Sphere Studios Reveals New Details Around Sound, Score and Infrasound Technology for the Wizard of Oz At Sphere
SPHR
Published on 06/25/2025 at 11:35
Sphere Entertainment Co. announced new details around the sound, score and infrasound haptic seats for The Wizard of Ozat Sphere, a fully immersive experiencecethat will make audiences feel like they have stepped inside the film. Sphere Studios is leveraging Sphere's audio technologies, along with newly discovered archival material, to create an experience that remains true to the filmmakers' intent while layering in technologies that bring it new life.
To take advantage of Sphere Immersive Sound's 167,000 programmable speakers, and ability to direct sound anywhere in the venue, the original film's mono score was re-recorded to take on new clarity via Sphere Immersive Sound, while preserving the casts' vocal performances. The mono audio had to first be separated into individual stems of vocals, dialogue, and sound effects. This process, a collaboration between Sphere Studios and Warner Bros.
Post Production Creative Services, used advanced audio technologies to create the individual components without distortion or artifact. Inside Sphere, the stems are being layered together to create a sound mix that reveals a depth and clarity unheard in the 1939 film. At Sphere, respect for this Academy Award-winning music extended to re-recording the score on the same scoring stage as the 1930s original - retaining the same acoustic environment.
To further maintain the integrity of the original score, the re-recorded score features more than 80 musicians playing in the 1930s style of film music, including techniques such as pizzicato and vibrato that were standard for the era, but are less common in modern scores. Additionally, an ocarina, a small wind instrument used during the original recording session of "If I Only Had a Brain," was also used for The Wizard of Oz at Sphere recording, having been passed down through generations of musicians. While re-recording the score, each section of the orche was also recorded individually with miking.
Coupled with Sphere Immersive Sound's directional capabilities and the vocal and sound effect stems, it will seem as though sound travels around the venue. For example, as the Tin Man tilts back and forth during his number, the isolated sound of the strings will also oscillate to emphasize his movement in visual and sonicison. Hotel packages are available for a limited time exclusively through The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the resort connected to Sphere.