| London - 12 September 2003
QUANTUM DIGITAL
AND DAVID BOWIE BREAK NEW
GROUND WITH THE WORLD'S FIRST LIVE AND INTERACTIVE
MUSIC EVENT TO CINEMAS WORLDWIDE
Iconic rock megastar David Bowie will make history this September
when a specially produced live performance at Riverside studios in
London is beamed via satellite to cinemas globally, culminating in
a real time, interactive Q&A between Bowie and cinema audiences.
The show will be shot in digital wide-screen and recorded in DTS digital
5.1 surroundsound for total digital delivery to cinemas - not a film
reel in sight - representing the most innovative and wide reaching
use of digital technology in cinemas to date.
In select theatres audiences will experience the first ever global
transmission of DTS 96khz/24-bit 5.1 digital audio - which is basically
the latest, best and highest quality in digital audio. High compression
rates in the digital satellite transmission for electronic projector
display on a cinema size screen will deliver a pristine image. Think
home cinema DVD quality and this is the equivalent in a cinema.
The show titled "Live from London via satellite - an interactive
evening with David Bowie" will feature the icon and his band performing
all the tracks from his forthcoming new album "Reality",
released on Sept 16. This unique and exclusive performance will be
the first time the public will have heard the album. Competition winners
and VIPs will be privileged to attend the show itself.
As the cinema industry begins to migrate to the digital age the exciting
prospect of live events on the big screen in full surroundsound is
becoming a reality. Whilst other music artists have previously and
successfully tested the medium over the past 18 months the global scale
of this event is unprecedented.
Quantum Digital, a pioneer in the digital cinema industry and its
leading live events organiser, is collaborating for the second time
this year with label major Sony Music International following their
maiden success in May when US Grammy winning singer Melissa Etheridge
was beamed live from LA to venues in Germany and Holland to raptuous
audience response.
Quantum's Marc John said: "The digital age has come to cinemas
and this means that music artists can now reach audiences like never
before, live and interactive on the big screen and in full surroundsound.
Digital technology is giving the music and cinema industries a new
appraisal of each other."
Sony Music Sr VP International Marketing Julie Borchard said: "Once
again, David Bowie pushes technological boundaries to share his art
with the world. Bowie becomes the first artist to impact his fans and
new audiences on an unprecedented worldwide scale, through a medium
that is not traditional for sharing the live music experience. The
awareness is building daily for the release of David's new album "Reality" in-stores
worldwide one week after the cinema event. At the event, fans will
have the opportunity to experience "Reality" first, which
is a real attraction for the dedicated fans around the world." Such
is
the viability of live satellite distribution to cinemas - and the clamour
to be included in an event starring David Bowie - that the final number
of cinemas worldwide is still being compiled, as other venues come
onboard almost daily.
This also highlights the flexibility of the technology to accommodate
any demand anywhere in the world - since satellite coverage is global
and can reach just 10 venues or 10,000 (or more) if desired.
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