Featured News
Vortex Immersion
Live In Boulder Soon!
The Journey: From Formlessness To Form
Sunday, September 27 · 5:30 PM
Fiske Planetarium · Boulder, Colorado
In a world that can feel increasingly loud, uncertain, and overwhelming, The Journey – Live! offers a space to breathe, reconnect, and experience the restorative power of sound, voice, light, stillness, and awe.
Musical artists, Michael and Jahna are thrilled to return to the gorgeous Fiske Planetarium for a special, expanded LIVE presentation of The Journey: From Formlessness To Form—the award-winning immersive fulldome film that invites us to slow down, release and open to unlimited possibilities!
A NEW, EXPANDED LIVE EXPERIENCE
- New and extended mindful sound journey
- New original songs and music
- Michael’s extraordinary collection of ancient Himalayan singing bowls (300-600 yrs old)
- Jahna’s ethereal voice and mindful guidance
- A breathtaking 360° fulldome cinematic experience
- Deeply immersive and transformative spatial sound design
Together, the live experience and film create a Transformance™ – one that transforms from sound into stillness, from stillness into imagination, and from imagination into limitless possibilities.
Join us in Boulder! Register here.
Download the original soundtrack album here.
“One of the most powerful light and sound experiences I’ve gone through—and I’ve gone through a lot!” — JG“I did not want it to end!!! AG“The sound journey was amazing! I could feel it in every cell of my body!” — RS Dome Fest West 2026
Fulldome Community Blossoms
Dome Fest West held its 5th annual conference/expo/film festival at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO on April 23-26, 2026.
The festival attracted over 400 attendees representing producers, studios and content creators; dome theater directors and operators; hardware and software vendors; immersive experience distributors and fulldome enthusiasts.
Highlights from the event include:
- Speed Networking led by Kelley Francis
- Open Space Roundtables on attendee-selected topics by Tammy Barrett
- Awesome panels featuring industry leaders including:
- Premium Dome Experiences moderated by IMAX producer Phil Streather; James Hood w/WORLDS; Patrick Clark w/CU Boulder Immersive Media Lab; Robin Sip w/Mirage 3D and Adam Wales w/The Elumenati
- Audio that Plays Everywhere moderated by Tom Ammermanm w/New Audio Technology; Monica Bolles w/Resonant Interactions; Ian Downie w/WORLDS; Laura Inserra w/Chambers of Awe; and Michael Perricone w/Airetight Media
- Show Me the Money moderated by Dan Neafus featuring Jesus Perez Irigoyen w/Dessignare Studio; Eda Karaatli Rentsch w/Reef Distribution; consultant Ruth Coalson; and Sean Ahearn w/Elevation XR
- And many more engaging panels…
- Fulldome Forward Expo featuring numerous exhibitors and sponsors including Navitar, Boston Museum of Science, Boulder Film Commission, Showmation, WORLDS, Shasta Visions, Full Dome Data Base, SSIA/Sky-Skan, Digitalis and more…
- Over 14 hours of screenings featuring 38 of the year’s best fulldome films
- Film Awards in 14 categories
Dome Fest West was co-founded by Vortex Immersion founders Ed Lantz and Kate McCallum in cooperation with Ryan Moore who serves as Executive Director.
Next year’s festival returns to Boulder, now home of the Sundance Film Festival. Mark your calendars for April 21-25, 2027 for North America’s premier fulldome film festival!
Feature Film Now Available
The Journey: From Formlessness to Form
The feature-length version of The Journey: From Formlessness to Form is available for licensing. The expanded 29-minute 360 dome film, Executive Produced by Vortex Immersion and Airetight Media, features music by Michael and Jahna and animation by Brianna Amore.
The Journey is designed to inspire and enchant audiences with beautiful, sublime music and visuals as viewers travel through fantastical worlds. The show uses the transformative power of ancient Tibetan singing bowls, ethereal vocals, gorgeous fulldome visuals and inspiring poetic narrative to evoke positive emotions and contemplative states of consciousness. The Journey follows the metaphoric experience of life from formlessness into form and then back into formlessness once again.
