by alina.huft -

04_ A Little excursion – Light Art Museum Budapest  

During my stay in Budapest, I visited the Light Art Museum. I just wanted to see some different stuff and get inspired, and that is also what happened. The museum was packed with installations all around light, movement, and space. Some of them were a bit trippy and overwhelming, and some made me think differently about how to approach a project.  

One of the first installations that totally pulled me in was “Immensia” by Kati Katona. It’s this full-on 360° projection that fills the whole room and makes you feel like you’re stepping into an infinite, constantly shifting space. Shapes, colors, dimensions, and everything change. What I found super interesting was how simple the animations actually were, but because the entire room was part of it, the experience felt bigger and intense for the viewer. I realized that it’s way more powerful when the viewer gets fully wrapped into the visuals instead of just watching them from a distance.

Another piece that stayed with me was “Oh Lord” by Guillaume Marmin. It’s a project that is based on real data and images of the sun, some of them even from the 1930s, and it’s animated into this flowing, almost hypnotic video installation that uses music to make you feel even more immersed. I loved how he took something scientific and made it feel so alive. For my own project, it thought about using textures and natural movements to make my visuals feel more grounded and emotional.

Yasuhiro Chida’s installation “Analemma” was a completely different experience, but just as inspiring. His work was really delicate and the one that impressed me the most. He stretched tiny points of light through a massive grid of strings within a dark room. While you were walking through the installation, the little light spots moved. Sometimes it felt like they were racing past you, sometimes like they were standing still. What stuck with me here was how perspective changes everything. The setup itself seemed to take a lot of work, but the way the light moved was quite simple, and the feeling it created was super complex. It made me realize that I don’t need to overcomplicate things within a project; sometimes it’s about doing less but doing it right.

The final piece that I found really fascinating was “Onirica” by FUSE*. It’s based on thousands of dreams that people volunteered to describe, and then turned into flowing visual worlds through AI. Watching the dreams melt into each other without clear beginnings or endings felt weirdly emotional as you were part of a told dream story. I loved how they managed to translate something as intangible as dreams into something you can actually see and experience. It showed me that using personal or collective stories could give my own project a deeper meaning, instead of just focusing on visuals for the sake of it.

Overall, the Light Art Museum visit turned out to be way more helpful and inspiring than I expected. It gave me a lot of new ideas and inspiration on what kind of different projects can be done while “only” using the light as a source.  I’m thinking a lot more now about using organic movements, playing with perspective, and keeping transitions as fluid as possible. 

by alina.huft -

03_First Projection Mapping Test

This week I finally started with the technical side of my projection mapping project. First, I borrowed a beamer from a friend, but that didn’t go too well. The quality wasn’t that great and I forgot to take the remote with me. Then I got one from our media center at uni, which was made for short distances, so it fit my setup way better. Still, getting it to work wasn’t as easy as I thought. I guess I made things more complicated for myself by just plugging it in and hoping it would just work instead of reading the manual first. Once I got the beamer working and connected it to my Mac, I watched a short introduction tutorial about how to use MadMapper. That really helped me get started. It’s important to make sure it’s not mirroring the laptop screen, but instead working as an extended display. In MadMapper, you also have to make sure to select the correct screen (the projector) and activate fullscreen mode for the output. This way, it’s still possible to control things on the laptop while projecting. Three key technical steps I learned for setting it up properly: 

  • Set the projector as an extended display, not mirrored
  • Match the resolution between MadMapper and the projector for the sharpest image
  • Use the correct shapes in MadMapper (like Ellipse, Quad, or Masks), depending on what object you’re projecting on

After that was done, I moved on to experimenting with the software. At first, I didn’t upload any of my own files. I just played around with the materials that are already available in MadMapper. I projected some of the basic visuals directly onto my wall to get a feeling for how the software works. I spent some time trying out different shapes, effects, and settings to understand what everything does. To support that, I also watched a tutorial. It gave me a better overview of the platform and helped me understand how to create different scenes and manage the workflow. Later, I started getting a bit more creative. I projected some of the visuals onto my analog film photos that I had hanging on my wall. It was interesting to see how the light interacted with the pictures. I chose visuals that would highlight the details of the photos and kind of bring them to life. It actually looked really cool and added a new layer of depth to the images.

After that, I wanted to try something more organic, so I used my Monstera plant as a surface. It has these big, leaves with lots of holes in them – not exactly the easiest shape to work with. First, I projected a still image onto it. I realized that starting with a static image made it much easier to get the mapping right. Once the shape was aligned, I switched to moving visuals. Because the surface was so irregular, the animation sometimes looked a bit distorted, but in a nice way. It felt more alive and playful than just projecting onto a flat surface.

