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 E.T. 20th Anniversary Premiere - Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA
When Universal Pictures celebrated the re-release of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece film "ET: The Extraterrestrial" in 2002, they entrusted Boston Light & Sound with technical direction for the prominent event.
For BL&S, this was like "déjà vu all over again". In 1982, BL&S was on hand to present ET at the United Nations, where Mr. Spielberg was honored with the UN Peace medal for creating the heartwarming film. BL&S was tasked with presenting the film without any disruption to an UN assembly room. This involved suspending a screen above a huge conference table and installing full surround sound for the one-day event.
But the 20th anniversary celebration was far more complex, with composer John Williams conducting a 100-piece orchestra in a live score-to-film performance of his Grammy and Oscar-winning score. As the first time in history a non-silent film had been presented in its entirety with live full orchestral accompaniment, the event was high profile, even for Hollywood standards. Steven Spielberg and the entire cast were in attendance for the much-anticipated event.
When presenting live orchestra with film, the supporting equipment must be synchronized perfectly. In addition, it's important that the live music not overpower the film's dialogue.
To achieve this fine balance, the BL&S team provided technical direction for the entire sound and projection system. To control the orchestra sound, they "deadened" the stage to keep the sound from the orchestra from emanating through the theatre as it would during a concert. Microphones were installed for the entire orchestra, directing music through a sound mixer to deliver normal 5.1 Dolby format throughout the theatre.
BL&S also developed a complete presentation system to ensure a flawless presentation. They installed two 35mm projectors locked together with a third locked projector running the conductor's streaming print. This allowed the projectionist to instantly switch to the second projector without interruption in case of equipment failure. The complex system also incorporated six-track full coat magnetic film reproducing the effects and dialogue audio, four MMR 8 sound reproducers for back up audio, and a DigiBeta deck locked to the system for conductors cue back up.
Those fortunate enough to attend the unique event were treated to an awesome presentation. One fan gushed: "...John Williams serenaded us with the film's theme music as the bicycles flew across the sky. That unifying feeling made me cry and it will stay with me forever."  Request an Estimate  Download Client List
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