Everyday, it seems the real world becomes even more virtual. And when it comes to creating new spaces, elements, and works of art, virtual content is making waves beyond our wildest imaginations.
As far as immersive experiences go, you may only think it can be accessed through virtual reality headsets. But you’d be surprised at how many virtual elements are already in our real world today without us even knowing it.
So, you want to know how to create immersive experiences? First, you need to know all there is to know about the technology used to bring these realities alive.
What does an immersive experience mean?
Scrolling through Mack Sennett Studios website, you may have come across the term “immersive experience.” (It’s one of the things you can do with our production studios and sound stages here!)
But maybe you weren’t quite sure what exactly that meant. Well, an immersive experience pulls users into a new or augmented reality that is meant to enhance everyday life with technology.
You may have also heard it described as extended reality or an enhanced version of real life. Either way, it’s meant to take the physical world and physical environment around you and build upon it.
How do immersive experiences work?
When it comes to creating immersive experiences, there are three elements you need to think about: sight, sound, and touch. Typically, a virtual reality headset or VR headset is used to block out the user’s peripheral vision.
But augmented reality may make use of VR headsets, smart glasses, or simply add virtual objects to the real world. But let’s take a look at the many different types of virtual reality systems (VR systems) there are.
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Types of immersive technologies
Augmented reality (AR)
Augmented reality technology is something that our mobile devices already do. It adds a computer-simulated layer of information on top of the real world. Pretty cool, huh?
Virtual reality (VR)
A virtual reality system is a complete immersion that places a user inside of a digital simulation. It can interact with all of the senses, making it possible for the user to explore the virtual environment and virtual world around them.
Mixed reality (MR)
Mixed reality is a kind of hybrid between augmented and virtual reality. It uses immersive technology by integrating virtual objects and features with the real world, creating interactive experiences and – sometimes – gaming tools.
Digital twins
A digital twin is a near-identical virtual model of real-life objects, tools, or systems. NASA is a great example as it uses this type of immersive technology to monitor and optimize satellites in space from the ground.
360-degree content
You know games, photos, or videos that you can explore? Well, that’s most likely using 360-degree technology where the viewing angle is shot in all directions – and sometimes, in real time too.
Real-world examples of immersive experiences
It’s easy to think that a virtual reality experience only exists somewhere far off in the future. But there are plenty of immersion technologies that we are using right now.
Education
In education, mobile VR is used to bring intuitive interactions to students in a learning environment. For example, users can explore the environment on Mars using mixed reality technology or other immersive technologies.
Art
You’ve, no doubt, been to an immersive art gallery before, right? Well, even here in our production studios, you can use the sound stage environment to create a more virtual one by getting a user to interact in the virtual space with all of their senses.
Restaurants
If you’ve ever been to a themed restaurant, then you’ve had an immersive experience. Like video gaming, certain restaurants create an entirely immersive and interactive experience for customers with a storyline and everything!
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Events
You can easily turn any event space rental into a VR or immersive experience simply by transforming the right venue into a different reality. You can use physical objects in the space and integrate them with VR technology to make it a mixed reality at the same time.
Entertainment
Whether it’s e-commerce, movies, theme parks, or games, immersive technology can be used to create a truly VR experience. And all by guiding customers through an idea that’s revealed and created in both physical and immersive ways.
Fitness
A great example of this is through WiiSports or any other fitness immersion game that tracks your body. Not only do you get a good workout, but you get to see your avatar train too in this immersive experience!
Efficiency
If you don’t think an immersive experience can’t save you money, think again. Say you’re looking to avoid the cost of travel for work. Simply send a digital twin example to attend that sales meeting instead!
Productivity
Most of these examples seem fun and carefree. But that’s not to say that an immersive experience can’t help users be productive at the same time.
Of all the examples we could give, perhaps a video editor is the best one. A video editor steps into a film to edit it. If that’s not an immersive experience, then we don’t know what is!
Risk
Did you know that surgeons undergo an immersive experience when they use mixed reality technology to perform surgical tasks? Virtual elements can indicate certain types of tissue, helping to reduce the risk of anything going wrong during surgery.
Additionally, surgeons can use a virtual simulator to practice surgical tasks. And this takes away the risk of performing on real patients too.
More immersive experiences to come
As you can see, immersive experiences occur on a spectrum. And they make up a lot of our everyday life even if we think about it or not.
So the next time you find yourself looking at your phone, playing Pokemon Go, consider the fact that you’re having an immersive experience. And know that you can always use Mack Sennett Studios to make your immersive experience and vision come true!
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Mack Sennett Studios is a historic full-service photography studio, production sound stage, and private event space in Silver Lake, serving as creative home to the Los Angeles cultural renaissance for the last 100 years. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Pinterest, Yelp and Instagram.