The film won the Edison Innovation Award at the Fort Meyers Film Festival in 2025, and most recently screened at Dome Fest West 2026 in Boulder.
The Journey LIVE! is also playing at select theaters featuring Michael and Jahna performing live with Tibetan singing bowls, vocals and poetic narration. Contact Vortex Immersion for bookings and licensing information.
PLAYING NOW
Astronomica 360
From the visionary creator of Mesmerica and Beautifica comes an all-new immersive dome experience – ASTRONOMICA – a breathtaking journey through the infinite beauty of the cosmos. The 50-minute show debuted at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, OK and Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha, WI and will be rolling out to new theaters in 10 countries over the coming months. ASTRONOMICA was produced by Vortex’s sister company WORLDS® with Vortex Immersion serving as Executive Producer.
Drift through auroras, dance through the stars, and discover worlds beyond even the wildest of dreams realized by a global community of artists. The epic symphonic score and mind-bending visuals of ASTRONOMICA will carry participants through the universe and into the most sacred place of all — the worlds that lie within.
We all began as stardust — where will your story begin? ✨
20 November 2025
Dome Fest West 2026
The next Dome Fest West immersive film festival returns to the Fiske Planetarium in
Boulder, CO on April 23-26, 2026.
The fest features fulldome films, live immersive performances plus panels, roundtables, speed networking, exhibits and office hours with exhibitors.
Awards will be granted across 14 categories including Best Artistic Film, Best Musical Film, Best Science Film, Best Environmental Film, Best Live Experience, Best Interactive Experience, Best Children's Film and Best Narrative Film.
The festival attracts immersive theater owner/operators, filmmakers, distributors, vendors and fulldome enthusiasts.
If you produce, license, exhibit or enjoy 360 dome experiences you won’t want to miss this annual event! Submit your film on Film Freeway
16 September 2025
Mesmerica XL Wins GSCA Award
Mesmerica XL won BEST ORIGINAL SCORE at the 28th Annual Giant Screen Cinema Association Achievement Awards in Austin, Texas!
Featuring music from the chart-topping album Mesmerica, Mesmerica XL is the brand-new giant-screen 3D experience from the visionary mind of English GRAMMY NOMINATED Musician & Immersive Pioneer JAMES HOOD.
The annual Giant Screen Cinema Association Achievement Awards honor excellence in giant screen filmmaking, marketing, and lifelong learning
James Hood says of the show’s success:
“The power of immersive music and art is like no other art form, it has the ability to create unique moods and brain states, and we’re so thrilled and honored to be able to showcase this full-dome presentation in such wonderful venues.”
Congratulations to James Hood and our WORLDS team for a job well done!
August 2025
Route 66 Immersive Experience
Vortex’s proposed Route 66 Immersive Experience has been endorsed by the Route 66 Centennial Commission, founded by the US Congress in 2020, as an official centennial project.
The experience will take visitors on a cosmic journey along historic Route 66, celebrating its 2026 centennial with a breathtaking immersive experience in 360-degree projection domes located in Springfield, Missouri; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Santa Monica, California. The show will also be made available to fulldome theaters, giant screen cinemas and digital domes everywhere.
This innovative attraction transports visitors through space and time, weaving a vivid montage of sights and sounds that showcase iconic stops, neon-lit motels, quirky roadside attractions, and the cultural heartbeat of the Mother Road.
From the bustling diners of the Midwest to the sun-soaked piers of the Pacific, the experience highlights Route 66’s legacy as a technological marvel of its era, connecting communities and sparking adventure. Cutting-edge projections and dynamic audio create a sensory-rich voyage, blending history with futuristic storytelling.
The experience offers a unique perspective on the route’s evolution, inviting participants to relive the glory days of this legendary highway while celebrating its enduring spirit and the future preservation of key attractions along the route. Join us for an unforgettable ride down Route 66!
