S3D: Creating a homogenous 3D auditory image

S3D: Creating a homogenous 3D auditory image From as early as Disney's 1940 release of Fantasia in Fantasound, surround sound has been at the forefront in the conception of improving the immersive experience for cinema audiences. With the recent resurgence of 3D stereoscopic films 60 years after the rise and fall from its initial boom in the 1950s, the immersive experience of the image is now dominating cinema attention. In this new era of digital projections, the 3D image is redefining the cinematic stage. With so much attention on the S3D image, surround sound has been eclipsed as it is already deemed by many to be a 3D experience. Within an industry that abides by traditions, have we become accustomed to and accepted traditional working methodologies in film sound, or is there a new approach to contemporary film sound design for 3D? Are we simply creating makeshift patches to technology used for 2D films, or are we being innovative in the approach to sound for 3D? Point source sound is evolving with an increase in sound channels and speaker playback. Dolby have released Dolby 7.1 and Dolby Atmos and several other new technologies are vying for the position of being the new 'sound for 3D' format, most of who propose that more speakers are the solution. Do more speakers provide a true 3D soundtrack homogenised with the immersive experience of the vision? Or, like the capturing and projection of S3D imagery, should we be looking at utilising alternative stereoscopic auditory technology and working methodologies?