If You're Setting Up a Screening Room

If you're a company, school, or organization setting up a small screening room, don't make this mistake I see all too often.

I just came out of a test screening of my film in a corporate auditorium, and I saw the same problem I've seen in many other venues:

The sound comes from two (or more) speakers placed on either side of the room.

People think this will provide stereo sound "like at the movies." But they forget that the main speakers in a cinema are the "center" speakers: the speakers placed right behind the screen that make voices and dialogue come from the characters. The stereo speakers are a "bonus"—which isn't necessarily present in smaller theaters. (This is actually the principle behind so-called "5.1" sound: the center and stereo channels are separate.)

When you install speakers on either side without a center channel, people on the right and left of the room only receive sound from one side (the right ear or the left ear), which quickly becomes exhausting. Moreover, it's disorienting to hear a voice coming from the side when the character you're watching is straight ahead.

So when in doubt: start with center speakers. Good speakers placed up front (below the screen or on either side of the screen but always at the front) will deliver a much more consistent and pleasant result for the audience than stereo without a center.

And I have plenty of films to offer you for your screening room's opening :)