LOOKOUT
LOOKOUT is an immersive virtual reality experience produced for BBC Arts as part of the New Creatives programme. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project reimagines how audiences can engage with experimental art when physical exhibitions are no longer possible.
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Developed in collaboration with artist Marnie Simpson and creative collective Future Artists, LOOKOUT transforms a socially engaged artwork into a fully realised VR world, inviting audiences to step inside a bright, unsettling vision of a near-future city.
VR Production for BBC Arts
BBC Arts New Creatives Project
PORTFOLIO
The Client
Future Artists is an established creative collective based in Manchester, specialising in original art, immersive experiences, and events. Working across physical and digital formats, they support emerging artists to develop ambitious work that engages new audiences.
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In 2019, Future Artists were commissioned by BBC Arts to deliver LOOKOUT as part of the New Creatives programme, supporting experimental approaches to storytelling and digital culture.
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In game footage
The Project
Originally conceived as a physical installation, LOOKOUT was forced to adapt when the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person exhibitions impossible. Rather than postpone or simplify the work, the project shifted towards a fully immersive virtual reality experience, distributed digitally and experienced remotely.
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AVimmerse worked closely with the artist and Future Artists to translate the core ideas of LOOKOUT into VR, preserving its conceptual intent while embracing the creative possibilities of real-time engines and interactive environments.
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This project reflects AVimmerse’s wider studio practice, combining narrative design, world-building, and real-time technology to support artists and cultural organisations working at the edge of immersive media.
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This project sits within AVimmerse’s wider studio practice, exploring how immersive technologies can be used to tell meaningful, narrative-led stories.
The Experience
LOOKOUT places the audience inside a vivid, stylised cityscape with a dark satirical edge. Guided through the environment by a cheerful, corporate spokesperson, users encounter scenes of frantic shoppers, compulsive workers, and over-saturated consumer culture.
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Although the experience unfolds along a guided narrative path, the use of real-time 3D environments and spatial audio creates a strong sense of presence, allowing audiences to explore the city at their own pace while absorbing its underlying themes.
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The work addresses issues of hyper-capitalism, climate anxiety, consumerism, and the imbalance of power in modern society, using immersive storytelling to place the viewer at the centre of the narrative rather than as a passive observer.
Production & Delivery
AVimmerse led the technical delivery of LOOKOUT, working remotely with a multidisciplinary team during lockdown. The experience was developed using real-time game engine technology, enabling:
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Stylised 3D environments.
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Spatial audio design.
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Optimised performance for VR headsets.
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Digital distribution to audiences at home.
By embracing VR as a primary exhibition format, LOOKOUT reached audiences during a period when access to cultural spaces was severely restricted.
The Result
LOOKOUT was successfully delivered as a fully immersive VR experience, presented as part of the BBC Arts New Creatives programme. The project demonstrated how immersive technology can preserve, and even enhance, experimental artistic work during periods of disruption.
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The experience stands as an example of how virtual reality can be used not only for spectacle, but for critical storytelling, satire, and cultural reflection.
Experience LOOKOUT
Watch a short walkthrough of the VR experience below, showcasing the visual style, environments, and interactive moments created for BBC Arts.​
​LOOKOUT, VR experience for BBC Arts New Creatives programme.​
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Interested in immersive storytelling or interactive VR for your organisation?
If you’re exploring how immersive media can support artistic, cultural, or experimental projects, we’d love to talk.
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