The awe-inspiring Sphere venue in Las Vegas is set to present its first classic film, the well-known "The Wizard of Oz," which will be released on August 28. However, this screening is not simply projecting the original film onto Sphere's massive 160,000-square-foot LED screen. Instead, James Dolan, CEO of Sphere Entertainment, said it will be a brand-new cinematic experience created by a team of 2,000 people.
The core of this special screening involves the use of artificial intelligence technology, which enhances the film's resolution and expands the visual content beyond the original frames. For example, a grainy close-up of Dorothy in the film has been processed to become lifelike, allowing viewers to see new scenes such as the Scarecrow, the Yellow Brick Road, and the mountains of Oz through a technique called "outpainting."
Additionally, with the help of AI technology, the team was even able to create new performances for actors in certain scenes, further enriching the cinematic content. Despite these technological innovations, Dolan emphasized that the team always adhered to the principle of not modifying the film itself, but rather hoping to let the audience feel as if they were on the set, experiencing the authentic atmosphere behind the movie.
In this unprecedented screening, audiences will not only revisit the charm of this classic work, but also experience a new audio-visual shock in front of the giant screen. With the continuous development of technology, this approach of combining classics with modern technology obviously opens up a new direction for future movie experiences.