Immersion, Awe and Neural Synchrony
By Ed Lantz
In 2004 Vortex Immersion brought together UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior to attract funding to research in awe and neural synchrony in immersive environments.
The experience of awe has been shown to enhance moods and a sense of well-being, feelings of interconnectedness, and virtues including greater humility, increased open mindedness, increased tolerance of uncertainty, decreased materialism, greater altruism and an increase in pro-social attitudes. Awe often precedes or is associated with religious and spiritual experiences.
Neural Synchrony
Neural synchrony is a feeling of togetherness experienced by groups of people and has been shown to positively affect social interactions. It is also known as collective effervescence, emotional entrainment, perceived emotional synchrony or interpersonal neural synchrony.
Immersive Experiences in VR
Immersive experiences delivered via VR have been shown to be more effective at evoking awe than film or television due to the increased sense of presence. Immersive “fulldome” theaters may have equal or greater potential to evoke awe as they are more accessible, less encumbering, and serve larger groups in a collective setting. Dome theaters are also free of issues associated with VR headset use including cybersickness, increased fall risks, and more. However, few studies have attempted to study awe and the benefits of group experiences in dome theaters.
Digital Dome
Digital dome or “fulldome” theaters are next-generation media delivery systems offering immersive experiences large audiences. There are currently over 1900 immersive projection theaters worldwide serving close to 70 million visitors annually with STEM education programming. More recently a new class of next-generation entertainment domes have emerged with large growth potential including the 17,500-seat Sphere in Las Vegas and COSM’s 300+ seat capacity dome theaters in Los Angeles and Dallas.
Our Goal
Vortex Immersion’s goal is to build a network of immersive venues in communities and municipalities devoted to positive impact by delivering next-generation immersive entertainment, wellness experiences and community placemaking activities. The power of immersive media to elevate moods, foster pro-social behaviors and deliver transformative experiences at scale is key to Vortex Immersion’s business model.
We look forward to working with UCLA and others to validate the power of immersion to help make a better world.
Ed Lantz
Ed Lantz is an engineer, entrepreneur and immersive experience designer. He pioneered digital domes in the mid-90s, designing more than a dozen digital dome theaters worldwide, including the Library of Alexandria’s Planetarium in Egypt and Domodigital at Papalote Museo del Niño in Mexico City. Ed sees modern digital domes as “digital temples of transformation” for their ability to host compelling, immersive journeys, performances and experiences with positive impact. He is the founder and CEO of Vortex Immersion Media and is the executive producer of James Hood’s Mesmerica and The Journey. He also serves as a Board Delegate on the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council and has chaired the boards of non-profit arts organizations, including Create Now and c3: Center for Conscious Creativity;and is Chair Emeritus of LA
ACM SIGGRAPH. He is co-founder of IMERSA, a trade association focused on immersive media for entertainment, research, science, and arts. Ed holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering.
