With half an hour to go until the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Knox Village Cinemas, December 2015. The DJ was pumping, Chewbacca was hugging everyone and the feeling as you entered the rather grand foyer of looking up above the escalators to the lanterns and the lightsabers excitedly waving. At other time, the cinema is hardly as lively but still illicit a particular feeling, for me, personally, of home.

Village Cinemas Knox City

What that means to different people is obviously varied. I think the main idea is how does the architectural qualities, and sonic qualities, begin your experience in the cinema. Why would you choose any particular cinema over another, especially a nice cinema, that costs more than a cheap, dingy cinema, when you’re paying for the same film.

Crown Melbourne Foyer

The entrance to the Crown premises, similarly, is there to prime you to spend money. The show of opulence to encourage you to spend money. These spaces are designed to be immersive spaces but each message they send is particularly targeted and specific. The technical design of this space is particularly impressive, the use of projections, lighting and sound, completely surround you.

I aim to explore these relationships between immersion and space/place. The design of these immersive spaces and how they vary significantly in the way they prime you for the experiences they offer may they be artistic or otherwise.