Lights, Camera, Planetarium! Rochester's First 360° Film Festival

What happens when you mix cutting-edge immersive tech, a planetarium dome, and serious creativity? You get Rochester’s very first 360° Film Festival, a new event brought to life by a Karp Library Fellow—and hosted by Studio X!

As a Karp Library Fellow, I’ve had the privilege of being part of a competitive program that empowers student leaders to design and deliver innovative, high-impact projects that advance the mission of the University of Rochester Libraries. This project was also one of Studio X's first community engaged projects. 

Inspiration in the Stars

The spark for the festival came from a conversation with Jim Bader, Director of Rochester Museum & Science Center's Strasenburgh Planetarium, where I learned about past student video projects he’d projected onto the dome. That’s when it hit me—what if we went all in on immersion?

With Studio X already offering 360° cameras for lending, and a community hungry for creative expression, the idea practically launched itself. Plus, it gave us the chance to further Studio X’s mission: expanding what’s possible with immersive technology. 

Behind the Scenes

The planning process started with three big questions:

1. What would 360° video actually look like on the dome?
2. What are the technical guidelines we’d need?
3. How the heck do you edit 360° video?

Thankfully, Director Bader gave me a full tour of the dome tech and helped answer the first two. As for editing? I rolled up my sleeves and dug in. With a little research and a lot of trial and error, I reworked an existing Studio X workshop to focus on 360° editing in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Festival Highlights

The workshop paved the way for filmmakers to dive in, and wow—did they deliver!

• 8 film submissions
• 17 talented participants (solo or in teams of up to four)
• 30+ attendees at the planetarium premiere
• 3 judges: Dean Wendi Heinzelman, Director Jim Bader, and Interim Dean Maurini Strub

The dome came alive with stories from all corners of Rochester and beyond, with participants from University of Rochester, RIT, and SUNY Potsdam. 

And the Winners Are…

Best Overall: "Crawlspace 360" by RIT Faculty James Porto

Best Group: “Echoes” by UR Undergraduates Fin Tran, Elvis Imamura, and Joy Lu

Best Narrative: “All-Nighter” by UR Undergraduate Spencer Ahn

Best Audio: “Public Art and Murals of Rochester, NY” by SUNY Potsdam Graduate Student Steve Ford

Best Editing: “Time Dilation” by UR Undergraduate Student Nichole Taylor