In November 2019, Cybel’Art held a volumetric-capture session with pianist Philippe Entremont in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The purpose was not to recreate an interpretation later, but to record a stage presence and a performance at the piano in a defined setting. The session formed part of the development of icologram®, a 3D capture approach introduced through our icologram® brand page.
A session designed for space
The session took place in the middle of November 2019 at the La Chaux-de-Fonds concert hall. Cameras and sensors were arranged around the piano to record the musician’s movement, posture and performance gestures. The ambition was therefore broader than retaining an audio track or a front-facing image: it was to record spatial information connected to a particular moment of playing.
Philippe Entremont’s career gave the exercise a particular resonance. An interpretation belongs first to the hall, the instrument and the immediate connection with an audience. Here, technology was considered as a way to document that connection, without claiming to replace the experience of a concert. It belongs to the range of work we explore across AR, VR and immersive experiences.
What the icologram® protocol means
The icologram® protocol is based on volumetric recording of a real person during a performance. Its purpose is to assemble a three-dimensional representation from the capture session. That representation should not be confused with a blanket promise of authenticity: its meaning, provenance and presentation also depend on the conditions in which it is produced and shown.
Seen this way, the Entremont project advances a straightforward idea: digital media can support the memory of an artistic gesture when they remain connected to a situated performance. Rendering methods, including those that may be used at a later stage, do not by themselves establish a work’s origin or significance.
From capture to an immersive encounter
The original article envisaged augmented-reality uses and immersive environments, including Virtual Hall®, through which audiences could view the pianist from different angles. This is a distinction between the 2019 capture and possible modes of access or deployment; it is not an announcement of current availability.
For Cybel’Art, the session remains a reference point for thinking about artists, works and digital formats. Explore further examples of that work in our portfolio.
Editorial adaptation of the article by Pierluigi Christophe Orunesu, originally published on Substack on 1 July 2026. Read the original article on Substack