Vortex is currently seeking project partners, brand sponsors and participating venues to make this project a reality.
August 2025
Deco Dome
Vortex Immersion’s Deco Dome was the prime immersive attraction at the 2025 Scuba Show.
The experience, held at the Long Beach Convention Center in downtown Long Beach, CA, took attendees on a 12-minute immersive journey to famous reefs around the world.
The 360 dome film featured footage from Immersed Catalina’s Ocean Wonders, playing daily at IMMERSED’s popular dome theater installation on Catalina Island.
It took visitors on a mesmerizing journey through the world’s oceans, following an actual dive profile.
Filmed in 8K/360 degrees in nine countries, the film showcased three oceans and one sea. Visitors found themselves swimming with manta rays, giant sea bass, stingrays, whale sharks, humpback whales, bull sharks, sea lions, huge bait balls, a dugong, a squadron of Caribbean reef squid, and more. The experience also included spectacular kelp forests, coral reefs, lava tubes and caves.
Vortex provided the 8m diameter projection dome equipped with a 4k fisheye projector and
playback system from Akuario.
Many dive fans commented that, when diving, their mask prevents them from seeing as wide a field-of-view as they experienced in the dome. The experience was a real hit with Scuba Show attendees and organizers alike.
May 2025
The Journey Wins Edison Innovation Award
A new feature-length version of The Journey debuted at the Fort Meyers Film Festival on May 16, 2025 and walked away with an Edison Innovation Award! The film festival, founded by Eric Raddatz, has grown into one of Florida’s most beloved indie film events. Known for its “intelligent and edgy programming,” FMFF was honored with the 2015 Chrysalis Award for Cultural Achievement and continues to be a hub for powerful storytelling and community engagement.
Executive produced by Vortex Immersion, The Journey features music by Michael and Jahna and animation by Brianna Amore. The 27-minute immersive experience is designed to inspire and enchant audiences with beautiful, sublime music and visuals as viewers travel through fantastical worlds. The show uses the transformative power of ancient Tibetan singing bowls, ethereal vocals, gorgeous fulldome visuals and inspiring poetic narrative to evoke positive emotions and contemplative states of consciousness. “The Journey” follows the metaphoric experience of life from formlessness into form and then back into formlessness once again.
Jahna Perricone who sings, writes and performs on The Journey has led mindfulness workshops through collaborations with Fife (33rd International Environmental Film Festival in Paris, France), MARC/UCLA, Hammer, Pacific Asia and Fowler Museums and Loyola Marymount University, as well as in her private expression and voice studio where she guides people to find their true voices through vocal technique, sound and mindfulness. She is an accomplished singer with performances at Walt Disney Hall, Kennedy Center, and Ford Theatre, as well as being featured in several movies and on the internet. Her music has charted No. 1 on iTunes and her albums are “In The Balance,” “Toning,” “Into The Mindful Wild” and “Spring Into Mindfulness: A Beginners Guide To Mindfulness.”
Michael Perricone is a Master Ancient Tibetan Singing Bowl Artist and musician who has performed at the Getty, Hammer, MOCA Pacific Asia and Fowler museums as well as having his music featured in several movies and on internet sites.”He is the recording artist and producer of several albums, ‘Bowls of Mindfulness,” “Savasana Bowls Live,” “Journey of Seven Bowls,” “Sacred Bowls” and Diana Winstons’s Mindfulness Meditation CD series, to name a few. Starting as a teenager, he’s performed guitar and bass live and on records for such notables as Harry Nilsson. He brings this musical wisdom to the ancient instruments he uses for meditations and workshops around the globe.
APRIL 2025
Connect with Content Creators on Monthly Fulldome Forums
Vortex founder and CEO Ed Lantz will host a panel entitled “Key Principles for Innovative Dome Venue Design” as part of Dome Fest West’s monthly Fulldome Forums series. Ed and his guests will discuss design principles for next-generation immersive theaters. The panel will be held June 18th, 2025 at 9am Pacific. Register for the panel here.
