Building projection mapping, or projection onto buildings, puts your film or artwork on the outside of a building at night, for as long as you need it. Flat walls are the easy part. Where there are windows or carved stone, we map them so the picture fits the building. We’ve lit the Queens Hotel in Leeds and Colchester Castle for Remembrance Day.
Make your next marketing campaign, promotional event, or publicity stunt compelling and memorable with building projection. Using specialist techniques and equipment, we can project images or video with impact onto any flat surface to get your brand noticed.
We can join at any stage of your project journey, from conception to execution. Before we go live, we’ll advise you on the best places to project from to guarantee public safety and clear lines of sight. We’ll set up, ensure back-ups are in place, and stay on site throughout before leaving everything as it was.
How do building projections work?
Professional building projections use specialist video projectors to display images or video onto a surface. The term ‘building projections’ typically refers to projections on flat surfaces. To project onto irregular surfaces, such as walls with prominent textures or protruding features, out of home projection mapping is required.
What to use building projections for
Building projection can be used to upgrade the impact of a wide range of projects and campaigns, from weekend-long product launches to permanent site installations.
Projecting onto buildings is particularly powerful in guerilla projects to take your audience by surprise and capture press attention, and for creating brand activations that spark word-of-mouth organically.
Out of home building projection is a highly effective medium to ensure your brand, product, or message is impossible to overlook. Using this specialist technology has several strong advantages:
- Drives conversation: Projected displays demand attention, driving your audiences to capture and share the experience on social media.
- Ready to travel: Our gear is portable, ideal for projects that occur across multiple locations or moving vehicles.
- Leaves a mark: These engaging projected visuals leave a lasting impression, ensuring your brand stays at the forefront of the audience’s minds.
BUILD LASTING CONNECTIONS
Building projections help to create memorable interactions that forge an emotional connection with your audience. From visitors to passersby, they generate strong awareness in anyone who experiences the display, long after the projectors are powered down. Visual projections give people the opportunity to be part of your brand’s story, strengthening loyalty and ensuring you are top-of-mind when it matters.
How we project onto a building
We survey the facade by day, measure and photograph it, and build the content to its windows, ledges and stonework, so the picture sits on the building rather than across it. On the night we bring projectors bright enough for the street, a media server and a crew, line it up and run it. The V&A in London and the Pier Hotel at Harwich were both done this way.
Building projections: what it costs and who gives permission
The cost is driven by the size of the wall, how bright the street is, how many nights it runs and whether the content exists yet. How much projection mapping costs takes each one in turn. You need the building owner’s permission, and sometimes the council’s or a neighbour’s too; is it legal to project onto a building covers the rules. We have been through it many times and will tell you what you need before anything is booked.
"Motion Mapping took on our client's ideas and exceeded all expectations with show stopping projection mapping on the front of our client's venue."
Mark / Passion 4 Events
GO FURTHER WITH PROJECTION MAPPING
Go beyond traditional building projections and display your visuals on any surface, no matter the shape, texture, or obstacles, with our projection mapping services.
Out of home projection mapping means those curves, edges, and protrusions won’t stand in the way of a clear image. From national monuments to historic buildings, mapping delivers striking projections, whatever the surface.
"We are so grateful to Motion Mapping for helping us bring an early sprinkle of the Big Hoot magic and colour to the town. It was so nice to see iconic Ipswich buildings lit up."
Liz / St Elizabeth Hospice
Questions We Get Asked
Almost any building, as long as the projector has a clear view of it. Pale stone gives back the most light; very dark brick soaks it up, so the content has to be bright and bold. Glass lets the light through, so we cover the windows or design round them. Send us a photo and we’ll tell you before you spend anything.
Yes. Nobody can beat daylight, so building projection starts about half an hour after sunset, later on a bright summer evening. In June that can mean after ten at night, which is worth knowing before you book a launch.
Distance is rarely the problem; we’ve projected from a mile away. What matters is a clear view of the wall from a roof opposite, a van, a scaffold tower or the pavement. The closer we have to sit, the shorter and dearer the lens.
Bright enough for the street, which depends on the size of the wall and the light already on it. One large projector covers a wall up to about 25 metres wide; past that we blend two or more so the picture stays sharp and bright. We spec it from your photos before anything is booked.
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