The story begins in Kansas in the year 1905. It's presented in black-and-white. The 3D is dialed down. The soundtrack will be mono.

When the protagonist gets to the Land of Oz, the screen opens up to a widescreen format. The sound will transit from mono into the full 7.1 sound, bringing the choir up on the track, and the image goes to full color and the 3D is dialed up.

"I hope that together these effects will be a powerful experience for the audience," Raimi says.

The making of the approximately $200 million movie does not mean he will only focus on blockbusters. He and his brother are now working on the script of The Evil Dead 4.

"I like doing both of them very much," he says. "On the big budget movies, it's very exciting to be surrounded by all the best artists in the field. You can use the latest equipment and techniques, try different ways of filming, but it's a bit hands-off.

"When you make independent little movies, you have to use what's available, you don't always work with the very best people, but you are not that divorced from the audience, you feel you are right in the middle of them."

liuw@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/22/2013 page18)