Sphere Off to See the Wizard — An Update

A cinema tech magazine has updated its readers on the ongoing transformation of “The Wizard of Oz” into the next immersive Vegas Sphere moviegoing experience.

Teams of visual effects artists, sound engineers and software developers have so far dedicated two years to converting the 1939 classic into an ultra-high-res experience for the Sphere’s 16K-by-16K wraparound LED screen, according to Y.M.Cinema. The project’s total budget has been reported to be $80 million, though one of the things the Sphere is famous for is going over budget.

Wizard of Ahhhs

To help immerse the audience in the experience, the Sphere will use all the cutting-edge hardware at its disposal — including spatial audio, climate control, scent integration and haptic seating.

AI was used for the visuals — specifically by Topaz Video, for all you Sheldon Coopers out there — but only for “automatic grain reduction and resolution upscaling,” not to recreate any footage. In addition, according to Y.M.Cinema, machine-learning models were trained on the original footage “to interpolate missing details during upscaling.”

Unreal Engine was then used to reformat the digital film into a panoramic 3D display, then Autodesk Maya to add depth and extend scenes beyond their original framing. The audio was remastered to using Dolby Atmos, Pro Tools and Sound Particles.

“Projects like this highlight the importance of investing in high-quality, immersive experiences,” Y.M. Cinema wrote. “This is not just a technological marvel but a cultural statement that premium, large-scale productions are essential to bring audiences back to theaters.

“The future of cinema lies in creating experiences that cannot be replicated at home.”

Follow the Yellow Brick Money

“Oz” will follow “Postcard from Earth” into the Vegas orb, for which it continues to do brisk box office, and “V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film,” which is considered the Sphere’s first flop.

The only bad news is that film will be edited down from its original 101 minutes to 80. This will allow the Sphere to schedule more showings per day — and will also bring the cost up to an even million dollars per minute of screen time!

Just when this vastly updated “Wizard of Oz” will debut is still a big question mark. Though the where is a certainty, Sphere CEO James Dolan has yet to to even acknowledge the existence of this project — news of which was broken worldwide by Casino.org’s own Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben back in June 2024.