Projection Mapping

Every laser in Modulaser has a projection area: a four-corner quadrilateral that defines where content appears in physical space. Drag those corners to scale, rotate, warp, and keystone-correct the output to fit a wall, a building facade, a stage element, or any flat surface your laser is aimed at.

The Projection Editor

Select a laser in the Lasers panel and open its settings to reach the projection editor. You get a canvas with the projection quad and an overlay panel on the right for precise control.

A four-corner projection area in the Modulaser projection editor, with a red blind zone overlay — A keystoned projection area with a blind zone (red) masking the area below it.

The overlay panel gives you:

Layers list: the projection area at the top, with any blind zones listed below. Click a row to select it.
Drag mode: switch between Corners (move individual corners) and Sides (drag entire edges).
Corner inputs: numeric X/Y fields for exact positioning.
Power reduction (blind zones only): sets the dimming amount for the selected zone, from 0 to 1.
Mirror X / Mirror Y / Reset: quick transforms for the projection area.

Editing

Click a corner and drag to reshape, or switch to Sides mode to drag entire edges. Drag inside a quad to move all four corners together.

Hold Shift while dragging a corner for proportional resize: all corners move symmetrically around the center. To delete a blind zone, select it and press Delete or Backspace.

The editor enforces a convexity guard, so you can't drag a corner into a position that would make the shape concave or self-intersecting.

Space + drag, right-click drag, or middle-click drag to pan.
Scroll wheel or trackpad pinch to zoom toward the pointer.
Cmd + = / Cmd + - to zoom in and out.
Right-click the background to toggle a context menu with Fit View.

Arrow keys nudge the selected shape. Hold Shift for larger steps. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list.

Fitting to a Surface

A practical approach for mapping onto a physical surface:

Arm the laser and output a test pattern. A grid or simple geometric shape works well.
Open the projection editor for that laser.
Drag corners until the test pattern aligns with the edges of your target surface.
Switch to Sides drag mode if you need to move an entire edge at once.
Use the numeric corner inputs for fine adjustments.

If you're projecting at a steep angle, the keystone distortion will be significant. Pull the far corners wider and the near corners narrower until the output looks square on the surface.

For multi-laser setups where each laser covers a different section of the same surface, set each laser's projection area to its corresponding region. Route the same content to all lasers through output groups and the corner mapping handles the rest.

Blind Zones

Blind zones are per-laser safety masks. Each zone is a four-corner quad with a configurable power reduction between 0% and 100%.

100% reduction: hard exclusion. The beam is blanked inside the zone and the path is split cleanly around it.
Partial reduction (anything below 100%): the beam stays visible but intensity is scaled down. Use this for dimming near cameras, reflective surfaces, or zones where full power isn't safe.

Each laser can have multiple blind zones, and they stack: where two zones overlap, the highest reduction wins at that point.

To add one, click the + button in the Blind Zones section of the layers panel. The new zone appears centered in the viewport. Drag it to cover the area you want to mask, then set its power reduction in the overlay panel.

Common uses

Audience protection: mask the area where the audience is standing.
Camera protection: reduce power where a lens might catch a direct beam.
Equipment masking: block output over projectors, lighting fixtures, or other gear.
Venue constraints: respect architectural features or house rules about where beams can go.

Visual feedback

In the editor, a zone's fill opacity reflects its power reduction: a 100% zone appears nearly opaque, a 20% zone is mostly transparent. The selected zone gets a distinct stroke color. The projection area shows a graticule overlay and a label with its current dimensions.

Blind zones are a tool, not a substitute for proper safety planning. Audience scanning requires training, permits, and compliance with local regulations. Never aim beams into audience areas unless you are trained, permitted, and operating within those rules. See Laser Safety before configuring zones around people.

Previewing Your Mapping

The Beam Window renders a 3D preview of your laser beams projecting onto a virtual wall. It uses the same mapping and blind-zone reduction as the real output pipeline, so the preview matches what the laser actually outputs.

Each laser's scan angle, rotation, and position affect how the projection appears on the wall. Adjust these in the laser settings to match your physical setup, and use Beam Window to verify alignment before going live.

Tips

Start with a test pattern and get your corners roughly right before loading show content. Simple geometry is easier to judge.
For multiple lasers on the same surface, set up one laser's projection area first, then duplicate it (right-click the laser in the left panel, Copy, then Paste projection map).
The editor shows blind zones visually, but to see their effect on actual beam output, check Beam Window.
Save your laser configuration once you've dialed in the mapping. It persists across sessions, but a known-good starting point per venue saves setup time at the next show.