Ioan Allen's X-Curve presentation
(QuickTime Movie - 117.0 MB - Length: 53:35)
Mr. Allen presented excerpts of his SMPTE paper on "Electro-Acoustic Characteristics in the Cinema and the Mix-Room, the Large Room and the Small". This traced the beginnings of cinema sound equalization standards in the early 1930s in the USA and UK. He spoke of work on the X-was carried out in the early 1970s and followed the various developments since that time. This electro-acoustic characteristic is now employed in most theatres throughout the world. The "X" stood for "experimental," an epithet that now seems inappropriate for something that's been a national and international standard for 30 years!
Three excerpts from movies were presented (roughly from 1950, 1975 and 2000). The exceptional acoustics of the Dolby Theater contributed in no end to underscore the vast differences between those soundtracks. The evening ended with a Q&A.
