A private event on a Hollywood studio lot called for a projection dome with no visible seams.

NOVA Light Labs designed and delivered the dome projection mapping system with surround sound audio.

The method was camera based calibration. Every projector overlap blended at the pixel level ensuring continuity of experience at the highest level.

Dome projection mapping with camera based calibration.

A negative pressure inner liner formed the projection surface. Nothing to anchor to. On a geodesic dome the struts give a mapper edges and a mesh can be pinned to the structure. A smooth dome offers no such edge. Manual alignment cannot even get close. Another solution is needed.

Camera based calibration closes that gap. A specialized camera inside the dome captures structured patterns cast by each projector. From those captures the system resolved the true geometry of the liner and the position of every lens. The warp and blend are then computed per pixel rather than pulled by hand. Overlaps disappear. The dome becomes one singular pixel perfect canvas.

NOVA architected the full system: projector count and placement, media playback, signal path, and the calibration workflow that ties them together.

360º surround sound was specified and tuned to the space as well, since a curved surface reflects audio the same way it wraps light. The production built the dome and supplied the visuals. NOVA delivered the system.

The same process applies to any curved surface without architectural features: domes, cylinders, tunnels, inflatable structures. Camera based calibration is the standard NOVA works to on those surfaces. This dome proved it at full scale.