Some of the main takeaways from the tutorial and my own tests were that I now understand how to set up scenes and cues in MadMapper, which will be really helpful when I want to switch between projections during a show or installation. I also learned how to import and organize media like videos and images, which made my workflow feel more structured and less chaotic. And I got a better idea of how to align projections to real-life objects, even tricky ones like plants, curved shapes, or detailed textures.

All in all, I’m happy with my progress this week. I’m still figuring things out, but I’m slowly getting more comfortable with both the technical and creative sides of projection mapping.

by alina.huft -

02_MadMapper vs. After Effects

After getting a first introduction to projection mapping in my last blog post, it’s time to go further with exploring different program options. Since I’m still figuring out the technical side of things, I decided to test two software options that seem to make the most sens to use for my project: MadMapper and After Effects. As both of them provide different possibilities when it comes to animation and projection mapping I wanted to give both a try. This meant that I started to follow two beginner-friendly tutorials for projection mapping: one for MadMapper and one for After Effects. My goal was not only to understand how these programs and tools work but also to see which one might be the better choice for the project I have planned. As I am right now, also dealing with the challenge of learning a few different platforms at once it sometimes feels like I’m jumping from one tool to another without really getting the chance to master any of them in depth. This makes it difficult to decide which platform to commit to for projection mapping, as I don’t want to add another complicated software to my workflow if it doesn’t help me in the future. 

MadMapper

Starting off with one of MadMapper’s tutorials which introduced me to the basics of the software and started to explain how to set up a projection hereby using simple shapes to create its visuals. What I did like was how intuitive the interface was. Everything seemed to make sense and intuitive, which is great when you want to start learning new software. I started to play around with different shapes and movements, trying to understand how I could later apply these. But mostly it was important to me to just get a sense of the software and understand the basic workaround. When it comes to layering and fine-tuning the animations I however still a bit lost. Since MadMapper is mainly built for projection mapping, it makes sense that it focuses more on mapping visuals rather than creating complex animations from scratch. A big advantage of MadMapper is its real-time contour control, which allows for live adjustments during the production phase and not just before it. That is something After Effects doesn’t really offer, as it mostly stacks layers to create detailed effects.

After Effects

I also wanted to do another After Effect tutorial that was more specifically for projection mapping as this is something I haven’t specifically looked at so far. I already have some basic knowledge of After Effects, so the workflow didn’t feel completely new. The tutorial covered mostly simple animation techniques and how to export the visuals for projection mapping. Which was the part that interested me the most. The biggest advantage I see in using After Effect would be its flexibility. As After Effects is not really made for projection mapping, it still allows for more detailed and layered animations, which could be nice if I decide to go for a more artistic approach when approaching the flowers. At the same time, it also means that I would need another software to actually map the animations onto my objects, which again means I need to familiarize myself with another one and also add another layer of complexity. Another important factor is price. Since I already have access to After Effects through my Adobe Cloud subscription, there would be no additional cost to me. MadMapper, on the other hand, requires a one-time commercial license. I would need to purchase this to be able to use it without watermarks or other restrictions. 

Now that I’ve tested both, I have to decide which one makes more sense for my project. Right now, I feel like MadMapper is the better choice if I want a more direct way to work with projections, while After Effects would allow me to create more detailed visuals. The question is: do I want to focus on animation first and then figure out the mapping part, or should I go straight into projection mapping and accept some limitations in animation?

Concept Idea

Looking at another aspect besides the technical side, I also thought about the mood or concept idea as well as the aesthetic of my project. Since at the end of the project I want to project onto flowers, I have two main ideas. One would be to work with motion that brings the flowers to life, almost like they are moving or shifting beyond a still life. Another idea would be to approach it from a different perspective which would be to visualise the process of photosynthesis more abstractly. I am still thinking about both concept ideas and I will go more into depth maybe brainstorm more and create different animations to work with, but I also don’t want to overcomplicate things especially because this is my first attempt at projection mapping.

Challenges

One of the challenges I already thought about is to balance aesthetic and technical feasibility. And also, I have a bit of a frustration limit. I tend to learn fast but if I get a sense that I am not developing or constantly get the same issues I get frustrated and that leads to procrastination. While I would love to create something detailed and unique, I also have to be realistic about what’s possible with my current skill level. Here I think a good way would be to start with simple shapes and flat surfaces for the next step in my project and then refine the concept once I have a better understanding of the tools.

by alina.huft -

01_Exploring Projection Mapping: The Start of the Journey

Why Projection Mapping?

