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 bringing it new life.
“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,” said Carolyn Blackwood, head of Sphere Studios. “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 loudspeakers, 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.
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.
While re-recording the score, each section of the orchestra was also recorded individually with state-of-the-art 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 emphasise his movement in visual and sonic unison.
