THE HOME THEATER DEMO CHALLENGE

This will be a fairly long post. However, if you are interested in the topic, you will pick up some interesting information about conducting demos. To make it even more interesting, there will be a competition for the best demo. The winner will receive an exciting new accessory product from Outlaw.

Background

Two years ago, I taught a course for Nationwide’s ‘Primetime’ event. Nationwide is a buying consortium of audio/video dealers and the purpose of the course was to provide them with the knowledge to properly set up and demonstrate a home theater system. This course, ‘The Art of the Demo’, was designed to teach them how to convey the power and excitement of a movie experience in the home. One aspect of the course provided the basic principles of selecting and demonstrating the best demo material.

This year I have been asked to teach the course again with demo material that was not used in the last course. I have started the search and am reviewing a variety of clips that will present the home theater experience in the most dramatic way. This year, however I decided to enlist a panel of experts that love movies and watch a lot of them - our own Outlaw Saloon members. If you are interested in participating in the demo challenge, I am offering a reward for the best choice. Whoever submits the winning ‘best demo’ will receive one of the first units of an exciting new accessory product from Outlaw. Of course the winning clip will be used in the course at Primetime, with attribution given to the winner.

So far this sounds easy-until you learn about the “rules’ of a good demo. If any of you ever attended an Outlaw demo at one of the Stereophile shows, you may not realize that it takes a month or two to select the right film clips for these presentations. Below are the standards we apply. It is a challenging and fun process and in the hunt you will find things you can show to your friends that will blow them away.

The “RULES” of a Great Demonstration
Demonstration Length The demonstration should be a continuous film sequence no longer than six or seven minutes (there are a few exceptions). The clip should leave the viewer wanting more.

The Selection The selected clip should be a micro-story having a beginning, middle, and end. It’s very frustrating to the viewer to cut off a scene right in the middle.

While many selections often involve action, the scene should not be depressing or disturbing. While men might enjoy explosions and carnage, wives and small children can get turned off or frightened. This exclusion does not refer to over-the-top action scenes that are like a comic book, but things that are too close to reality. As an example, Blackhawk Down is not a great family demo.
Stimulating the Senses A good demonstration should stimulate the following senses:

1. Visual stimulation: The program material should look great - colorful and sharp.

2. Aural and Spatial stimulation: High intelligibility of dialog is essential. There should also be a good sense of ‘Acoustic Space’ – good separation and good surround using a great musical score.

3. Actual Physical Stimulation: Deep bass in the soundtrack at the appropriate level can actually be felt. This is necessary to achieve a true physical reaction such as goose bumps, or feeling the throb of the base in your chest.

4. Stimulation of the Imagination: The program material should draw the customer into the story or action. The viewer should ‘be there’. For a brief moment he or she should forget that this is only a demonstration.

At this point, the viewer has absorbed the “experience.”
If done right, the customer will want to repeat the experience in their home.

Great Examples:
Seabiscuit - Chapter 22, ‘Showdown with War Admiral’, is a near perfect demo. It revolves around a two-horse runoff witnessed by a crowd of thousands. It has everything – a great picture, sound with good bass excitement and an uplifting finale.

Vertical Limit - Chapter 18, ‘Use Your Axe’. Mountain climbers are hanging from a cliff, fearing that everything will break away. This scene is guaranteed to give the viewer sweaty palms.

Red Planet - Chapter 28, ‘Bye Sweetie’. An astronaut trapped on Mars has a final showdown with circling, flying killer robots. Great dynamic range that goes from virtual silence to massive explosions. You can cut the tension with a knife.

Fantastic Four - Chapter 4, ‘Bridge Scene’. This scene also has it all…great story, visuals and surround, unusual bass track, humor. It’s thoroughly exciting and uplifting and rivals Seabiscuit.

Live Free or Die Harder - The tunnel scene where the villain shuts down all traffic lights and causes mayhem in a NY tunnel. Great visuals, superb surround sound, and terrific bass highlight the tension and unbelievable escapes of Bruce Willis and his passenger.

The Natural – Although this is an older movie, the final scene still delivers in the elation of Robert Redford winning the game with a dramatic home run. The great visuals and unique sounds of the stadium night-lights exploding are excellent aural stimulations. This highly emotional ending has moved many people to tears. The musical score in this scene has such a memorable impact that it is often played in some ballparks when a player hits a home-run.


The Rules of the Challenge In order to qualify for the competition, you must post a description of the scene in the chosen movie with a short statement as to why you believe it is a great demo clip. Once the selection is posted, no one else can later make that selection. It is now locked as a choice.

Our primary ‘rule” is that you should avoid the usual clichés, the clips that everyone has seen or heard dozens of times. These include but are not limited to the overused Top Gun, Gladiator, Independence Day, Titanic, Twister, Fifth Element, Speed and soon-to-be Avatar. Your audience will groan “not that again” You all know what they are.

Of course, the greatest discovery of all is finding the elusive “hidden gem” - an awful movie that hardly anyone saw, but contains one really incredible scene. We stumbled on such a film a couple of years ago. In the movie The Core, an early scene involves the space shuttle getting in deep trouble while returning to earth and being forced to crash-land in one of the storm drain channels in Los Angeles. The scene was a great hit at the Stereophile show and the local Blockbuster reported that they had a run on the three remaining copies in stock.

The fun is discovering your own great scenes. Test them on your friends and family and enjoy yourself in the hunt for the ‘best demo.’

The winning clip will be selected no later than the end of June. To the participants, Enjoy and Good Luck

Peter