Enhancing Presence, Deepening Fan Intensity: How Presence in Immersive Video Shapes Psychological Closeness to Performers

Abstract

Immersive video differs from conventional flat 2D video in that it is experienced as 180-degree stereoscopic video on a head-mounted display, thereby eliciting bodily and spatial subjective experience. Previous studies have shown that viewing and interpersonal distance affect Presence; however, it remains insufficiently understood how Presence differences are related to psychological closeness to content. In the present study, we examined whether differences in Presence could increase viewers'psychological closeness to performers within the content. This psychological closeness was operationally defined as fan intensity. Specifically, a live performance by a Japanese idol group was recorded as 180-degree immersive video, and a high-Presence condition (1.2 m) and a low-Presence condition (7.6 m) were established by manipulating filming distance. Twenty-four participants with different levels of prior involvement, comprising Avid fans and Casual fans, experienced both conditions in a counterbalanced within-participants design. Fan intensity was measured before and after the experience as perceived psychological overlap between the self and the performers. The results showed that, compared with the low-Presence condition, the high-Presence condition significantly increased all Presence-related measures except the Slater-Usoh-Steed questionnaire, with the largest condition differences observed for Possible Actions, Social Presence, and Observability. Moreover, a mixed analysis of variance on changes in fan intensity revealed a significant main effect of Presence condition, indicating that the high-Presence video produced a greater increase in fan intensity than the low-Presence video. These findings suggest that filming distance in immersive video is not merely a factor that determines angle of view or composition, but a design variable that can enhance Presence and deepen fan intensity.