The Gedling Crematorium now offers an ‘immersive experience’ for funeralgoers through AV technology, offering personalised services through projection, soundscapes, and lighting.
Located in Nottinghamshire, UK, funeralgoers can uniquely personalise services, using projected dynamic theming in the chapel with coordinated soundscapes and lighting features to experience a uniquely personal remembrance service.
The crematorium’s owner, the Westerleigh Group, worked with AV provider, Obitus, to deliver the immersive setup, starting with a gallery in the crematorium’s waiting room prior to the service; here, mourners can view a collection of 25 digital frames, uploaded with images of their loved ones, before entering the chapel.
Inside the chapel, the crematorium’s canvas service can offer personalised visual tributes projected onto the front wall, becoming a central part of the theming that surrounds the wider wall space, creating a themed backdrop around the coffin.
Ten dynamic backgrounds, including country hills, waterfalls, a gentle glimmer, or football stadium. Both the Westerleigh Group and Obitus plan to increase the background options available, improving on the capabilities of the canvas technology used in funeral services.
The crematorium aims to make the technology as accessible as possible to families, with plans to expand the immersive system to other crematoria.
James Crossland, founder, Obitus, commented: “We launched this project in response to the growing public demand for more personalisation at funerals. It’s taken several years to get to the stage where we’re ready to start using this, but even so, we’ve only scratched the surface of what is possible, and this is something that will continue to evolve and expand.
“We can’t wait to get more feedback from families who choose to incorporate this innovative service and will use their responses to help drive its further development. While there are ten backgrounds at present, what we’ve got here is a essentially a blank canvas with almost endless opportunities moving forward. The system is extremely flexible and adaptable.
“We’re excited to be working with Westerleigh Group to use the latest technology to take funeral services to a new level, and plan to continue the development project.”