Las Vegas Weekly: “If you build it, they will come.” That famously misquoted line from 1989’s Field of Dreams whispers up at me as I take in the full, monolithic size of Las Vegas’ new mega-venue, Sphere. It’s hard to imagine that anyone built this; it’s otherworldly in almost every way.
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When I first saw a photo of the Sphere in Las Vegas, I was absolutely mind blown. I could not fathom how it was built or the technology behind it. It is such a cool venue and I am sure it would be an amazing experience to witness a show there. It makes sense that it was built in the neo-futurism style because it really looks like you just stepped out of a time machine. The article also discussed that it looks like it took inspiration from science fiction and fantasy media. I thought that it was so insane that over 200 million video pixels are used in this venue and are powered by an LED screen. I was learning today that these lights can be more fragile than others so it is very impressive that they were able to achieve this. I am so curious to see what different types of shows will look like in this venue.
This article is the first I've heard about Sphere, and I was completely shocked by the scale of the venue. It is simply breathtaking and the immersive-ness I can feel just from the photo makes me extremely curious about how it would be to personally experience it. a 160,000 ft display is simply unimaginable, and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around what that would feel like. The level of technological triumph in this is remarkable. It was also interesting for me to learn that it was originally made in virtual reality. It honestly made me think more about how virtual reality can be utilized to design and reimagine real life spaces and gives a chance for creatives to make something beyond current day technological capabilities. I do hope that VR continues to play a part like this in design. I would love to experience the venue myself in the future.
I’m very interested in the technology behind the sphere, and exactly what kind of engineering goes into producing a concert in one of these things, so learning about what the concert experience is actually like is supremely interesting. The lighting design of the interior of the sphere is very interesting to me, as it would be difficult to design for, as to not obstruct the screens in any way. In the recent U2 concert, they seemed to have lights on one of the lower balconies, a floor light on the front of the stage, and tall thin booms behind them providing backlight. True to the futuristic nature of the place, they only use moving fixtures on those thin booms, which allow them the greatest control without having to use a huge system. The lighting is pretty seamless, but isn’t as impactful as the giant LED screen is. It’s pretty much all you can look at- which raises the question: why would you want to go to a concert simply to watch a video? If you’re in the 400th row, you can’t see the performers at all, and the huge screen is just too distracting.
It is projects like the sphere that get me excited about the future. I rarely look forward into the future of art and entertainment with excitement. It's always AI this and AI that and honestly its easy to get nervous about what direction the industry is heading in. But this “sphere” is so exciting. It will take the concert experience to a whole new level. It's immersive and groundbreaking. I mean 200 million video pixels is just insane. The clarity of the designed media is at the forefront of art and performance. Even videos of the venue is enough to take your breath away. Not only is the sphere an architectural achievement, but i think it will be a very good example of what the live entertainment industry is moving towards, obviously not all live entertainment venues can afford towering LED video walls but it is very interesting to see interest being taken in large video media visuals. I mean you can see evidence of this not just with the sphere but even taylor swifts eras tour. I think everyone and there mother has seen the visuals from that. And while I always will believe there will be space for more traditional sets and stage arrangements I do think this an exciting turn
I haven’t read an article before this that actually unpacks the experience of the sphere so I was excited to read this one. Once I started to read this article, they mentioned a lot of things that I somehow didn’t know. U2’s show was originally created for virtual reality, which is so cool that they could transfer it over to the sphere. I think one of the coolest things about the sphere that the author mentions is the interactive experience. They switched the screens to show a place outdoors at night time and then made the venue cooler to simulate the feeling of being outside on a dark, chilly night. All of the naysayers were thinking that the audio would suck in the sphere because of how acoustics works but the author wrote that they were fantastic so that is good news. I really badly want to go to a concert or event in the sphere and experience myself.
I was interested to read this, as I’ve heard about the Sphere but haven’t actually learned much about it. I’m glad that Sampson had such a good experience with it, and it was fascinating how he commented on the sound quality. I imagine it was quite a challenge with something of that shape/acoustics, and also of that magnitude to curate the sound in the Sphere, and I wonder how they were able to accomplish it. The Sphere definitely is unique and creative in it’s ginormous screens, however I’m unsure if I agree with Sampson that it will catch on for further venues. It seems like it’s aiming at being the only space like this, possibly part of it’s appeal. As well as this I feel like personally it might be a bit overwhelming being surrounded by that many screens all around you. I’ve been to a couple art-exhibition-things where projections and screens surround you, and after a while of being there it is quite a strange feeling, and is a bit much. Personally I go to concerts for the artist and for the experience of being in that room with live music and a ton of excited fans, and I don’t think about the importance of screens. I wonder if others feel the same? Or if like Sampson said, the Sphere is going to ‘change the concert landscape.’
I imagine that words truly can’t convey what it is like to experience a concert at the Sphere, and honestly, I do really hope that I will eventually get the chance to see a concert there. I think it’s really interesting how many of the audience’s senses are affected by the design of a production at the Sphere. A piece from the article that jumped out at me was when the author mentioned temperature changes during the set. I think that the entertainment industry in general talks a lot about what the “next design department” is going to be, and smell tends to come up a lot, probably because it’s one of the Big 5 senses. But, smells are unbelievably subjective. I feel like I have never heard anyone discuss the concept of temperature design. While what is hot and what is cold is still somewhat subjective, I think it’s sort of on the same level of subjectivity as two audience members having differing opinions on whether a light is too bright and hurting their eyes.
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