This guide takes you from an empty project to a mapped object on a real projector. It works the same in Prism for Mac and the Windows preview. You can follow the first steps without a projector.
Screenshots on this page come from an earlier Prism 1.x build. The current version has more effects, including the Show category, but the steps are the same.
A projector and the cable or adapter to connect it.
An object with flat faces for your first try, like a box, a pillar, or a wall panel. Matte, light surfaces show light best.
A dark room. Black areas still glow a little, because a projector cannot fully switch off its pixels.
A fixed setup. After you map, keep the projector and the object still. If either one moves, the alignment changes.
Step 1
Explore a sample first
Open Prism and look at The prism study. It is a cube with three mapped faces. Click each face to see that it has its own content.
Now switch between the Aurora, Chromatic, and Afterglow scenes. The look changes, but the three faces stay in place. That is the core idea of Prism: map once, then change the scene.
For a full show, open the Pillar light show sample from the Samples dialog. It plays six acts on two corner faces, each with a different transition. You do not need a projector for any of this.
The prism study sample: three mapped cube faces and three scenes, Aurora, Chromatic, and Afterglow.
Step 2
Connect the projector as a second display
Connect the projector, turn it on, focus it, and aim it at your object. Then make it an extended display, not a mirror. Mirroring shows the same desktop on both screens. Extending gives Prism its own screen for a clean output.
Mac: open System Settings → Displays, select the projector, and use it as an extended display.
Windows: press Windows key + P and choose Extend. You can also pick Extend these displays in Settings → System → Display.
In Prism's output controls, choose the projector's display. Open the output and show the alignment grid. Check that the grid lands on the right projector before you go on.
No projector yet? Choose the preview output. The composition is the same, so you can still practice.
Step 3
Map each face
Create a project and give it a name. Leave Mapping live on.
Add a four-corner surface. It shows up on the projector right away.
Choose corner editing (P). Watch the projector and drag each corner onto a corner of the real face.
Add a surface for each face you want to light, and name them, for example Left, Right, and Top.
Snapping helps you line up fast. For the last small moves, hold Option on a Mac or Alt on Windows while you drag, which turns snapping off. You can also select a point and nudge it with the arrow keys: Shift moves 10 px and Option/Alt moves 0.1 px.
Need more room? Expand canvas hides the side panels. Press Escape to bring them back. Zooming the editor never changes what the projector shows.
Mesh editing bends the center panel. Corner handles stay the same size as you zoom.
Step 4
Handle odd shapes, holes, and curves
Odd outline: choose the polygon tool, click around the outline, and press Enter. Double-click close to an edge to add a point.
Hole or cutout: select the surface, choose the cutout mask tool, click at least three points, and press Enter. Feathering softens the edge.
Curved surface: turn on mesh editing and drag the points inside the surface to bend the picture.
Meshes are a manual tool. Prism does not find objects on its own, except with the optional photo feature below.
Optional · Experimental
Start from a photo with SAM 3
Photo to surfaces · SAM 3 in the Surfaces panel turns a photo of your space into editable surfaces.
Select a photo of your scene and type what to find, one object type at a time.
Click Find objects. Only then does Prism send a resized copy of the photo, without location data, to Meta's SAM 3 model or to your own SAM 3 service. Meta's service needs your own API key and bills per image.
Review the outlines. Then place four numbered markers so the photo lines up with your projector.
The new surfaces are normal Prism surfaces. They keep cutout holes and work offline. Four-point alignment fits one flat plane, so depth and lens distortion may still need a manual touch-up.
Step 5
Give each face its look
Select a face, then its content layer, and change the color. Import an image or video in Media and drag it onto a face. Each face has its own stack of layers.
For motion, open Effects and click a card, then press Space to play. The Show category has Laser grid, Rising liquid, Sinking boxes, Energy rings, Constellation, Moving light, and Neon edges. Give every face of an object the same effect so the faces match.
Neon edges and Moving light stay on the outline of your surface. Put Moving light on a layer above a picture or video to light it up.
Imported videos start muted. Play each clip once on your computer before a show to make sure it works.
The Effects library sits under the canvas. Click a card to apply it to the selected surfaces.
Step 6
Build a show with scenes
Duplicate the scene, rename it, and change its colors or effects. All scenes share the same mapping, so do not move corners when you only want a new look.
Set each scene's length and transition. Pick how it arrives: crossfade, dip to black, flash, dissolve, iris, four wipes, four slides, or glitch.
For motion inside a face, open Timeline and choose Add animation. There are entrances like Fade in, Flicker on, Drop in, and Pop in, a Fade out, and repeating moves like Pulse, Breathe, Float, and Spin.
Animations write normal keyframes, so you can change them later. They move the content inside a face, never your mapping. During a show, press 1 to 9 to trigger scenes.
Step 7
Project and save
Turn off the alignment grid and open the full-screen output. It shows only your composition: no panels, handles, or mouse cursor.
B blacks out the output and F freezes it. Both keep your project as it is.
Save a project file right after your first good alignment with Command+S on a Mac or Ctrl+S on Windows.
To move a show to another computer, save a portable .prism package. It includes your media. Open it once to check it.
If a display disconnects, the output closes instead of jumping to another screen. Reconnect it, check the display, and reopen the output.
Checklist
Before a live show
Run the whole show on the computer and projector you will use.
Open Account and check your offline deadline. Refresh access before you go offline.
Fix the projector and the object in place, and recheck the alignment grid.
Keep Blackout (B) close at hand.
Go easy on fast flashing, like Strobe or many short Flash scenes. Rapid flashes can cause discomfort or seizures.
Reference
Useful shortcuts
On Windows, use Ctrl where a Mac uses Command. Shortcuts pause while you type in a field.
Action
Shortcut
Play or pause
Space
Blackout or restore
B
Freeze or resume the output
F in the editor
Select, edit corners, pan
V / P / H
Undo, redo
Command+Z / Command+Shift+Z
Save project
Command+S
Duplicate selected surfaces
Command+D
Nudge a point
Arrow keys, Shift for 10 px, Option/Alt for 0.1 px
Trigger a scene
1 to 9
Finish a polygon or mask
Enter
Leave the current tool
Escape
Prism 1.7.2
Ready to map your first object?
Download Prism, then start a 14-day trial of the full app from Account. A card is required. Pricing and trial details.
