Pan 3Sixty recently completed a year long project to create thirty five 360° panoramas, showing the Suffolk & Essex countryside from the top of church towers nestled in the rich landscape along the length of the Stour Valley. The ‘View from the Tower’ virtual tour includes churches from St. Mary the Virgin at Great Bradley in the north west down through to St. Michael’s at Brantham in the south east. Other churches included range from the small and intimate, such as St. George & St. Gregory at Pentlow with its circular Norman tower, though to grander churches such as Holy Trinity in Long Melford and St. Mary the Virgin Dedham.
The ‘View from the Tower’ project is part of a larger, Heritage Lottery Funded project entitled ‘Managing a Masterpiece’. This 3 year programme (with partners including Suffolk & Essex County Councils, district councils, National Trust and local Universities) comprises of 62 different projects covering archaeology, biodiversity and conservation of historic features in order to understand, conserve and celebrate the landscape of the Stour Valley.
Pan 3Sixty photographer Phil Giles said, “This has been a fantastic project to work on and it was a privilege to see so many magnificent views of the landscape along the Stour Valley and work with so many great people. Having said that, the project was not without its challenges, namely the weather and the climb to the top of some of church towers.
The weather is always a huge factor with a project such as this, and whilst I was lucky for the most part, when conditions turned for the worse there were many hours spent waiting and hoping for favourable conditions to return. But even on the coldest, windiest days watching the changing light pass over the landscape from a high vantage point was still a pleasant way to pass the time.
Climbing to the the top of the church towers was straightforward for the most part, though a fair number of churches presented challenges. Church wardens seem to be a nimble group with a head for heights and great trust in rickety, woodworm infested old ladders, and whilst they climbed on ahead I would usually be lagging behind. Precarious as some of the climbs were, the views from the top of the church towers were always a great reward for the effort.
Click here to see the 360° panoramas, selecting the churches from an interactive map of the area.
In addition to the online version of the ‘View from the Tower’ virtual tour, a kiosk version has been produced that will tour the churches photographed for the remainder of the three year ‘Managing a Masterpiece’ programme and provide their visitors access to the panoramic views.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Church panoramas, Church tower virtual tour, Clients, Full Screen Panoramas, Heritage Lottery Fund, Managing a Masterpiece, View from the Tower, Virtual Tour User Interface
It’s important to us that all the virtual tours we create have the longest possible lifespan, thus providing the client with better return on their investment. With this in mind we always produce the original photographs at the highest possible resolution in order to make them ‘future proof’.
As the way in which viewing virtual tours evolves (such as smart phones & tablet computers) and clients requirements change for ever higher resolution panoramas, we are perfectly situated to re-author our original photographs of years past to create new 360° panoramas to meet the demands of today.
For example, when we were commissioned to produce 360° panoramas of Queen Victoria & Queen Mary 2 for Cunard, the original specification called for smaller panoramas to fit into a user interface that had been created to showcase the ships, both of which were hugely popular at the time.
In 2010 we were once again commissioned to produce the 360° panoramas for the newest Cunarder, Queen Elizabeth. The brief this time included both smaller and full screen panoramas. In order to bring the virtual tours of Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 up to a similar standard, and maintain continuity across all three virtual tours, we were able to re-visit our original high resolution photographs to create new panoramas of the same high standards.
Now all three Cunard Queens can be seen in glorious full screen, showcasing their fantastic interiors to potential clients in a way that truly conveys the comfort & luxury to be found onboard.
Click here to view the full screen panorama of the Grand Lobby on-board Queen Victoria (photographed in 2007).
Click here to view the Illuminations Planetarium on-board Queen Mary 2 (photographed in 2008).
Click here to view the Q1 Balcony on-board Queen Elizabeth (photographed in 2010).
Interested to see what a full screen virtual tour can do for your cruise company? Give us a call on 0845 644 3605 to discuss your requirements.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Cruise Virtual Tours, Cunard, future proof virtual tours, future proofing, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria
Having recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment, Pan 3Sixty were asked to create a virtual tour of MS Island Sky to show clients old and new the changes that had been made to this much loved Noble Caledonia ship.
Incorporating enticing views of the sumptuous cabins, lounge, bar and the restaurant, the virtual tour conveys the luxurious atmosphere to be found onboard. Further 360° panoramas of the open air cafe, cabin balconies and view from the bridge complete the tour, providing a comprehensive look around this unique and intimate ship.
Click on any of the images above to view the full screen panoramas.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Clients, Cruise ships, Cruise Virtual Tours, Design Agency, Full Screen Panoramas, High Resolution Panoramas, MS Island Sky, Noble Caledonia
Pan 3Sixty have recently created a custom-designed virtual tour, complete with user interface to showcase Hertford Museum’s newly refurbished displays.
