Mountain Projection Mapping for Cliffs, Canyons and Rock Faces

A cliff is a canvas nature took its time over. No building can match the scale of a canyon wall or the drama of a lit ridge against a night sky, and no audience forgets seeing stone come alive.

We plan shows for natural rock faces, cliffs and canyon walls for resorts, festivals, destinations and brands. If you have a rock face in mind, send us photos and the location.

Mountain projection mapping fits content to the real shape of the stone, so light follows ledges, cracks and overhangs instead of washing flat across them. We can project onto almost any non-porous surface, including natural rock formations, and projection mapping also works on non-flat and irregular surfaces.

The defining step is the scan. As soon as the surface becomes irregular or the coverage is panoramic, scanning pays for itself, and a rock face is about as irregular as surfaces get. For tall surfaces, we use photogrammetry or drone passes, and we plan the path so we see every surface from multiple angles. Deep recesses and undercuts need extra angles, because a single pass rarely sees everything.

• Scanning the stone. A measured model of the cliff lets content land on the rock as it really is. Where trees grow on the face, they change between passes, so we capture quickly and schedule scans when movement is minimal.
• Brightness for a huge surface. Outdoors, it is common to use multiple 20,000 to 50,000 lumen projectors and often stacked for brightness to achieve vivid results across huge surfaces.
• Power and access. Remote sites rarely come with power or a place to rig, so we plan sightlines, available rigging, power and network paths as early as possible.
• Weather. In a mountain city like Asheville, winter installs demand weather-rated enclosures and lenses for rain, fog and mountain cold.
• Content drawn to the rock. Our animation and visual storytelling team builds content on the scanned model, so a waterfall can pour down a real gully or a story can climb the actual ridge line.

Cliffs and canyons may sit on public or protected land, where the land manager decides what is allowed. Many cities and municipalities also have specific regulations governing outdoor advertising, including projection mapping. Raise the idea with the landowner early, before content is designed. Our guide to projection mapping and the law covers the basics.

None of our published projects is a show on a natural rock face. These are the outdoor builds closest to it.

• Hollywood Sign for the Dodgers, Los Angeles. Using two Panasonic projectors and a long throw to the sign's elevated position, we turned the "D" into a brilliant blue tribute visible across Los Angeles.
• Big Sur private dome event, California. We set three 30ft geodesic domes on the edge of a precipice in Big Sur and handled everything from building the venue to creating content and VJing the night.
• Nike Air Jordan, Salt Lake City. For cold and windy weather, we custom-manufactured four weather enclosures equipped with climate control technology.

For more outdoor planning, see outdoor projection mapping. Hillside signs and civic icons are covered by landmark projection mapping, and gardens and forests by tree and landscape projection. For the biggest formats, see large scale projection mapping, light festivals and tourism and destination shows.

Send us photos of the rock, its location, where the audience will stand and your dates. We will come back with a scanning plan, a projector layout and the questions to settle with the landowner. To see everything we do, visit our projection mapping services page, or talk to our team.