Dan Neafus
CEO
Dan Neafus has produced engaging audience experiences for more than four decades, creating public artworks and distributing award-winning 360 cinema productions to fulldome theaters world-wide. He is a frequent speaker at international conferences focusing on The Language of Fulldome, Immersive Cinema and Fulldome standards development.
In 1994 he received Instructor Certification in audio visual technology from the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges. He was recognized in 2018 as a Fellow of the International Planetarium Society. In 2020 he was honored with the JANUS Lifetime Achievement Award for his “significant contributions to the world of immersive media” (Fulldome Festival Foundation, Jena, Germany).
Dan is well known in the planetarium and fulldome community as the now retired Manager of the Gates Planetarium in Denver, Colorado. He supervised the development of numerous productions and major renovations of the theater including the world’s first 4K fulldome digital system installation in 2002.
As Co-founder, Director and CEO of the international professional association IMERSA Inc., Dan has hosted eleven international fulldome summits, continuing his efforts to advance the art and technology of immersive digital theaters and digital dome planetariums.
With an emphasis on adapted experiential technologies, his firm, Neafus Network, has produced public and performance art throughout the USA. Dan utilizes many tools in his work, from 3D sound to 360 video and automated lighting. Under the planetarium dome he explores and communicates the convergence of ideas encompassing fulldome, VR, immersive cinema, science, education, culture and performance art.
By collaborating and inspiring fellow visionary pioneers, Neafus has charted a course for the future of domed theaters and the immersive experience. His award-winning fulldome production work includes;
Dynamic Earth - Executive Co Producer
Cosmic Journey; A Solar System Adventure - Co Producer
Bella Gaia (by Kenji Williams), Executive Producer
Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity - Co Producer
Aurora The Lights of Wonder – English Script Writer
Realm of Light; reimagined – Script Writer
Supervolcanoes - Executive Co Producer
"Dan has always been, and remains, at the forefront. He advises, he organizes, he inspires, he trains, and he has fun doing it! He connects teams, he develops ideas, he inspires listeners, he travels around the world and there is always time for listening, for a friendly word, for getting to know each other." - Volkmar Schorcht, Fulldome Festival
December 1st 2020
The End of an Era at the Gates Planetarium / Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Many congratulations to Dan Neafus for his retirement! Throughout his 40 (yes, 40!) year career at the Museum Dan shepherded Gates Planetarium through many strategic and important transformations. Early in his career at the Museum Dan helped install the magnificent Minolta Star machine, and over 100 slide projectors to create cutting edge planetarium shows.
A decade later, it was time for 360 degree video, later upgraded to digital, with the world’s first 4k fulldome digital system.
To the delight of countless planetarium guests, Dan has always brought in new and unexpected content. Shows like Where in the Universe is Carmen Sandiego (featuring a live cast!) to LASERIUM to Mesmerica all brought in new audiences and revenue streams, and pushed us beyond traditional space themed shows.
Recognized internationally for his contributions to the field, Dan is a Fellow of the International Planetarium Society and has hosted numerous international conferences. He was Executive Producer and Producer for numerous successful planetarium shows. Those shows include; the award winning Bella Gaia, which captured a live performance by violinist and composer Kenji Williams with Dr. KaChun Yu providing immersive visuals, Super Volcanoes, which paired so well with our Pompeii temporary exhibition; and with many Museum colleagues, he also produced Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity and Cosmic Journey: A Solar System Adventure. Black Holes continues to be one of the world’s most widely recognized and distributed fulldome productions – and even at 15 years old, it consistently ranks highest among our guests.
Dan also enabled the development of the popular Digital Earth series that continues to use Planetarium software (Uniview & Open Space) as a virtual show, and led the way for returning live shows to our daytime line-up with Space Tours Live.
I am so very glad to have worked alongside Dan for many years, learning from him and partnering on my favorite programs, including the very first Digital Earth shows and the very first Science Lounge. He’s an amazing teammate and I will miss him!
Please join me in congratulating Dan on his retirement! If you’re looking for him, he can be found at his daughter’s animal farm or reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Julia Spalding-Beegles, Co-Director of Experiences & Partnerships, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
https://www.facebook.com/fulldomefestival/posts/3988887641142202
Volkmar Schorcht
Jena, November 22, 2020"JANUS Lifetime Achievement Award for Dan Neafus.
I am extremely pleased that the Jena FullDome Festival Foundation has decided to honor Dan Neafus with the JANUS Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dan Neafus is well known in the planetarium and fulldome community as the – now retired – Operations Manager of the Gates Planetarium in Denver and as the founder and CEO of IMERSA, the international professional association advancing the art and technology of immersive digital theaters and digital dome planetariums.
Dan has produced engaging audience experiences for over 40 years. For the last 20+ years he has been responsible for managing the Gates Planetarium, part of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, one of the finest immersive theaters in the world.
His attention has been, and remains, particularly focused on technical advancement. How can technology help us to offer our visitors an ever improved experience? What prerequisites must exist to be successful with the planetarium - slash – fulldome medium?
“My enthusiasm for the fulldome world is primarily about connecting the audiences with the technology,” he says. “It’s very important to … know what the audience is experiencing and that we journey with them to take them to places that are exciting and wonderful and have them leaving with different perspectives of space, or Earth, or science.”
Dan is a visionary who always keeps his feet on the ground. He is not satisfied with the tried and tested. He sees challenges in everything – the evolving technology, the production pipelines, in designing new shows and in the way we communicate – challenges, which must mastered daily.
The extraordinary thing about Dan's work is his open and engaging manner. He appreciates the enthusiasm and comradery of the international community. It was, and is, important for Dan to connect the community and to support sharing the knowledge between each other and through professional development and communication networking with the goal of offering better experiences to our audiences. With an emphasis on technology, he has utilized many tools in his work, from supercomputer graphics, to 3D sound and automated lighting.
In this light, it seems almost logical that Dan co-founded IMERSA twelve years ago together with professional partners. IMERSA is a non-profit business league. It has initiated ongoing research and development programs in search of standards and guidelines for fulldome production and technologies. IMERSA hosts an annual international Summit for leaders interested in all facets of immersive experience including digital fulldome cinema, immersive entertainment, interactive performance arts, and other innovative experiential content.
As CEO of IMERSA, Dan has always been, and remains, at the forefront. He advises, he organizes, he inspires, he trains, and he has fun doing it! He connects teams, he develops ideas, he inspires listeners, he travels around the world and there is always time for listening, for a friendly word, for getting to know each other.
Dan also produces shows. The most popular bearing his trademark are probably “Cosmic Journey” and “Black Holes - the other side of Infinity”, successful shows that are distributed worldwide.
Dan sees himself – at least I think so – as an ambassador between the immersive media. He explores and communicates what the planetarium, fulldome, VR, immersive cinema, science, education, culture and entertainment have in common under the dome.
The development of immersive media, especially the use of the dome as a media platform, is the declared goal of the FullDome Festival. In this respect, it is not surprising that Dan has also been involved in the FullDome Festival for many years. As a guest, as a lecturer, as a panelist, advisor and producer he is well known to us here in Jena. At the festival he is interested in exchanging experiences, new ideas and realizations. His commitment and expertise always contribute to the success of the FullDome Festival.
We owe Dan a great debt for his significant contributions to the world of immersive media. It is an honor to be able to present the JANUS Lifetime Achievement Award to someone who has such a profound impact on our community.
