About Us

We work collaboratively with our clients to build one-of-a-kind media experiences that fit seamlessly within the physical space. Our holistic design approach brings storytelling to the forefront of the exhibition by utilizing creative and innovative media techniques. The key aspects of our work is to gain a clear understanding of the exhibit content and educational goals so we can design activities that best utilize media and technology, create inspirational “wow” moments that engage and inform visitors, and offer a variety of experiences that appeal to a wide range of ages and knowledge levels.

Our interactive experiences range from mobile apps to large-scale multiuser interactive tables and theaters as well as gesture-based interactive walls. Each designed to fit the specific needs of the exhibition; we have worked with presidential libraries, natural history museums, aquariums, and professional sports teams. Some of the interactive technologies we are currently developing include:

• Live data feeds and data visualizations
• iBeacon and advanced wayfinding technology
• Holograms and transparent screens
• RFID systems and object recognition
• Physical interfaces that control digital experiences
• Full body interface control
• Projection mapping

Our films range from classic theater presentations to immersive multiscreen environments with 4D effects. Distilling key historic events into short film presentations requires many skills, including a comprehensive knowledge of the topic at hand, the research skills to unearth smaller stories that offer unique angles, the ability to design motion graphics that enhance the story, and the understanding of new technologies that can be used to offer a dynamic museum experience that evoke the emotions within the story. We employ an expert staff of producers with the necessary experience to create accurate historical recreations and CGI, we know how to take complex historical events and capture the emotions they evoke, and we are skilled at treating archival footage and interviews in unique ways to create productions that are highly artistic and appealing to a contemporary audience.

Our Augmented, Mixed, and Virtual Reality (AR, MR, and VR) experiences provide visitors with opportunities to learn and engage with content beyond their physical environment. At the edge of this revolution in experiential technology, Cortina Productions has delivered acclaimed, immersive AR, MR, and VR experiences that enhance, augment, and immerse visitors in exhibition content. Our AR, MR, and VR experiences range from AR experiences that place visitors alongside historical characters and professional athletes to complete VR environments, as well as using the Microsoft HoloLens to overlay mixed reality content on large-scale artifacts and architectural spaces. Some of the AR, MR, and VR technologies we are currently developing include:

• Virtual Reality animation and live-action environments
• Large-scale augmented displays
• Microsoft HoloLens, Mixed Reality headset experiences
• Tablet-based Augmented Reality
• Mobile Apps

One of our mobile apps can enhance a visitor’s experience and make all types of educational content possible; such as audio and video tours, multiple language tours, ADA accessible tours, and children’s tours. However, the most powerful feature is the content management system controlling the app behind the scenes. The system enables you to quickly and easily update your app content on the fly, allowing you to keep it fresh and up-to-date every day.

Our CGI capabilities make recreating history possible. Our tools and techniques allow us to create photo-realistic depictions of places and events that cannot be originally shot. Using a combination of original shooting and CGI techniques such as large-format green screen shooting (both on-location and in the studio) and computer-generated imagery, we can transport an audience to any time and place. From the Newseum’s I-Witness 4D, to the WWII Museum’s USS Tang submarine experience, to the wreck of La Salle’s ship La Belle in the film Shipwrecked for the Bullock Texas State History Museum Theater, to the Battle of the Capes for the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, we take audiences through time and space.

We own and operate two RED Dragon 6K digital cinema cameras. Our signature films consist primarily of large format presentations, 4k to 15k resolutions with multiple projector and screen surfaces. These amazing cameras enable us to shoot original films at the final display resolution or greater. This unparalleled picture quality and resolution ensures a cinematic experience equal to any modern day theatrical release. These technologies help us create a viewing experience that holds up to the critical eye of the modern audience, and ensures a visually stunning product that remains relevant in the face of constantly changing media technologies.

In addition, we own and operate a 3-D dual camera rig for our REDs, as well as two 360 cameras. Our 15k / 360 camera was custom designed and built in collaboration with Chris Meyhew of Vision III Imaging. Consisting of 10 HD cameras, it captures seamless 360-degree live-action images at a final resolution of over 15,000 x 1080 pixels. We have utilized our 360 cameras for interactive exhibits for the College Football Hall of Fame and First Landing State Park, as well as a 360-theater presentation for the National Museum of the U.S. Army.

