As part of his visit to Australia Tom Holman was guest lecturer of the Architecture Facility at Sydney University in April.

Tom ’s talk was very informative and gave a brief history of the development of multi-channel cinema sound reproduction over the years. Starting off from the early days of the FantaSound and finishing with an explanation of his most recent 10:2 system, Tom also delivered his thoughts on where audio should be heading in the future concerning areas such as standardisation of sample rate, bit rate, and dedicated replay channels for cinema. Earlier Tom visited Melbourne where he delivered a talk at the ABC.

Tom,the inventor of THX sound technology,was also in Australia to study the acoustics of Melbourne ’s Capitol Theatre. Tom will help decide how to transform the theatre into a Soundscape centre for acoustic research, teaching and consulting.

"We will not change the intricate walls and ceiling, but we may change the floors and install a system of speakers and electronic enhancement" he says.

If approval for the reconfiguration is granted by the owner, RMIT University, the centre will provide opportunities for the IT industry to improve the audio quality of the internet. "Sound is perhaps the Cinderella of internet multimedia", said Professor Ian Smart, who conducted a feasibility study for the theatre, built in 1924. "Sound is often overlooked because it doesn't even compare with the visual experience of multimedia. It is possible to use the internet to create a much better three dimensional sound.

"One of the best known works of architect Walter Burley-Griffin, the theatre has acoustics that Holman describes as well ahead of their time. "I haven't seen anything quite like this before," he says. "Griffin created acoustics more than 70 years ago with elements that have only been patented in recent years."

With an illuminated ceiling and tiered seating the centre is destined to become a major cinema sound and production centre and a birthplace for software that generates rich sound experiences.

"Sound is the secret route to the emotions. The music cues tell your heart what to think," says Holman, who teaches film sound at the University of Southern California's School of Cinema. When he returns to the US to resume work on his latest project, "Faberge Sound" Holman hopes to do for desktop film production what programs such as Pagemaker have done for desktop publishing. He is also now at work on the second edition of his book Sound for Film and Television.

Tom Holman

Link: TMH LABS