How much does projection mapping cost?

It varies more than any other service we offer, because surface size, brightness requirements and content production drive the price. A single-surface stage or marquee map is far more accessible than a building facade. Send us the surface and the moment you want, and we'll quote it within 24 hours.

Do we need to supply our own video content?

Either works. Some clients bring content from their agency and we handle mapping and playback; for others we produce or adapt content in-house. Generative and interactive content built in TouchDesigner is also an option when you want visuals that react live.

Can projection mapping work outdoors?

Yes — outdoor facade and structure mapping is some of our favourite work. It needs darkness and enough projector brightness for the surface, and our equipment and power distribution are weather-rated for outdoor operation, consistent with the IP64, tested-and-tagged standard we hold all our gear to.

How far ahead should we book projection mapping?

More lead time than standard lighting — ideally 4 to 8 weeks minimum, because surveying, content preparation and programming happen before event day. For large facade projects or festivals, start the conversation a few months out.

Technical Guide

Projection mapping, explained properly

The technology that makes buildings ripple, cakes bloom and stages transform — what it actually is, how it works, and when it's worth the budget. Explained by the crew that maps and operates it live across South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers.

What It Is

Video, shaped to fit the real world

Ordinary projection throws a flat rectangle at a flat screen. Projection mapping instead treats a real object — a building facade, a marquee ceiling, a wedding cake, a stage set — as the screen, warping and masking the video so it lands precisely on the object's edges, windows and contours. Done well, the object itself appears to move: bricks crumble, columns fill with water, a plain white set becomes ten different worlds across one gala dinner. The magic is precision. We survey the surface, build a digital map of it, and align content to that map so a projected windowsill sits exactly on the physical windowsill. It's the centrepiece technique of our creative installations work, and it scales from a single conference stage to a full building takeover.

Projection-mapped content wrapping a physical structure

How It Works

Projectors, mapping software and a person who knows both

Three ingredients. First, projectors with enough brightness for the surface and ambient light — outdoor facade work needs seriously powerful units, while an indoor stage scrim needs far less; our projector hire covers the range. Second, mapping software: we run Resolume for playback and mapping, with TouchDesigner for interactive and generative content when the brief calls for visuals that react to music, movement or data. Third — and this is the part clients underestimate — an operator. Mapping is aligned to millimetres on site, content is cued live against your run sheet, and someone needs to own that on the night. That's why our projection work always includes a technician, the same way our DMX and lighting operation does. Gear alone doesn't make the moment land; the person behind the desk does.

Technician operating projection and lighting playback at an event

When It's Worth It

The right moments for mapping (and the wrong ones)

Projection mapping earns its budget when there's a moment: a product reveal at a Brisbane launch, an award-night opener, a festival stage that needs to feel headline-sized, a council light event that draws a crowd into a precinct. It's storytelling hardware — if your event has a story beat, mapping can deliver it in a way lighting alone can't. It's the wrong tool when the venue is bright (projection needs darkness to punch), when the surface is glass or very dark-coloured, or when the budget would be better spent making the whole room glow — sometimes festoon and uplighting genuinely beat a projector for impact per dollar, and we'll tell you so. Unsure which side your event falls on? Send us the brief — honest answer and a quote within 24 hours.

Large-scale projection and lighting moment on an event stage

Frequently asked

: It varies more than any other service we offer, because surface size, brightness requirements and content production drive the price. A single-surface stage or marquee map is far more accessible than a building facade. Send us the surface and the moment you want, and we'll quote it within 24 hours.
: Either works. Some clients bring content from their agency and we handle mapping and playback; for others we produce or adapt content in-house. Generative and interactive content built in TouchDesigner is also an option when you want visuals that react live.
: Yes — outdoor facade and structure mapping is some of our favourite work. It needs darkness and enough projector brightness for the surface, and our equipment and power distribution are weather-rated for outdoor operation, consistent with the IP64, tested-and-tagged standard we hold all our gear to.
: More lead time than standard lighting — ideally 4 to 8 weeks minimum, because surveying, content preparation and programming happen before event day. For large facade projects or festivals, start the conversation a few months out.

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