Cortina Productions places collaboration and engaging storytelling at the core of our philosophy. By adhering to these principles, we are able to deliver award-winning multimedia productions of the highest quality. We work closely with our clients to allow their stories and exhibit goals inspire our experience design process. We are also guided by contemporary media trends to ensure relevance in the exhibit production. We then work to integrate the media into the overall architectural and exhibit design, working in collaboration with contractors and AV systems designers. As we move through design and production, we provide regular opportunities for client assessment as well as user testing and quality assurance so we can make agile adjustments. Your feedback and direction will always be heard. It is our job to use our creative, technical, and artistic skills to bring your vision to life in the most dynamic, engaging, and visually stunning approach possible.

Our media experiences include a custom-designed content management system (CMS) that allows our clients to easily update digital interactives as well as automatically pull data from external databases. The ease and beauty of the system is that it allows clients to update content in a simple, non-technical, browser-based control panel. Administrators can access the CMS from within the exhibit network at any time to manage text, media, and visitor-related content. This level of flexibility and customization allows museum staff to easily keep the content modern and relevant to visitors. The CMS can be utilized for an individual exhibit or can be a comprehensive system that includes multiple exhibits. The CMS also incorporates an analytics system, which allows the client to gather metrics to evaluate the visitor usage of each exhibit. This valuable user data can be utilized to guide decisions about future updates to the interactive experience, ensuring lasting success.

Accessibility is a core business philosophy at Cortina Productions and we strive to make certain all of our media is physically accessible. We achieve this in two ways: through the placement of our content on the screen, as well as the placement of the physical interface within the exhibit space. High contrast colors and large font sizes are additional tools we can use to make sure those with limited sight are able to enjoy our media exhibits.

We open caption every film and interactive we produce. They are a critical part of our filmmaking process, and we approach each open caption with the same aesthetic design standards and attention to detail that we give to every other aspect of the creative process.

We also use mobile apps to deliver ADA accessible content to both hearing impaired and low vision individuals.

For example, our mobile app tour for the George W. Bush Presidential Library includes a visual descriptive audio tour. Each gallery was described in detail to help the visitor get oriented and provide a sense of the area’s ambience. These descriptions were blended with the same content and intimate quotes from President and Mrs. Bush that we used in the general audio tour to provide a full experience. The interface was designed in high contrast with white text on a black background to meet low vision accessibility standards. The buttons were located in the same position as an ADA voting poll to minimize confusion.

2021 – SEMC Exhibition Competition – Gold: Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience

2019 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Facial Recognition Personalization Software” – National Soccer Hall of Fame / Research and Innovation

2019 – MUSE Award –  Merit: “Laugh Battle” – National Comedy Center / Onsite Digital Experience

2019 – THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement – “Be Washington: It’s Your Turn to Lead” – George Washington’s Mount Vernon

2018 – SEMC Technology Competition – Gold: “Be Washington: It’s Your Turn to Lead” – George Washington’s Mount Vernon

2018 – Science Media Awards – Interactive: “Fisheries Collapse” – Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science

2018 – CINE Golden Eagle Award: “Liberty Fever” – American Revolution Museum at Yorktown

2018 – THEA Award – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

2017 – Communication Arts Interactive Competition – “Follow the Green Book” – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture / Environmental

2017 – THEA Award – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

2017 – SEMC Technology Competition – Gold: “Personal Stories of the Revolution” – American Revolution Museum at Yorktown / Gallery Installations

2017 – SEMC Technology Competition – Silver: “Cultural Commons 360° Film” – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture / Media Production

2017 – SEMC Technology Competition – Bronze: “Turret Theater” – North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island / Media Production

2017 – SEGD Global Design Award – Merit: “The Segregated Lunch Counter and Panorama of the Civil Rights Movement” – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture / Interactive Experience

2017 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Liberty Fever” – American Revolution Museum at Yorktown / Video, Film, & Computer Animation

2017 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Follow the Green Book” – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture / Interactive Kiosk

