PROJECTION MAPPING
Projection Mapping in New Orleans: An Equipment & Logistics Guide
Projection mapping fails on math, not on creativity. The content is almost never the problem — the problem is a surface that ate half the output, a lens that couldn't clear the crowd barricade, or a media server that arrived without a spare. This guide covers what a producer needs to specify before sourcing gear for a mapped build in New Orleans, and how a dry hire supplier fits into that plan.
The five specs that decide the build
Lumens per surface
Indoor scenic and stage sets: 5,000–10,000 lumens. Outdoor facades after dark: 20,000 lumens minimum per face, often double-stacked on light masonry or where street lighting can't be killed.
Throw distance & lens selection
Run the throw calc before you spec the projector. Short-throw lenses save real estate in ballrooms and tents; long-throw lenses keep projectors off the plaza and out of guest sightlines on building mapping.
Surface, color & texture
Projection is additive — it can't create black. Dark brick eats 40–60% of your output, and windows, ledges, and signage break the canvas. Survey the facade in daylight and again at show-time darkness.
Media server, warp & blend
Every multi-projector canvas needs warping and edge blending. Budget a media server plus a backup, and confirm frame-lock and signal distribution across all outputs before load-in day.
Power, rigging & weather
High-lumen units need dedicated circuits and distro. Outdoor mapping needs weather-rated enclosures, ballast or truss towers, and a wind plan. All of it moves better on a dedicated fleet than a broker's LTL.
Indoor mapping vs. building mapping
Indoor mapping — scenic pieces, ballroom walls, sculptural set builds, tent liners — lives in a room you control. You can dim the house, you can rig to existing truss, and 5K to 10K lumen units per surface usually carry the look. The complexity is geometric: irregular scenic surfaces need a careful template and a longer warp session than most schedules assume.
Building and facade mapping is a logistics problem first. You are fighting street lighting you cannot switch off, weather that can end the night, throw distances measured across a plaza, and power that has to be brought in. Start at 20,000 lumens per face and expect to stack projectors on light-colored masonry. Everything gets rigged in the dark, aligned in the dark, and struck in the dark — build the schedule around that, not around a daytime call.
Workflow: survey to strike
Site survey
Photograph the surface from the intended projector positions. Capture dimensions, obstructions, ambient light sources, and available power.
Throw & lumen plan
Calculate throw distance, pixel density, and required lumens per face. Decide single-projector versus stacked or blended arrays.
Content build
Your designer builds to the mapped template produced from the survey. Content is only as good as the geometry it was authored against.
Dry hire the package
Reserve projectors, lenses, media servers, rigging, distro, and spares from owned inventory — delivered on our own trucks.
Load-in, warp, blend
Your crew rigs, aligns, warps, and blends. Leave a full dark-hours focus window; you can't align a facade in daylight.
Show & strike
Run the show, strike to the same cases the gear arrived in, and our fleet handles the return leg on schedule.
Where Bright Frame fits
We are an AV equipment supplier and entertainment logistics partner — not a production company. For mapped builds that means we dry-hire the package: 5K to 20K lumen projectors, lens options, media servers, screens and scenic surfaces, rigging hardware, power distribution, and spares — out of owned inventory in Kenner, LA, fifteen minutes from the New Orleans Convention Center and five from MSY.
It ships on our own trucks with Gulf South warehousing behind it, so advance, show, and strike stay on one schedule instead of three brokers. Your crew, your content, your show — our gear and our fleet.
Frequently asked
How many lumens do I need for projection mapping?
Indoor mapping onto scenic or a stage set in controlled light typically needs 5,000–10,000 lumens per surface. Building or facade mapping outdoors after dark usually starts at 20,000 lumens per face, and stacks of two or more projectors are common on light-colored masonry with competing street lighting. Bright Frame Studios dry-hires 5K to 20K lumen projectors from owned inventory in Kenner, LA.
Do you supply technicians to run projection mapping?
No. Bright Frame Studios is a dry hire AV equipment supplier and logistics partner. We supply projectors, lenses, media servers, rigging hardware, screens, power distribution, and trucking. Your crew or your production designer's crew handles content, warping, blending, and show operation.
How far in advance should projection mapping gear be reserved?
For New Orleans peak season — Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Super Bowl and convention weeks — reserve high-lumen projectors and long-throw lenses 6 to 8 weeks out. Off-peak, two weeks is usually sufficient. Dry hire quotes are returned within 4 business hours.
Can you deliver projection mapping equipment outside Louisiana?
Yes. We run a private fleet and Gulf South warehousing, so projectors, lenses, and rigging ship on our own trucks with advance-through-strike scheduling rather than brokered freight.
SPECCING A MAPPED BUILD?
Dry hire the projection package
5K–20K lumen projectors, lenses, media servers, rigging, and distro from owned inventory — delivered on our own fleet.
Dry hire quotes returned within 4 business hours. No crews supplied.