I’ve been interested in projection mapping for a while now, but I never got around to trying it so far. It always seemed like one of those things that required a lot of technical knowledge, and I wasn’t sure where to start. This semester, I finally decided to change that and use it as my practical project. My plan is to document the whole process—from figuring out the basics to creating a finished projection. Since I have no experience with projection mapping or the software involved, I will be starting completely from the start. 

The idea would be to project onto different kinds of flower bouquets hereby working with a different more organic shape to project onto That makes things a bit more difficult because flowers aren’t flat, so I’ll need to be more precise to make it work and maybe do a bit of trial and error to achieve the visuals I want. But before I even get to that part of the project, I need to figure out which software I will be learning to use for this project.

Right now, I don’t have a clear concept yet, just a rough idea of the direction I want to go in. I know I want to create something immersive and simply learn more about projection mapping. I like the contrast between nature and digital projections, and flowers seem like an interesting choice because they’re delicate and always changing. That also makes them a challenge, since most projection mapping is done on flat, static surfaces. I have no idea how well this will work, but that’s part of the reason I want to give it a try.

When researching projection mapping, I quickly realized that there are a lot of ways to approach this but also a lot of different softwares to learn and use. Three of the most commonly used programs that spoke to me are MadMapper, Resolume, and After Effects. Each of them has a different focus, so choosing the right one depends on the specific needs that it can be used for.

Choosing the Right Software

  • MadMapper for example is one of the most well-known tools for projection mapping. It’s designed specifically for this purpose, making it a strong candidate. It allows users to easily map visuals onto different surfaces, and from what I’ve seen so far, it seems relatively intuitive when starting to learn it.
  • Resolume is often used by VJs and performers who need real-time video editing and projection. It has strong capabilities for live performances, which makes it different from MadMapper. However, I’m not sure if it’s the best option for a pre-planned, artistic projection onto flowers and it also seems a bit more complex to get into as a beginner.
  • After Effects is an industry-standard tool for animation and motion design. While it’s not a projection mapping software per se, it allows for highly detailed animations. The downside is that it doesn’t work in real-time, meaning I’d need to pre-render all visuals before projecting them onto the surfaces I plan on using. This could be fine in general however when using different flowers I would constantly have to go back and forth. 

My next step will be to test them out and see how they function in practice. I expect that hands-on experimentation will give me a clearer idea of which tool fits best.

First Practical Steps

To get started with the practical part, I plan to do some small projection tests. Rather than jumping straight to mapping onto flowers, I will begin with a flat surface as they are easier to start with. This will help me understand the basic workflow of the software I choose and allow me to focus on the technical side before adding any more complexity to the whole project.

When starting to test simple projections, I will create a basic shape or animation and project it onto a blank wall or another flat surface to understand how the software works. Following that, I want to experiment with 3D surfaces. Once I am more comfortable with flat surfaces, I will move on to objects with different textures and shapes to see how projection mapping handles uneven surfaces. Another option would be to try different software, where I could compare MadMapper, Resolume, and After Effects to see which one feels most intuitive and produces the best results. However, I might already decided what platform I want to use based on the previous research I did for each of them. After deciding on the software, I will begin designing the visuals for my projection that will be later used for the flowers. Following that will be a lot of trying out and testing, supported by learning from different tutorials and research.

Challenges and Considerations

One of the biggest challenges I think I will encounter is getting into the platform I will choose as well as working with organic shapes later on in the project. Unlike traditional projection surfaces like buildings or screens, flowers are delicate and constantly shifting in shape when using different ones. This means I need to find a way to adapt the projections dynamically or carefully plan around their natural form.

Another technical challenge will be aligning the projections accurately. Since flowers are small and three-dimensional, any misalignment will be much more noticeable than on a larger, flat surface. I may need to experiment with different positioning techniques or adjust the projection settings frequently.

From a creative perspective, I also need to consider what kind of visuals will work best on such an unusual surface. The question is do I want to focus on abstract patterns, realistic imagery, or something completely different? This will be part of my exploration in the coming weeks.

Next Steps

As I move forward, I’ll keep documenting both my research and practical progress. My next steps will focus more on refining the concept and understanding the technical side of projection mapping.

  • Continue researching projection mapping on organic objects, especially how light interacts with different textures like flowers, fruits, and fabric
  • Compare software options: After Effects and MadMapper seem the most relevant, but I want to understand their limitations before committing to one
  • Develop a clearer creative direction, looking at how textures and colors can enhance natural forms
  • Start thinking about technical challenges, like how to align projections correctly on uneven surfaces and how different materials react to light