Wittenstein 360
A 360 VR time machine ride for the Wittenstein Time Centre in Estonia, synced to a physical motion simulator so visitors fly through inventions from the 1800s.
01
The Brief
Timecenter Wittenstein, a museum in the Paide Order Castle in Estonia, wanted a genuine time machine ride, not just a video screen. They commissioned a motion simulator cockpit from Motor OÜ and needed a matching VR cinematic: a 360 animation that would fly visitors through major inventions and events from the 1800s to 1900s, with the physical motion of the seat synced to what they saw in the headset. The two had to line up closely, since any mismatch between what visitors felt and what they saw would cause motion sickness instead of wonder.
Fig. 01 · 360
Flying past an army of identical toy soldiers and an equestrian statue during the 'Napoleon's Reign' scene, one of the earliest stops on the ride.
Fig. 02 · 360 video
The cockpit approaching a cluster of lights further along the route through the 1800s.
02
My Approach
I modeled and animated the historical scenes and inventions in Blender and rendered the whole ride as an equirectangular 360 cinematic in Cycles. The camera path was the part that needed the most care: instead of animating it freely, I built it to match the physical range and timing of Motor OÜ's simulator rig, so the acceleration, turns, and drops visitors felt in the seat would always line up with what they saw around them. It was the first time I'd had to design a camera move around a physical machine's constraints rather than just what looked good on screen.
Once the camera path and scenes were locked, I handed off the exact camera track to a colleague, who brought it into After Effects and added the holographic descriptions that appear next to each invention, timed and positioned to match the camera's movement through the scene. I also handled the sound design, building the ambience, effects, and music that plays through the ride so each invention has its own sound alongside the visuals and the motion of the seat.
Fig. 03 · 360
The Crystal Palace Exhibition Hall, its glass-and-iron structure modeled and lit to stand out against the surrounding landscape.
03
The Result
A 360 VR cinematic installed in a motion-simulator cockpit at Timecenter Wittenstein, taking visitors on a synchronized ride through inventions and events from 1800 to 1900, with holographic captions appearing alongside each one. The same 360 footage was also delivered as flat 2D and social-ready cuts, so the museum could reuse it for marketing outside the physical installation.
Fig. 05 · 360
Holographic portraits mark the Lewis and Clark Expedition, one of several bilingual (Estonian/English) captions that appear next to each invention or event.
04
Outcome
The ride is installed and in use at Timecenter Wittenstein in Paide, Estonia, as a permanent addition to the museum's physical exhibits. For me, it was the first project where the render had to answer to a physical machine instead of just a screen: figuring out how to time and shape a camera path so it matched a motion simulator's movement, not just how the shot looked, changed how I think about camera animation on any project involving physical hardware.
Fig. 06 · 360 video
360 view from the ride's cockpit as it approaches the steam locomotive scene.
03 / About
Concept first, medium second
I'm Ramon, a multimedia designer based in Eindhoven. Projects start with a problem: what the thing has to do, and how someone should move through it. The answer has been a 360 film, a VR walkthrough, an explainer animation, a configurator and an AI training platform.
My part is 3D, design and code: modelling and lighting in Blender, interface and motion in XD/Illustrator and After Effects, and the build in PlayCanvas or Next.js.