The purpose of the virtual tour is to give a taster of what this independent museum has to offer to potential and existing visitors and enable them to see some of the amazing collections on display in an engaging and interactive way.
Hertford Museum is a local history museum located in the centre of the County town of Hertford and has been in existence since 1903. The museum was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of just under £1m in 2007 to improve its facilities and services that it provides to the local community and other visitors. The newly refurbished museum re-opened in February 2010 and is now fully accessible, with displays that tell the story of the town and its people, the early days of the museum as well as a dedicated temporary exhibition space.
The virtual tour contains ten 360° degree panoramas. Each panorama enables the user to see a different section of the museum, providing them with an excellent insight to the museum displays, second only to a visit in person. An interactive floor plan allows users to navigate around the ‘virtual museum’, from where the user can select which display they want to see next. Further levels of interactivity, such as series of detailed photographs of objects from the ‘Where in the World’ display and samples oral histories from the many listening posts on the first floor displays, provide the user with an an even more engaging experience.
Museum staff commented, “Visitors often don’t have the time to experience everything the museum displays have to offer. They can now use the virtual tour to ‘re-visit’ the displays and in particular, listen to the many oral histories about living and working in Hertford from the comfort of their own home, on their own computer. The virtual tour also opens up the museum to a world-wide audience.”
Richard de Peyer, Hertford Museum’s new Curator said, “Wow! The Virtual Tour provided by Pan 3Sixty on our website works a treat and adds a new way into the collections that is dynamic and interactive. Pan 3Sixty have tailor-made the virtual tour to the museum’s specification, and the opportunity to fly in and search for data or images wherever the fancy takes you is a real asset to users.”
Eleanor Payne, the museum’s Learning Officer, is also pleased with the virtual tour and says, “‘I think the virtual tour will be a really useful tool for teachers when they are planning a visit to the museum, as well as using it a post visit reminder, and reinforcement of the learning experience for their pupils.”
If you would like to find out more about how Pan 3Sixty can help you to widen access to your museum or heritage site through a tailor made virtual tour, please call us on 0845 644 3605.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Clients, Full Screen Panoramas, Hertford Museum, Hertfordshire, Museum Virtual Tours, Virtual Tour User Interface
Pan 3Sixty have been busy adding another ship to our cruise portfolio. We’ve just returned from Amsterdam where we completed a virtual tour of Noble Caledonia’s MS Johann Strauss; a four star, 90 cabin river vessel that cruises the waterways of Europe. Having just undergone a major refurbishment in Cologne, the short two day trip from Cologne to Amsterdam provided us with the ideal time to photograph the vessel looking its very best, prior to the first clients embarking for a luxury seven day cruise of the Netherlands.
The 360° virtual tour showcases the major public areas onboard MS Johann Strauss, providing potential clients with a superb overview of the vessel including the reception area, panorama lounge and fitness centre, plus the different grades of cabin available.
View the Panorama Lounge by clicking on the image above.
View the Fitness Centre by clicking on the image above.
Including MS Johann Strauss, our cruise portfolio includes Fred Olsen’s cruise ship MS Braemar, and all three Cunard Queens – Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and the recently launched Queen Elizabeth. Check back soon for another cruise ship virtual tour!
If you are interested in finding out how a high quality virtual tour by Pan 3Sixty can showcase your cruise ship to best effect, call us on 0845 644 3605 for an informal chat, or request a quotation by clicking here.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Cruise Virtual Tours, European river cruises, Full Screen Panoramas, MS Johann Strauss, Noble Caledonia, River Cruise Virtual Tours
We first visited Huis t’ Schaep in late 2009 and were bowled over by how beautiful the guesthouse was. The owners had meticulously restored the original interior of this historic house that had once belonged to Samuel Coucke, the famed Belgian stained glass maker.
When visiting any new hotel or guest house for the first time, we were hoping it would live up to our expectations but it instantly became apparent that the photography on the Huis t’ Schaep website simply did not convey the true beauty of the guesthouse.
During our stay, the owners took time to show us round, detailing the interesting history of the house and the conservation they had carried out. We (cheekily perhaps) expressed our observations as guests that the photography on their website was not doing justice to the fabulous interiors. Showing them examples of our work, we demonstrated how a high quality 360° virtual tour by Pan 3Sixty provides potential customers with the reassurance that the guest house will live up to, and even exceed, their expectations.
