Company
to Synchronize Smells to Movie
By
Yuri Kagyama
TOKYO
- A theater audience in Japan will be sniffing
their noses - literally - at a new Hollywood adventure
film when it opens here later this month.
A
new service from a major telecommunications company,
NTT Communications Corp., will synchronize seven
different smells to parts of "The New World,"
starring Colin Farrell.
A
floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a
mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted during
a tear-jerking scene. Joy is a citrus mix of orange
and grapefruit, while anger is enhanced by a herb-like
concoction with a hint of eucalyptus and tea tree.
The
smells waft from special machines under the seats
in the back rows of two movie theaters, which
create different fragrances by controlling the
mix of oils stored in the machines, company spokeswoman
Akiko Suzaki said Wednesday.
In
"The New World," which opened in the
United States in December, Farrell plays American
colonial leader John Smith, who is said to have
been saved from execution by North American Indian
princess Pocahontas.
Theaters
will be able to download from the Internet different
scent sequences for other films, Suzaki said.
The
company began a similar service for homes in Japan
last year. Owners of the $620 home version can
download different programs to emit smells to
accompany a horoscope reading or work as aromatherapy.
Owners
must keep refilling the machine with fragrant
liquids. NTT Communications would not disclose
how many machines it has sold.
U.S.
startups have developed similar technologies before,
although at least one company had to shut down
during the dot-com bust.