2017 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “Pacific Visions Promo” – Aquarium of the Pacific / Public Outreach

2017 – MUSE Award – Honorable Mention: “Nixon” – Richard Nixon Presidential Library / Video, Film, & Computer Animation

2017 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – Finalist: “Turret Theater” – North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island

2016 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – Finalist: “49ers Forever” – San Francisco 49ers Museum

2015 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Responsibility Theater” – Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum / Interactive Kiosks

2015 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “All Access Pass” – College Football Hall of Fame / Interpretive Interactive Installations

2014 – MUSE Award – Silver: “A Queer History of Fashion” – Museum at FIT / Digital Communities

2012 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Driving America Signature Film” – Henry Ford Museum

2012  – THEA Award – Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

2011 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “GuideCamTM” – Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum / Audio Tours and Podcasts

2011 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Fire Combustion” – Museum of Science and Industry / Interpretive Interactive Installation

2011 – CINE Special Jury Award – “Fantastic Journey” – Museum of Science and Industry

2010 – THEA Award – Science Storms – Museum of Science and Industry

2010 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Tornado” – Museum of Science and Industry

2010  – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Signature Film” – Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame

2010  – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Fantastic Journey” – Museum of Science and Industry

2010 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Introductory Film” – Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

2010  – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Dugout Theater Film” – Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame

2010 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, and Building Hope” Interactive Table – Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum / Interpretive Interactive Installations

2009 – THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement – America I Am: The African American Imprint – Traveling Exhibition

2009 – THEA Award – The Museum at Bethel Woods

2009 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Pylons” – Hall at Patriots Place / Multimedia Installations

2009 – Webby Award Nominee – “State of Deception” – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

2008 – THEA Award – Newseum

2008 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “What’s News?” – Newseum

2008 – MUSE Award – Silver: “Carmel Church Bone Bed” – Virginia Museum of Natural History / Interactive Kiosks

2008 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “The Woodstock Festival Experience” – Bethel Woods Museum / Multimedia Installations

2007 – MUSE Award – Gold: “Little Boy and the Seven Grandfathers” – Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian / Video

2007 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “The Greatest” – Muhammad Ali Center / Video

2007 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “Blue Planet Theater” – Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center / Multimedia Installation

2007 – THEA Award – “Real-Cost Café” – Monterey Bay Aquarium

2006 – MUSE Award – Silver: “Tidepool Olympics” – Monterey Bay Aquarium / Science

2006 – MUSE Award – Honorable Mention: “Real-Cost Cafe” Monterey Bay Aquarium / Science

2006 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “If You Can Dream” – Muhammad Ali Center

2006 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “The Greatest” – Muhammad Ali Center

2005  – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Little Boy and the Seven Grandfathers” – Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

2005 – MUSE Award – Silver: “Whales: Voices in the Sea” – Aquarium of the Pacific / Science

2003 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “First Life” – Museum 3-D Animation

2003 – CINE Golden Eagle Award – “Ultimate Guide: Pregnancy” – Television Special

2003 – MUSE Award – Bronze: “Make the Call” – Indiana State Museum / Science

2002 – MUSE Award – Gold: “WAR Stories” Videowall – Newseum / Science

2001 – New York Festival Gold Winner – “WAR Stories” Best Multi-image Presentation

2000  – CINE Golden Eagle – “Holocaust: The Untold Story”

2000 – International Monitor Award – “Holocaust: The Untold Story” – Best Documentary

1999 – Monitor Award – “1968: The Year That Changed America” Special Effects

1998 – Best of Show – “What’s News” Columbus Film Festival

1998 – Monitor Award – “What’s News” – Outstanding Achievement

1996 – EMMY Award – “The Centennial Olympics Games” – Live Special

1993 – Educational Press Award – “Learning for a Lifetime”

1992 – EMMY Award – Games of the XXV Olympiad – Graphic Design

1992 – EMMY Award – Games of the XXV Olympiad – Edited Special

1992 – Silver Medal – Broadcast Designers’ Association for Olympic Graphics

1991 – EMMY Award – Tokyo World Championship of Track and Field – Graphic Design

1991 – EMMY Award – Tokyo World Championship of Track and Field – Opens