We are pleased to say that Huis t’ Schaep commissioned Pan 3Sixty to shoot a 360° virtual tour. The finished tour brings together 10 full screen, multi-resolution 360° panoramas into a custom-designed user interface. There are four different versions in all – Dutch, English, French & German – to cater for for guests from all over Europe and further afield.
You can view the virtual tour by clicking here.
We recently found out that that Huis t’Schaep has just been voted the 2nd best Guest House in all Belgium, and deservedly so!
If you are interested to find out how our high quality virtual tours can raise your website above that of the competition, call us on 0845 644 3605 for a chat or request a quotation by clicking here.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, B&B, Belgium, Bruges, Brugge, Guesthouse, Huis t' Schaep, Luxury Guesthouse, Virtual Tour User Interface
Last year we were commissioned to produced 360° panoramas of the new apartments and suites for Custom House Hotel in London. When tendering for the work, the client showed us the panoramas they currently had on the hotel website and expressed a concern that the new panoramas must be of a higher quality. Looking at the current panoramas it was easy to see why. They were created from just 4 photographs and there was little attention paid to colour balance, sharpness or exposure and no attempt to erase the stitching errors. The end result was a murky panorama that would do little to attract new customers.
After demonstrating to the client that although our 360° panoramas cost more, the finished panoramas would be of a far higher standard and therefore market the hotel more effectively than the current low quality panoramas, we were commissioned to create the work.
We are glad to say that when we delivered the 360° panoramas, the client was so happy with the result they immediately commissioned us a second time to produce replacement panoramas of accommodation and facilities at Custom House Hotel that had previously be photographed by the previous virtual tours company. We may note be as cheap as the previous “budget” virtual tour supplier, but Pan 3Sixty certainly offer better value for money!
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Custom House Hotel, Hotel Virtual Tours, London, London Hotel, London Virtual Tour
Pan 3Sixty recently completed a commission from the Institute of Education (part of the University of London) to produce a 360° virtual tour displaying locations around the campus including a number of teaching spaces plus other facilities such as the Library, Student Union, student accommodation and more. The 18 panoramas were incorporated into a simple user interface (based around the design of the main Institute of Education website) enabling the user to navigate easily from one panorama to the next using thumbnail photographs of each location.
You can view the 360 campus virtual tour of the IOE by clicking here.
To see how a 360º virtual campus tour can help your University, College or School contact us on 0845 644 3605 or request a quotation by clicking here.
Tags: Institute of Education, London, London Virtual Tour, University of London, University Virutal Tour
Pan 3Sixty recently undertook a private commission to create a 360° virtual tour of a stunning house for the owner. With the property set to go on the market the client saw a high quality, full screen virtual tour as the ideal way to showcase the house to potential buyers. The 14 panoramas provide an superb view of the main rooms plus the leisure complex, games & snooker room, bespoke cherry wood office and the vaulted garden room, all set in 1.5 acres of gardens. Last, but by no means least, there is a separate 4,000 sq ft coach house, complete with a heated porcelain tiled floor, built specifically to accommodate the owners classic car collection.
Click the link to view the Glen Acres virtual tour.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Full Screen Panoramas, Luxury Property Virtual Tours, Property Virtual Tour, Virtual Tour User Interface
On the day that Queen Elizabeth sets sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton, Pan 3Sixty is pleased to announce that we were commissioned to produced the official 360 virtual tour of this latest Cunarder.
The first stage of the virtual tour goes live today, showcasing the main public areas onboard this magnificent ship, with further 360 panoramas, including the staterooms, being added soon.
Pan 3Sixty photographer Phil Giles said, “It was a great honour to once again be selected to produce a 360 virtual tour for Cunard. Photographing Queen Elizabeth whilst on route from the shipyard in Trieste to Southampton prior to the maiden voyage was a great experience, and it was a real pleasure to spend 10 days on this fantastic art deco inspired ship. As with all ship virtual tours there were a few challenges along the way, not least rough condition in the Bay of Biscay, but the finished tour will provide Cunard clients old and new with an engaging insight into the luxury to be found on-board.”
Queen Elizabeth is the third ‘Queen’ in Cunard’s fleet and Pan 3Sixty is proud to have been selected to photograph all three ships. We were first commissioned to photograph Queen Victoria prior to her maiden voyage in December 2007. With the success of the Queen Victoria virtual tour (it received nearly 90,000 unique visits in the first four months) Pan 3Sixty were commissioned a second time in 2008 to photograph the Cunard flagship, Queen Mary 2, with the photography being completed during a regular transatlantic crossing to New York. And now, in 2010, Pan 3Sixty were commissioned a third time to photograph Queen Elizabeth.
Tags: 360 Panoramas, Cruise Virtual Tours, Cunard, Full Screen Panoramas, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria
