Technicolor Sound works on Transformers: Age of Extinction

Over the 18 years that Technicolor’s Greg P. Russell has worked with director Michael Bay both have shared their love of working on films that embrace the fullest measure of spectacle in cinema.  And with Transformers: Age of Extinction, Technicolor’s Hollywood-based theatrical sound team of Russell and four-time Oscar-winner Scott Millan have fashioned a cinematic soundscape that truly represents the “state of the art” in cinema audio.

The Transformers franchise, developed and produced by Paramount Pictures, is one of the most successful “tent-pole” series in contemporary global cinema.  The fourth incarnation of the series stars Mark Wahlberg, and in the words of Mr. Russell, represents “…the biggest film I’ve ever done with Michael.  Of all of Michael’s films I’ve worked on this is the most ambitious – the biggest in terms of scale, sound, VFX, etc.  And this, by far, surpasses anything we’ve done here before at Technicolor Sound.” 

To deliver the project, Technicolor’s sound team at Paramount worked 53 days in a row, and ultimately created a range of formats and deliverables unheard of just a few years ago…including ATMOS; IMAX: Dolby 7.1 & 5.1: and Auro 11.1.  The project utilized both of Technicolor’s large ATMOS-equipped theatres, as well as two other mixing stages, along with 15 sound-editorial suites in the industry’s most sophisticated sound-finishing operation.

Scott Millan puts the project in some context stating: “Obviously, this is a huge project for Paramount – with all the incumbent pressures.  The film is a co-venture with Chinese investment – requiring an accelerated delivery of the versions for that strategic market.  This film represents the fullest utilization of our facility in its history.  The necessity to hit our dates required incredible efficiency -- only possible because of the sophistication of our team and operation.”