BURBANK, Calif.—Attendees at the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas couldn’t miss the new building dubbed “the Sphere” on their way to the Las Vegas Convention Center. Scheduled to be completed by this fall, the dome promises to be one of the world’s premier showcases of audio visual technology. On Monday, the production company behind the new facility announced its launch, which includes the introduction of what it dubs “the world’s most advanced camera system.”
Sphere Entertainment announced the launch of Sphere Studios, targeting the development of original immersive entertainment exclusively for Sphere through proprietary and cutting-edge technology, tools and production facilities. The first of the Studios’ many groundbreaking immersive innovations includes Big Sky—an ultra-high resolution camera system.
The camera system and custom content creation tool was created by Sphere Studios to capture the stunning images and video required for the world’s highest resolution LED screen at Sphere. Developed in-house at Sphere Studios’ research and development labs, every aspect of Big Sky represents a significant advancement on current state-of-the-art cinema camera systems, the company said, including the largest single sensor in commercial use capable of capturing incredibly detailed, large-format images.
“Big Sky is a giant leap forward for imaging and a testament to the innovative teams at Sphere Studios who made this technology a reality,” said Deanan DaSilva, the lead architect of Big Sky at Sphere Studios. “Big Sky allows us to capture cinematic content at a level of detail never before possible, opening up extraordinary possibilities and pushing immersive imaging technology forward in a way that will resonate throughout the entertainment industry.”
Sphere says the Big Sky system “boasts the world’s sharpest cinematic lenses capable of delivering the unparalleled edge-to-edge optical requirements for Sphere’s 16K x 16K immersive display plane. That allows Sphere Studios filmmakers to capture incredibly detailed, large-format images from a single camera, without having to stitch content together from multiple cameras—avoiding issues common to stitching including near distance limitations and seams between images.”
Sphere Studios began developing Big Sky in early 2021, with the camera system’s first shoot taking place in October 2022. SphereLab, an internally developed image processing software, was also created specifically for Big Sky. Prior to Big Sky, image capture for Sphere’s ultra-high-resolution screen required large camera arrays of 10 to 15 commercially available cinematic cameras. To date, the team has filed eight patents—and counting—associated with Big Sky technology.
The Sphere Studio campus in Burbank spans 68,000-square-feet of development facilities; production, editing and post-production suites; sound stages for mixing spatial audio; and camera and 3D printing labs. The campus also includes Big Dome, a 28,000-square-foot, 100-foot high custom geodesic dome with a quarter-sized version of the screen at Sphere in Las Vegas. Big Dome serves as a specialized screening, production facility and lab for content at Sphere, including Sphere Immersive Sound, haptic seats, and more that will be featured at Sphere.
Sphere Studios features an interdisciplinary team of creative, production, technology and software experts who provide full in-house creative and production services, including strategy and concept, capture, post-production and show production.
“With multi-sensory live entertainment experiences that immerse audiences visually, as well as through sound, haptics and environmental elements including heat, wind and scent, the Studio is redefining the future of entertainment by bringing together the world’s leading filmmakers, directors and producers to transport Sphere’s audiences to places both real and imagined without leaving their seats,” the company said in a press release.
“Sphere Studios is not only creating content, but also technology that is truly transformative,” said David Dibble, Chief Executive Officer of MSG Ventures, a division of Sphere Entertainment focused on developing advanced technologies for live entertainment. “Sphere in Las Vegas is an experiential medium featuring an LED display, sound system and 4D technologies that require a completely new and innovative approach to filmmaking. We created Big Sky—the most advanced camera system in the world—not only because we could, but out of innovative necessity. This was the only way we could bring to life the vision of our filmmakers, artists and collaborators for Sphere.”
When it opens later this year, the Sphere will be 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide at its widest point. It will have 17,500 seats and host the highest resolution screen in the world at 19,000 by 13,500 pixels. “Postcard from Earth,” the first Sphere Experience to harness the full array of Sphere’s technological capabilities, is currently in production, and will premiere Oct. 6. Tickets are currently on sale at thespherevegas.com.
