IN 1946 film mogul Darryl F. Zanuck made a bold prediction about a burgeoning invention: “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”
Since then, television has outgrown its plywood box casing, becoming colored, bigger, sharper, curved and even smart. While its viewers have yet to show traces of fatigue from all the years of staring, Zanuck’s statement has been mocked as one of the all-time worst tech forecasts.
But was he just threatened that television might steal the thunder of cinema, the medium in which he became an icon as one of the Hollywood studio system’s kingpin with more than 100 films produced?
In any case, television was unhindered by any backlash and proceeded to become a household item worldwide. Zanuck’s worries, much like his forecast, turned out to be hollow, as the silver screen has prospered, too, over the decades, with one advancement promising a multisensory engagement.
That breakthrough technology arrived around these parts three years ago, when Bonifacio High Street Cinemas launched the 4DX technology. The system takes viewers right into the story unfolding onscreen, this with a precise choreography of motion coordination of moving chairs, scents, gusts of wind, flashes of lightning and, most recently, environmental effects of snow and rain.
“We always want to provide our customers the best when it comes to retail, dining and especially entertainment,” Bonifacio Global City Commercial Business General Manager Marc Buencamino said. “Movie buffs are definitely in for a treat since 4DX enhances and elevates every movie watching experience.”
All the elements were in full force at the premiere screening of Disney’s live-action box-office blockbuster Beauty and the Beast. For a tale as old as time, each scene felt new with immersive dimensions.
The characters popped right off the screen through 3D technology (there are 3D clip-on lenses for the four-eyed, by the way), and the scent effect was rolled out right off the bat when the theater smelled of rose in the opening scene. The audience also got invited to the grand ball, with the motorized leather recliner seats waltzing in three-counts from left to right.
What’s more, the snow and rain effects took the story beyond the four corners of the screen, and the Beast never felt more beastly with his growls reverberating in Dolby Atmos surround-sound system, sending the seats vibrating in fear. Watching Beauty and the Beast in 4DX, it becomes clear early on that Mrs. Potts and the rest aren’t the only inanimate objects alive in the experience.
Now, if only there’s something the 4DX technology can do about Emma Watson’s underwhelming performance as Belle, but that’s for another time.
All in all, nothing seems too familiar when you see and hear and smell and feel it differently the next time. Here’s something people surely won’t get tired of staring at, because it offers so much more than visuals.