D-BOX Technologies Inc. recently announced that Warner Bros. Pictures has signed a deal with the company to use D-BOX motion technology to shake up the fight scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
The film, hotly awaited by many fans, stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and is due to be released in theatres on November 19, 2010. Its all-star cast also includes Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson and Alan Rickman.
Film Viewers "Feel" the Onscreen Explosions in the Seats
D-BOX Technologies is a Canadian film effects company based in Longeuil, Quebec, and its D-BOX Motion Technology is a system that codes motion effects into movies so that film viewers actually feel subtle shaking and vibration timed to match the onscreen action at appropriate moments.
The "D-BOX Motion Code" sends its signals directly to a motion generating system integrated within either a platform or a seat. Since Warner Bros. has announced it will not be releasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in 3D, this will be as realistic an experience as Potter fans can hope for. (Part 2, incidentally, is set to be released in 2D, 3D and IMAX formats.)
Only Select Movie Theatres Will Present HP7 with D-Box
However, not everyone will be able to feel the ground shake when the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix cross wands. So far, D-Box is mainly available in California, Arizona and Texas movie theatres (including the Mann Chinese 6 in Los Angeles.) The list of theatres equipped with D-Box capability includes various cinemas in the Ultra Star, Santicos, Galaxy, Cinema West, O'Neil, Emagine and Premiere chains across the US.
Very few theatres outside the US are yet capable of presenting films with D-Box. In Canada, it is limited to the Cineplex Queensway in Etobicoke, Ontario and the Cinema Beloeil in Beloeil, Quebec. To date, the only other international venues offering films with this special effect are the Jogchem Theatres in Herhugoowaard and Amersfoort in the Netherlands, and the Warner Mycal Cinemas in Odaka and Kohoku, Japan.
D-Box for Home Theatres and Video Games
D-BOX Motion Code technology can be integrated into films for home viewing on Blu-Ray, as well as television shows and video games. It is currently available on about 900 current and classic major studio films, including X-Men, Up, Inglourious Basterds, Coraline, The Race to Witch Mountain, Kick-Ass and Back to the Future.
Photo caption (click on image for bigger version)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1: (left to right) Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in the fantasy adventure Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Jaap Buitendijk
Sarah B. Hood - Author of We Sure Can! How Jams and Pickles are Reviving the Lure and Lore of Local Food and Toronto: The Unknown City.
