Busch Gardens // Projection Mapping

Nexus created an exciting projection mapping project for Premier Illuminations at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. As part of the park’s Summer Nights event, the show transforms the village facade into an animated pinball machine, lighting up every night after dark in 15-minute intervals. This wasn’t our first collaboration with Premier Illuminations. We also created holiday and Halloween versions of the same show, bringing year-round magic to this central courtyard in the Germany section of the park. What is Projection Mapping? Projection mapping is the art of turning real-world objects like buildings or stages into dynamic video displays. Instead of using a flat screen, you’re using architecture as your canvas. This requires careful spatial planning, 3D modeling, and alignment of multiple projectors to match every corner, window, and ledge. When done right, it creates the illusion that the building is moving, transforming, or reacting to music and story beats. Behind the Scenes: Collaboration and Craft Premier’s owner, David Hare, handled event coordination, installation, and provided the gear for the show. Nexus brought in Convergence Production Group, led by Jared Bueng, to manage all technical aspects of the projection setup. Jared and his team calculated throw distances, lensing, and mapped out twelve double-stacked 30k lumen projectors. They also built a custom server to power the system and merge all content into a seamless visual experience. To match the building exactly, Nexus captured photogrammetry scans using drones, and reconstructed a precise 3D model of the space. We then used that model along with Jared’s measurements to previs the entire show in advance. This allowed us to align animation and lighting effects perfectly with the physical structure before even setting foot on site. Our team handled animation, compositing, and projection mapping content. The show is a stylized, energetic mix of lighting effects, animated graphics, and playful pinball nods designed to work with the building’s architecture.