Replays of former panels moderated by Ed are also available online, including a recent one on cutting-edge cinematography for immersive and fulldome venues. This panel featured an impressive panel of experts including Daniel Ferguson (Writer, Director, Producer, Cosmic Picture Ltd), Michael Daut (Writer, Producer, Director), Pawel Achtel ACS (Director, Producer, Achtel Pty Limited), and Robin Sip (Writer/Director, Cosm/Mirage3D). Watch a recording of the panel entitled “Effective Cinematography for Modern Planetarium and Immersive Venues” here.
“The Power of Reality Within the Virtual,” headlined by esteemed panelist Eric Hanson, drew a vivid picture of the expansive realms of virtual reality (VR) and fulldome productions. Eric is a seasoned faculty member at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and CEO of Blueplanet VR. Eric’s impressive portfolio encompasses a diverse mix of design, architecture, photography, and visual effects. His prolific work in VR content creation for Meta Quest, coupled with his collaborations with prestigious organizations and personalities, makes him an authoritative voice in the field. A replay of this session is available here.
Ed also hosted a fireside chat with Michael McConville, the President of the International Planetarium Society. Michael has an extensive background in planetariums, educational institutions, and a track record of success in community building. Currently, he is the Director of Customer Outreach at Cosm, a leading planetarium company. The discussion highlighted unique insights, explored future trends, and encouraged dialogue around the captivating world of planetariums. Watch “Planetariums: Past, Present and Future” here.
May 2025
Dome Fest West 2025
Dome Fest West is being held from May 1-4 at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO. The fest features 44 fulldome films plus panels, roundtables, mixers, exhibits and exhibitor talks. Awards will be granted in 14 categories including Best Artistic Film, Best Musical Film, Best Science Film, Best Environmental Film, Best Live Experience, Best Interactive Experience, Best Children’s Film and Best Narrative Film. The festival attracts immersive theater owner/operators, filmmakers, distributors, vendors and fulldome enthusiasts.
Register for Dome Fest West here.
March 2025
Best of Earth Awards 2025
The Best of Earth Awards Show features the world’s best immersive fulldome content from the past two years, The awards ceremony was held at CULTVR in Cardiff, Wales, UK on March 25, 2025. It was streamed live on YouTube and can be replayed here.
Best of Earth is a coalition of fulldome film festivals that aims to celebrate the innovation and magnificence that fulldome provides. Vortex Immersion’s founder, Ed Lantz, is Board Chair of Dome Fest West, one of 6 international film festivals participating in the awards. This coalition includes some of the most prestigious and respected fulldome film festivals from around the world, including FullDome Festival in Jena, Germany; Dome Fest West in Los Angeles, USA; FulldomeUK Festival in Plymouth, United Kingdon; Dome Under Festival in Melbourne, Australia; SAT Fest in Montréal, Canada; and Fulldome Festival Brno in Brno, Czechia. These festivals form a collaborative called the International Collaborative of Fulldome Festivals (ICoFF).
This collaborative is dedicated to recognizing and promoting the best of fulldome immersive media that exists around the globe. Fulldome immersive media is a unique and powerful medium that has the ability to inspire, educate, and entertain audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The Awards bring together some of the most talented and creative minds in the fulldome industry to celebrate the innovation and magnificence that fulldome provides.
___________________________
2025 BEST OF EARTH
WINNING PROJECTS
Best Feature Film
Secrets from a Forest
Best Short Film
EROS
Best Emerging Artists’ Film
Bad Trip
Innovation Award
Dancing With Dead Animals
Best Sonic Experience Film
Recombination: The Fulldome Journey
Best Art & Experiment Film
Local Dystopias in the Global Utopia
Best Science and Education Film
Dark Biosphere
Special Jury Selection Film
The Great Solar System Adventure
Best Children’s Film
Total Eclipse: Chasers of the Lost Sleep
Best Live Performance Experience
Arka Kinari: Artivism at Sea
June 2024
Kelp Dome at the Scuba Show
Vortex Immersion produced an immersive attraction at the Scuba Show ‘24 called the Kelp Dome. The experience, held in the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles, took attendees on a 12-minute immersive journey to Catalina Island and beyond to explore underwater kelp forests, reefs, shipwrecks and sea life.
