Nominated for the Kölner Designpreis!
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Relaxation is only a VR experience away.
1. Put on the goggles
2. Start the video and let the rhythms and guided meditation melt away the stress of the day.
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Bachelor Thesis 2019. Optimized for Oculus Quest.
My Role: Concept, Modeling, Animation, Compositing, R&D
Sound Design: Hendrik Vohs
Software: Cinema 4D, After Effects, Premiere, Ableton Live
Project Time: 2 Months
Overview
“The Edge of the Horizon” VR guided (visualization) meditation provides time to relax with the help of immersive audio-visual technology, rhythm, and embodiment. It’s been designed to prompt the ‘relaxation response’ (the body's physiological response: lower blood pressure, etc.) and the ‘frequency following’ response (rhythmic entrainment), a phenomena in which our internal brainwaves start to mimic the external frequency or rhythms of audio visual media. By slowing down the external rhythms through narration, visuals and music, our minds and bodies, in turn, also slow down.
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Challenges
Solution
My VR guided meditation is different from other meditation apps or videos on the market because:
(1) is it story driven rather than a list of exercises (i.e. breathing)
(2) it is not interactive like many VR experiences, this was consciously decided so the viewer could relax completely
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A unique aspect of this video is that every scene and element has a symbolic meaning, with the main message being: you have the power to control your thoughts and reactions to the world around you and are thus also able to control your stress level.
The topic grew out of my research proposal on rhythm in three-dimensional space. I was interested creating a solution for stress and at the beginning wasn't sure if I could build a bridge between the two topics, but that didn't hold me back.
Exhibition
My bachelor was exhibited at KISD Parcours 2019, the year end exhibition, from July 19th - 22nd 2019. . For this exhibition, I created an immersive physical installation so that the visitor could literally step into the fictitious world. The room was staged to set the mood for relaxation and borrowed textures, colors and elements from the VR world in order to create a cohesive feeling. It has been nominated for the Kölner Designpreis 2019 and was exhibited again at the Museum for Applied Art Cologne from October to November 2019.
