True black in a theatre is a fascinating experience. True black can enhance the sense of depth and realism in a film, making dark scenes more immersive and evoking powerful emotions.

Designing the lighting for such a space can be a challenge. The requirements for an immersive true black and Dolby Atmos theatre are high. From sound absorbing materials and light absorbing colour schemes to incredible speaker arrangements.

The lighting for the BAFTA Dolby theatre space needed to be designed for many scenarios from presentations and conferences to the ultimate true black cinematic experience.

Requirements

Whilst lighting may be the first part of the theatre that people experience, it is secondary in the design process to the Dolby speaker arrangement for the perfect sound. Any light sources should be as invisible as possible with minimal reflections. This translates to emergency lighting and exit signage as well. The lighting control system must be able to work together with the theatre’s automation system and provide scene settings that dim all lights smoothly to 0% without any noise or flicker. 

How we did it

In a close design relationship with the architect, the systems integrator and the sound engineer, extremely low glare luminaires were designed around the speaker arrangement to provide even functional lighting. Black reflector lights guaranteed no distracting reflections from the main screen. We controlled the drivers of all lights to dim down smoothly and responsively to 0% with no noise. 

Decorative lighting integrated into the fabric walls provided ambient light. This was completely concealed from the seating views whilst allowing an impact when entering the space. All lighting, including the emergency light indicators, were able to be switched off completely for the Dolby ‘True Black’ experience. All lighting elements are fully controllable, enabling Q & A sessions before and after screenings.