Vortex assembled a team including Immersed Catalina’s Mark Davidson (with Akuario360) who edited an original reel featuring stunning underwater footage and Elumenati who provided an 8m inflatable GeoDome and fisheye projector.
In Akuario360’s show, viewers begin at the water surface at the iconic Casino Point dive park on Catalina Island, descend into gorgeous kelp forests, and encounter giant sea bass. They travel south of the border to Mexico for playful sea lions and seals, inquisitive bull sharks, and huge bait balls; then to Bonaire in the Caribbean for sun-drenched soft reefs, huge tarpon, the famous Salt Pier and the wreck of the Hilma Hooker, finally resurfacing through the Catalina kelp forest.
The experience was a real hit with Scuba Show attendees and organizers alike.
May 2024
Dome Fest West
Dome Fest West was held from May 2-5 at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO. The fest featured 55 fulldome films plus panels, live performances, a $5000 pitch fest and a DJ/VJ showcase event. Awards were granted in 16 categories including Best Children’s Film, Best Narrative Film, Best Artistic Feature Film and Best Narrative Film.
The Keynote Speaker was acclaimed Digital Artist Android Jones. In his presentation “Creating the Next Century of Fulldome Experiences,” Jones took attendees on an inspiring journey into the evolution and future of immersive fulldome media. Drawing from his pioneering work in digital art and virtual reality, Jones shared valuable insights and behind-the-scenes stories from his boundary-pushing projects. This was a rare opportunity for festival attendees to learn from one of the most innovative minds in immersive art and entertainment.
Dome Fest West will return to Boulder, CO in 2025 from May 1-4. Film submissions are now open will final submissions due by the extended deadline on January 17, 2025.
October 2023
XR Experiences for Enhanced Well-Being
Vortex CEO Ed Lantz moderated a virtual panel for LA SIGGRAPH entitled XR Technologies for Enhanced Well-Being. The panel included industry leaders including Jacki Morie, Founder/Chief Scientist of All These Worlds, LLC; Skip Rizzo, Research Director at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies for Medical Virtual Reality; Michael Strauss, Live Visual Artist, VJ, VR Creator and Event Producer at Alternity; Brianna Amore, Digital Immersive Artist at Amore Designwerks and longtime Artist in Residence at Vortex; and Felipe Lara, Senior Vice President of Product at TRIPP.
The panel focused on the power of VR, digital domes and the metaverse to deliver deeply meaningful mood-enhancing experiences for entertainment, stress reduction, clinical treatments and more.
April 2023
The Journey Kickstarter Campaign
The Journey is an award-winning 11-minute experimental short film for digital domes produced in 2021 by Vortex Immersion featuring music by Michael and Jahna and animation by Brianna Amore. The immersive experience melds beautiful and transformational music, with colorful and awe-inspiring visual art to designed to entertain, relax, inspire and enchant. The film is a metaphor for life’s journey from formlessness into form then back into formlessness.
The Journey screened at six fulldome film festivals worldwide including FulldomeUK in the United Kingdom; Fulldome Festival in Jena, Germany; Dome Under in Melbourne, Australia; Byron Bay International Film Festival in Australia; SAT Fest in Montreal; IMERSA in Montreal; and Dome Fest West in Los Angeles where it won their Audience Choice Award.
Because of this success, Vortex launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise seed capital to produce a feature-length version of the film. The Kickstarter campaign successfully ended on April 28, 2023 and raised $41,722 from 62 backers.
Many thanks to the backers who donated and average of $672 to make this production possible!
Vortex is seeking additional production partners to create a 45-minute version of The Journey. Please contact us for additional information.