Hiring Guide
How to hire a projection mapping company
A strong projection mapping partner should understand creative direction, physical surfaces, content production, projector realities, media servers, and event execution.
Hiring Decision
What buyers need to know
How to hire a projection mapping company for events, brand activations, concerts, product launches, venues, and immersive experiences.
Ask about the surface
- What is being mapped, how large is it, and how close can projectors get?
- Will the audience inspect the image from one angle or move through the space?
- Does the surface need a content template or 3D model before animation begins?
Ask about content
- Is the company creating original animation or only providing playback?
- How many hero moments, loops, transitions, or brand beats are needed?
- How will approvals, revisions, and technical exports work?
Ask about show delivery
- Who handles alignment, media server setup, rehearsal, and event-day operation?
- What happens if the venue changes the projector position or surface treatment?
- How will the visual system be documented for reuse or future events?
Evaluation
How to compare projection mapping companies
Compare experience against your actual surface and production model—not just the most dramatic reel.
Relevant mapped work
- Projects with similar geometry, materials, ambient light, audience distance, content style, and event duration
- Evidence that the company handled the responsibilities it is proposing for your project
Technical fluency
- Questions about throw distance, lenses, brightness, resolution, rigging, weather, signal, alignment, redundancy, and venue access
- A clear method for turning the physical surface into a content template and testing it before show day
Production discipline
- Named milestones, approval owners, revision terms, site access, rehearsal plan, change control, backups, and escalation contacts
- Clear communication with the producer, venue, AV provider, lighting team, rigging, scenic, and content stakeholders
Proposal
Responsibilities the proposal should assign
- Creative direction, storyboards, animation, revisions, versions, and source-file ownership
- Surface survey, measurements, scan or model, content template, safe areas, and technical tests
- Projectors, lenses, servers, rigging, power, weather protection, signal, networking, and backups
- Load-in, alignment, rehearsals, show operation, strike, travel, venue labor, overtime, and insurance
- Who absorbs changes to the venue, geometry, schedule, equipment, content, or approval group
Next Step
Related services and proof
Use these pages to connect the planning question to MELT's commercial service pages and relevant project examples.
Questions
FAQ
What should I prepare before contacting a projection mapping company?
Bring venue photos, dimensions, surface details, event date, audience size, lighting conditions, creative goals, and any brand or artist assets that must appear in the content.
Does MELT only create content, or can it help with technical planning?
MELT can help with creative direction, mapping strategy, content production, templates, media handoff, and coordination with technical production partners.
What should a projection mapping proposal include?
The proposal should define creative and content deliverables, surface and projection assumptions, equipment, media servers, alignment, technical labor, rehearsals, operation, travel, revisions, schedule, backups, and the responsibilities of the venue and other vendors.
Should one company provide projection equipment and content?
It can simplify accountability, but it is not required. A specialized content studio can work with an AV provider when the screen template, equipment plan, test process, technical handoff, and show-day responsibilities are documented.
What are warning signs when choosing a projection mapping company?
Warning signs include quoting without surface or throw information, no ambient-light discussion, unclear content ownership, no alignment or backup plan, no relevant mapped examples, and a proposal that leaves equipment, rigging, signal, or event-day operation undefined.