The Herbst Theatre, reimagined in light, one unforgettable night at a time.

NOVA Light Labs projection maps both the exterior facade and the interior of the Herbst Theatre, one of downtown San Francisco's most storied neoclassical venues.

Concerts, conferences, weddings, plays, and more each ask for a different language of light. NOVA answers with custom visuals mapped precisely to the building's columns, arches, and proscenium, turning the venue itself into the centerpiece of the night.

On a San Francisco night, the whole street stops to look up.

Guests gather beneath a facade that no longer reads as stone. Words wrap across the columns, color pours down the arches, and the building seems to breathe.

Even drivers passing by catch the glow and slow to take it in. Inside, the room settles into a hush as the ceiling and walls dissolve into moving light, and the crowd looks up in quiet amazement.

“I had an amazing experience working with NOVA Light Labs.

Such a creative team it was amazing so see him take mere ideas and execute into a spectacular show. A dream to work with and highly recommend.”

Minta S.
Event Producer

Legendary architecture deserves visuals built to match it.

Inside and out, the Herbst Theatre offers exceptional features to map onto: fluted columns, arched windows, a coffered ceiling, and an ornate proscenium.

NOVA designs custom visuals that fit these surfaces exactly, so the projection mapping traces every contour rather than washing over it. Plain stone becomes a living canvas of light tuned to the mood of each event.

Massive facades demand massive amounts of light.

To cover a building this size, NOVA deploys high output laser video projectors, positioned to reach every facet of the facade and every surface inside.

Deep experience in projection mapping, paired with specific knowledge of the venue's sightlines, power, and rigging points, makes even the largest production straightforward to stage.