Play Along: Virtual Orchestra, for the Philharmonia
Who we work with
Culture and heritage / Let audiences step inside the work
The best cultural VR does not replace the visit. It gives people a seat in the orchestra, a walk through a lost museum or a room that only exists once the headset is on.
We have built a virtual orchestra you can play in for the Philharmonia, brought five Van Gogh Sunflowers from five museums into one virtual gallery, rebuilt Mosul’s destroyed museum from visitors’ photographs for The Economist, and filmed Symphony, the Thea Award-winning VR film with Gustavo Dudamel, in Barcelona.
We work carefully in real buildings too. Our lights are battery LED, so they are safe around collections, and we plan filming around opening hours.
- 2,000 playsof Play Along: Virtual Orchestra in its opening week
- 5 Sunflowersfrom five museums, together in one virtual gallery
- The Drumbest use of VR, for Mosul: A Collective Reconstruction
- 10% offour rates for registered non-profits
What cultural organisations use it for
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Reach people who cannot visit
Schools, community venues and audiences overseas. Play Along was built to run on the modest headsets schools can afford, as well as the latest ones.
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Exhibitions and installations
Headset experiences, immersive rooms and domes inside your building, designed for visitors who have never worn a headset.
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Bring the archive to life
We colourise and animate historical stills, and use AI and VFX to turn present-day footage into a period setting. Get Punked! was built from BFI and BBC archive.
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Virtual tours and online exhibitions
Buildings and collections opened to anyone with a browser.
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AR in the gallery and on the street
Artworks, characters and stories anchored to a place and seen through a phone. We hung a virtual artwork through Selfridges’ atrium with the artist Jon Emmony.
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AI guides and characters
Conversational characters for installations that answer the questions a guide would answer, with moderation to keep them on-brief.
Work for culture and heritage
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Philharmonia
Play Along: Virtual Orchestra
Pick up a virtual instrument and play the William Tell Overture alongside a symphony orchestra. 2,000 plays in its opening week. View case study
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Thea Award winner
Symphony
A VR journey into the heart of classical music with Gustavo Dudamel, for the “la Caixa” Foundation. We filmed the live action in Barcelona with over 150 crew, extras and performers. View case study
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Van Gogh Museum
Van Gogh Sunflowers Interactive Exhibition
All five Sunflowers, held by five museums on three continents, seen together for the first time in a virtual gallery. View case study
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The Economist
Mosul: A Collective Reconstruction
Mosul’s museum, destroyed in 2015, rebuilt in VR from photographs taken by its visitors. View case study
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BFI and BBC archive
GET PUNKED!
An interactive VR experience that drops you into a teenager’s diary of 1970s punk, made for StoryTrails. View case study
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Tate
The New Tate Modern in 360
Nick Grimshaw explores the new Tate Modern building in 360, made to bring a younger audience through the doors. View case study
“This could hardly be a better way to taste the potential of music.”
How we work with cultural organisations
Start with the visitor
Who they are, how long they have and whether they have worn a headset before. That shapes everything else.
Prototype early
A rough version in a headset or on a phone, so curators and learning teams can react to something real.
Build with your experts
Curators, conservators, musicians: the detail comes from them. Play Along had to sound right to players who hear timing in fractions of a millisecond.
Install and support
Headsets set up and managed remotely, with updates sent out as the exhibition changes.
FAQs
Can you film in a heritage building or around a collection?
Yes. We regularly work in restricted and heritage sites. Our lighting is battery LED so it is safe around collections, crews are small and we plan capture around opening hours.
What does it cost?
A 360 film runs from £10,000 to £100,000, and a VR app or virtual tour from £25,000 to £70,000, excluding VAT. Large-scale installations and attractions start from £100,000. Registered non-profits receive a 10% discount, which covers many museums, orchestras and trusts.
Will visitors cope with headsets?
Most do, if the experience is designed for first-timers: comfortable pacing, simple controls and short sessions. Some people will not want to wear one, so for public work we always plan a route without a headset as well.
How do we run headsets with a small front-of-house team?
We set up and manage the headsets remotely, so updates and resets do not need a technician on site. For group sessions, our Conductor app lets one member of staff start, pause and track every headset from a single tablet.
Can you use our archive?
Yes. We colourise and animate historical stills, and use AI and VFX to place present-day footage in a period setting. Get Punked! was built around BFI and BBC archive.
Will it be out of date in two years?
The technology will move, and the experience layer may need updating. The content usually does not: we shoot at 12.5K so the master outlasts the hardware it was first shown on.
Get in touch
Planning an exhibition or a season?
Tell us what you want visitors to experience. We will come back with what is possible in your space and your budget.