Display Technology

Sounds of Oz comes to the Sphere

Photo: The Sphere

July 9, 2025

Sphere Studios is leveraging audio technology to create an immersive experience for audiences attending The Wizard of Oz at Sphere event.

"There's Dorothy and 'Over the Rainbow' as you heard them before, and there will be Dorothy and 'Over the Rainbow' as you hear them now, with the film's classic music taking on new clarity and immersion through Sphere Immersive Sound," Carolyn Blackwood, head of Sphere Studios, said in a press release. "The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, heard and felt through our cutting-edge technologies, will create a new emotional connection to The Wizard of Oz that is only possible at Sphere."

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.

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 sonic unison.

To enhance the immersion in The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, Sphere's infrasound and haptic seat technology is being used for the first time to not only create vibrations, but also emit tones that emphasize moments in the film experience. For example, when the characters enter the haunted forest, an eerie tone will emanate from the seats, bringing the audience into the foursome's perspective and imposing the same ominous feeling.

The original film, shot for a 4:3 movie screen in the 1930s, will now fill Sphere's 160,000-square foot interior display plane.