A fulldome sci-art short piece that explores entropy as the hidden force behind what we perceive as randomness, chance, and luck. Rather than treating luck as something mystical, the work suggests that what we call chance is often the result of entropy and probability – that possibilities emerge from disorder, and that luck itself may simply be a human way of perceiving high entropy.
Set within a surreal visual world derived from 3D scans, photogrammetry, and 360° footage captured in Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert, Neontropy connects an abstract scientific concept to one of the most iconic landscapes of chance. Las Vegas becomes both setting and metaphor: a city built on games of luck, on illusion, on constant reinvention, and on cycles of destruction and transformation. Its history of implosion and renewal mirrors the film’s deeper themes of decay, chaos, and transformation. Entropy is not as an ending, but is as a condition for evolution..
The visual language of the film embraces fracturedness and instability. Point clouds and Gaussian splats are chosen not only for their distinctive aesthetic, but for the way they evoke a sense of fragmentation and increasing chaos, especially when moving toward their dissolving edges. These forms are combined with both natural environments and man-made structures, while other elements are created through randomness-driven generative processes. Throughout the film, everything appears to exist in a constant state of flow, breakdown, and reassembly.
Neontropy is not intended as a literal or didactic visualization of scientific ideas. Instead, it approaches science through association, atmosphere, and visual exploration. Its imagery remains rooted in reality, yet continuously deconstructs that reality into something mysterious, which feels both familiar and otherworldly.
The immersive sound design extends this approach, reflecting the film’s core ideas and transforming the visuals into places that feel tangible, believable, and deeply experiential. Soundbites and samples from scientists’ lectures on the topic of entropy are woven into the spatial audio creation to give the audience an anchor back to the basic idea of the piece. To quote from the physicist and philosopher Sean Carrol: “…getting messier is a very natural thing”.
2026, Fulldome 8K/4K, 3D-spatial-audio, 5.1, 7.1.4 Atmos (visuals, cinematography, editing)
Credits: Johannes Kraas (original music, sound design, spatial audio mixing)
