Stage Projection Mapping for Theater, Concert and Corporate Sets

A painted flat holds one scene. Projected light lets the same set change place, time and mood between cues, extending the world of the show beyond the edges of the stage. The challenge is making a stage feel larger than life without building a new venue.

We design scenic projection for theater, concert and corporate stages, from content creation to the projection rig. If you have a production in mind, tell us about the stage and the show.

Rather than projecting onto a flat screen, we measure the exact geometry of the set and shape the image to fit it. Light can wrap around surfaces, follow curves and move with the form itself. Projection mapping can cover irregular surfaces, including the stage floor, creating a visual field that extends beyond the physical space.

That is what set extension looks like in practice. A theater's proscenium arch can dissolve into a swirling nebula, or a warehouse wall can become a cascading waterfall. The set becomes part of the storytelling.

• Survey and planning. We measure the stage, the surfaces to be mapped and any obstacles like lighting trusses or speaker stacks, and evaluate ceiling height and audience sightlines.
• Drawings everyone can work from. We document stage position, rigging, screens, FOH placement, audience zones, safety clearances and access paths with dimensions and notes.
• Scenic content. We scan the architecture of the venue, including columns, stages and curved walls, and map content onto those surfaces so a set piece appears to move, transform or come alive.
• Projector placement. Projectors go on towers or trusses, often behind the stage to avoid casting shadows on performers.
• Live response where the show needs it. Real-time projection mapping responds instantly to movement, music, performers, sensors or live data feeds, instead of relying on pre-rendered playback.
• Rehearsal with the visuals. We build in a rehearsal day where the artist can run through the set with the visuals, allowing for last-minute tweaks.

Theater and scenic sets do not always need every surface mapped. Mapping one key surface, like the back wall of the stage, is an option when the whole venue is not in play.

Concert stages depend on sightlines. For a projection-mapped stage, the audience needs a clear view of the surface being mapped. Content that follows the music cue by cue is covered on our music-synced shows page.

Corporate and keynote stages carry a presenter, not a cast. A product launch can use projection mapping to "build" the product on stage, layer by layer, as the presenter explains each feature. For keynotes, we often design the mapping to work with controlled stage lighting, so the visuals pop without making the room feel like a theater.

When the audience walks inside the story rather than watching a stage, it becomes immersive theater, which has its own page.

• Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, Indian Wells: As the exclusive tech provider for an annual shareholder conference, we built a shadowless rear-projection system as the backdrop for the main stage during the CEO's annual address and the Awards Dinner Gala.
• A Holiday Spectacular at The Venetian: With BESTAgency, we created a holiday projection mapping show on the St. Marks Clock Tower, timed to live music from the Streetmosphere musical group. The 17-minute show ran at the press of a button, on a 32k lumen 4K Christie Boxer projector and our custom media server.

Send us the venue, stage drawings or photos, the run dates and what the set has to become. We will come back with how we would survey it, rig it and build the content. For the wider range of surfaces we map, see our projection mapping services, or contact our team to start.