the film's optical soundtrack, the system generated an almost sub-audible rumble between 5 and 40 Hertz at sound pressures of 110-120 decibels, the results of which could be "felt" as well as heard. In the case of ''Earthquake'', Sensurround was activated during the quake scenes to augment the conventional soundtrack.
The much-hyped Sensurround made ''Earthquake'' a popular "event" film, but never caught on during the age of budding multiplex cinemas due to disturbances it caused at adjacent theatres. When ''Earthquake'' opened in November of 1974, ''The Godfather, Part II'' opened the same month, often playing in the next theatre auditorium. Theatre managers were inundated with complaints from audience members, literally shaken, by the bleeding of Sensurround into the theatre exhibiting ''Godfather II''. This disruption was not worth the effort for most theatre owners, nor was the $500 per week Sensurround rental fee charged by Universal.
The excessively loud Sensurround also caused additional disruptions for theatres playing ''Earthquake'', including structural damage in some cinemas. The most famous example is that of Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where theatre management strung a safety net over the seating to catch errant pieces of plaster after a test screening revealed Sensurround had actually cracked the ceiling. In Germany, Sensurround movies were only allowed to be played in single standing cinemas. When ''Earthquake'' was screened in Chicago, the head of the Chicago Building and Safety Department demanded that the system be turned down or removed, due to his concern that it would cause structural damage to city theatres.
| Contents |
| Competing Processes |
| Trivia |
| Cultural references |
| External links |
Competing Processes
Following the success/notoriety of Sensurround, other studios devised similar technologies to mimic its effects. 20th Century-Fox released ''Damnation Alley'' (1977) in Sound 360, and Warner Bros. employed their Megasound process for ''Altered States'' (1980), ''Outland'', ''Wolfen'' and ''Superman II'' (all 1981).
Trivia
In 1974, Waldon O. Watson, Richard J. Stumpf, Robert J. Leonard, and the Universal City Studios Sound Department received a special Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for "the development and engineering of the Sensurround System for motion picture presentation."
Sensurround went through several different versions as the technology evolved, including "Sensurround II" and "Sensurround III."
DVD prints of ''Earthquake'' from Universal Home Video, released after May 9, 2006, feature the Sensurround track (described as "Sensurround 3.1," which is an update to "Sensurround III"). It is doubtful the theatrical Sensurround experience could be duplicated in the home, unless the viewer has a sound system capable of enormous subwoofer output.
The British DVD release of ''Earthquake'' reads "4.1 Sensurround," although when tested on very powerful home cinema equipment, it doesn't use the subwoofer quite as much as present-day action movies.
The last two original surviving "Sensurround" control boxes are owned by Dolby Laboratories.
Cultural references
The alternative pop/rock band They Might Be Giants have a song called "SenSurround" (also spelled "Sensurround") which appeared on the soundtrack to '' and (in a different, faster-paced recording) their EP ''S-E-X-X-Y''. The song makes several references to the theatrical audio technique, specifically to the film ''Earthquake''.
Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots mentions "Holy, holy Sensurround" in "Damien" from the album "...and from here you'll watch the world go by" and "Cola SenSurround" in "Just a Lifetime" from the album "The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse" (full context: "Hunting the oasis but there's only cola-sensurround. A technicolour thrill... it costs a fortune, so it must be real").
In a FoxTrot strip, Jason Fox uses Sensurround when showing a homemade claymation dinosaur movie to his class.
In another Foxtrot strip, Peter Fox tries to make his own Sensurround by chugging cola and watching the Apollo 13 launch.
External links
★ Earthquake trivia
★ Trivia for Earthquake
★ "The Audience is Shaking..."
★ Re-creating the 70mm Sensurround system
★ Excerpts from the Sensurround manual at in70mm.com:
★
★ About Sensurround
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