prism docs · Hands-on lessons · First projection without a phone

First projection without a phone

Make a coloured panel follow one flat object. Allow about ten minutes, plus time to position your projector.

Download the example project (.pmproj). Import it from the studio home page. It is a practice starting point; align it to your own space before projecting.

1 · Put light on the object

Connect the projector as an extended display and place a flat white card or panel in its beam. Open a new project with Draw by hand. In Setup, open the projector window, move it to that display and make it fullscreen. Start at comfortable brightness.

2 · Fit a shape

  1. In Design, use Add to add a quad. The example already contains one named Practice panel.
  2. Select the quad and drag its four corners until the projected outline follows the physical panel. Look at the real object as you adjust it.
  3. Choose a look from the library. Try a gentle moving pattern; use the look panel to change its colours and speed.
Select the practice panel and change its look. The written steps also work without playing the clip. Recorded in the desktop simulator with synthetic example content; no private room or provider output is shown.

3 · Keep and rehearse it

Save the appearance as a scene, play it from Show and verify that light stays inside the panel. Open Pre-show check & backups, then download an archive. Next try other shapes or mesh warping for curved surfaces.

Nothing appears? Check blackout, brightness, the output window, the selected display and whether your surface is visible. A preview is not proof that the physical projector is showing it.

Reviewed for prism 2026.09.29.1 · 29 September 2026. Release notes.