DJ Yoda is known for his playful approach to mixing and scratching, weaving samples from films and popular culture into hip-hop classics and an eclectic mix of genres. His touring show pairs music with 16:9 visuals, a format well suited to conventional venues.

At CULTVR, the challenge was to bring those visuals into the dome and make them feel part of an immersive experience.
 

I created a series of fulldome 3D environments, primarily using Unreal Engine, designed to integrate his visuals and a live camera feed into the surrounding space. One example was DJ Yoda’s Bedroom: a nostalgic room filled with band posters, film references and details imagining what his bedroom might have looked like in the 1980s.
 

I was mixing the visuals live when we first revealed the environment, so I experienced the audience’s reaction first-hand: audible “woahs”, phones raised to capture the moment, and plenty of smiling faces looking up, including DJ Yoda himself.Seeing that response was a rewarding reminder of how an environment can become part of the performance.

My instinct as a designer has usually been towards minimal compositions and a “less is more” approach. Working with fulldome has challenged that instinct. Across such a large surface, a richly detailed environment gives audiences more to discover wherever they look. Choosing those details carefully was as important as adding them: the posters, films and cultural references needed to feel authentic to the era and connected to Yoda’s musical world.
 

In the dome, “more is more” can work surprisingly well: layers of detail give the audience room to explore. When it comes to speed and movement, I take a more restrained approach, finding a balance that keeps the experience engaging and comfortable to watch.