You’ve probably seen it scrolling through your social media. It’s the world’s largest spherical structure.
Recently, I got to take a behind-the-scenes tour of Sphere Las Vegas, a new entertainment venue that reportedly cost $2 billion to create.
“Probably the biggest power of Sphere is really the shared experience,” said Deanan DaSilva of MSG Sphere Studios.
The last time I was here, the entire place was under construction. Now it’s hosting one-of-a-kind concerts and movies, with a massive 16K x 16K curved screen.
Visitors are encouraged to arrive at least an hour before showtime to explore, starting with the lobby area.
“The atrium really talks about how technology and humanity are so coexistent,” said Alex Luthwaite of Sphere.
The exhibits reflect the first and current movie playing at the venue. It’s called Postcard from Earth.
There’s also a holographic wall, rings of time, and an avatar scanner. Visitors love that they can chat with humanoid robots you’ve only seen in movies.
Spoiler alert: they use a combination of AI and behind-the-scenes humans to respond to questions.
There’s also a neat demonstration of beamforming technology, which is used to direct precise soundwaves to the 17,000 seats inside.
There are several areas of the floor lit up with light. You can step from area to area and hear a song with different instruments playing in each section.
Of course, the real draw is inside the theater, with its breathtakingly big screen.
“Typically, LED screens bend in one axis. Doing it in two axes makes it very difficult,” said Luthwaite.
Sphere had to invent a new camera with a supersized lens to capture content for the screen.
Recording in the supersized format requires a whopping 30 gigabytes a second. The drive they use can hold just 17 minutes of footage.
I attended a screening of the debut film Postcard from Earth and it was a super unique experience. The visuals were immersive, the audio was exact and the 4D effects like seat haptics and wind made the experience feel like a cross between an amusement park ride and real-life VR.
“Everything around this Sphere is built around transporting people to different places in different states of mind,” concluded DaSilva.
Tickets for the movie start at about $70 apiece. That might be more than you pay at your nearby movie theater, but this is a one-of-a-kind experience that’s worth trying the next time you’re in Las Vegas.