With more than 25 years of expertise, CinemaTech specializes in designing high-end, custom home theaters, offering bespoke seating and immersive acoustic sound systems for elite clients worldwide, including film stars, athletes, business leaders, and more.
CinemaTech relies on AutoCAD to create detailed schematic designs and enhance workflow efficiency with custom tools, dynamic blocks, and automation.
By leveraging 3ds Max, CinemaTech transforms 2D AutoCAD designs into realistic 3D renderings, allowing clients to preview materials, colors, and layouts and reducing costly changes in manufacturing and construction.
Imagine stepping into a private sanctuary where cinematic magic unfolds. You sink into a luxurious recliner, lights dim, the screen comes to life, and sound envelopes you in stunning clarity. This is the reality that CinemaTech has been creating for more than 25 years and redefining custom home theaters for private estates around the world.
“You can't watch the Oscars, the Super Bowl, or any kind of major event without seeing a CinemaTech client,” says Michael Murphy, president and CEO, CinemaTech. “We’re always going to meet our clients’ expectations, either a seat at a time or a theater at a time—and we take a huge amount of pride in doing that.”
No two CinemaTech projects are alike. Each home theater or custom seating project is a unique blend, requiring seamless coordination between architects, AV integrators, and builders. What truly sets CinemaTech apart is their meticulous approach to design and craftsmanship. “One of our clients told us that every time he steps into his theater, he feels like he’s been transported to another world,” Murphy says. “That’s exactly the reaction we strive for.”
From seating to entire acoustic installations, CinemaTech delivers an unrivaled experience and customizations. And, with Autodesk AutoCAD, they can do it easily, precisely, and more efficiently.
CinemaTech’s design process starts with an understanding of the client’s vision. “We start with schematic designs—floor plans, ceiling plans, wall elevations—all in AutoCAD,” says Stacey Chu, director of theater design, CinemaTech. “What’s great is that AutoCAD allows us to manipulate our drawings during client meetings, and we can easily make real-time modifications. They absolutely love it.”
On the acoustic side, Scott Coverdale, senior acoustical and technical designer at CinemaTech, lends his years of AutoCAD and audio expertise to deliver the perfect sound.
“AutoCAD is the backbone of our design process, allowing us to develop custom LISP routines that automate key acoustic calculations in real time,” he says. “It also streamlines collaboration and resource sharing across our small, geographically distributed team, enabling informed decision-making and improved project outcomes. By leveraging our custom AutoCAD toolsets, we ensure that our designs adhere to construction, cinema, and CAD standards, delivering state-of-the-art architectural and technology integrations tailored to our customers' needs.”
Renderings also play an important role in the design process. With Autodesk 3ds Max, the CinemaTech team can take the CAD files and truly bring the 2D to life in 3D.
“By using 3ds Max, clients can visualize what certain fabrics or materials will look like and make more informed decisions,” says Matt Denton, vice president, CinemaTech. “A color might not be what they expected or maybe they notice something different they would like with the seating. All of this can be addressed, and it reduces the risk of changes when it comes to manufacturing the seats or the actual construction of the room.”
Beyond design, CinemaTech also leverages AutoCAD for sales presentations and client consultations.
“When clients visit our showroom, we use AutoCAD seat blocks to quickly create accurate seating layouts based on their space,” Denton says. “Even though I’m not an AutoCAD expert, I can easily drop our seat templates into a client’s existing CAD floor plan and adjust dimensions on the spot.”
CinemaTech also crafts custom seating solutions, and AutoCAD plays a crucial role in this process. Starting with set steel frame dimensions, the team uses AutoCAD to create templates for each customized seat, making sure that every element meets their standards.
Clients can even request fully bespoke seating solutions. For one client, they customized the seating to reflect an Art Deco feel. One of the most unique examples came from a client who was a huge Marvel fan and wanted each theater seat to represent a different superhero.
“We used AutoCAD and 3ds Max to design each seat with different colors and patterns,” Denton says. “We then rendered each row with different material combinations, letting the client visually approve the design before production. The final result? A completely custom superhero-themed theater with seating that looked exactly like the renderings.”
Over the past few years, CinemaTech has refined its AutoCAD workflows, building a robust system of custom tools and standards to enhance efficiency.
“We’ve developed a massive block library with thousands of elements—seating, speakers, projectors, acoustic treatments—so that everything is easily accessible,” Coverdale says. “We also use dynamic blocks that incorporate industry standards from organizations like Dolby, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). By building those standards into our blocks, we have easy access to them and can make more informed decisions when we’re designing.”
“We’re set up now with the Sheet Set Manager (SSM) and using sheet templates,” Chu adds. “We can type in all our information once, and it populates through all the pages every time. Using SSM and blocks have been very helpful in being more efficient as a team.”
CinemaTech has also embraced AutoCAD’s latest innovations, such as My Insights, to analyze workflow patterns and optimize processes. “We’re rolling out My Insights across the team,” Coverdale says. “It’s helping us identify what commands we use most, where we can improve, and how we can further streamline our workflows.”
For many years, Coverdale has used AutoLISP on a variety of projects and has now brought these skills to CinemaTech. He’s even started to leverage AI for some AutoLISPs.
“I’ve developed custom AutoLISP scripts that automate repetitive tasks, like generating elevations from floor plans or aligning architectural elements,” Coverdale says. “I also use AutoLISP scripts to get real-time feedback on general acoustical calculations, such as reverb time and bass analysis. Using scripts saves time and allows us to focus on creativity rather than manual adjustments.”
—Stacey Chu, Director of Theater Design, CinemaTech
Looking ahead, CinemaTech continues to push the boundaries of home theater design. As new technologies emerge—like laser projection and advanced sound engineering—they are integrating these advancements into their AutoCAD workflows.
“At the end of the day, we’re not just selling a product,” Murphy says. “We’re delivering an experience. And, thanks to tools like AutoCAD, we can do it at the highest level possible.”
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