Festoon: Solving the Biggest Problem in Fulldome Production
Anyone who has made content for a fulldome theatre knows the problem. Dome time is scarce and expensive. For many artists it is not available at all. That gap in the workflow is what Festoon was built to solve.
How It Started
The problem became clear through years of working with producers and artists in the fulldome space. One of the most striking examples came from a client of mine during the making of their first fulldome film. Without on-site access to a dome, they relied on their local planetarium for reviews. Gaining access to the venue was expensive, hard to get access around their programming and finding that reviews did not go to plan and needed further work added months to the production process.
That experience was not unusual. It was the norm.
I wrote the funding application for Innovate UK's Audience of the Future programme and brought together a small expert team to try and build a solution. The lead developer was a person, who I had previously worked at NSC Creative as a CG artist and software developer with credits on multiple award-winning fulldome productions.
What Festoon Does
Festoon lets creators view fulldome content in a virtual dome through a VR headset, reproducing the geometry of a real theatre: the tilt of the dome, seating position and the way the image curves overhead. Work can be reviewed the way it will actually be seen, without booking a physical venue. This is for PC’s and for STEAM compatible headsets.
In practice, this removes three significant barriers. Production problems that only reveal themselves in dome geometry can be caught early, before they are expensive to fix. Reviews can happen with collaborators anywhere in the world, each in their own headset, without travel. And artists without access to a dome can still develop and test their work in conditions that approximate the real thing. Scale of images and speed of content are common errors made by producers working on their first dome production. Festoon helps you identify and fix these issues earlier.
Every dome is different, seating configuration, dome tilt and in Festoon you are able to customise this information. We’ve also made versions for IMAX, giant Screen and Flying theatres. If you have a unique venue, we can create custom environments too!
How It Has Been Used
When Dome Fest West needed to review festival submissions during a period the team used Festoon to do it from home. Ryan Moore, Executive Director of Dome Fest West, reviewed over 100 films using a VR headset, matching the exact dome tilt, seat count and screen viewing experience of their local dome.
"It was so much easier to understand what the artists had created when we could watch the content in the way it was intended to be seen. I'd recommend anyone working in the fulldome space try adding Festoon to their workflow."
-Ryan Moore, Executive Director, Dome Fest West
Festoon has also found a place in fulldome and VR teaching. At Bauhaus University Weimar, the Mirror feature is used to preview student work directly from programmes such as After Effects and 3Ds Max without rendering, so students can see the result inside the dome environment as they work.
"Festoon has been a great addition to our software library for teaching Fulldome and VR. The Mirror feature lets me show students the result inside the dome straight from the programme they're working in, without rendering, which has been one of the most useful parts of the software. For students who are new to the field, it gives them their first real experience of the difference between a flat screen and the dome."
-Mohammad Jaradat, Immersive Tech Tutor, Bauhaus University Weimar
Festoon is available from myself directly or at festoonsoftware.com. For anyone working in fulldome, giant screen or flying theatre whose workflow currently waits on dome time, it is worth exploring and custom environments can be made.
© 2026 Ruth Coalson. All rights reserved.