Hollywood sign projection mapped for the first time

The Hollywood sign – a staple of tourist itineraries in Los Angeles – has been projection mapped by Paintscaping ahead of last Sunday’s BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards.

While the sign has been illuminated before, most recently in 2000 for the millennium celebrations, the BET Awards project represents the first time that images have been projected onto the sign.

That’s according to a report in the LA Times, under the headline “What does it take to light the Hollywood sign? A dream, six big projectors, and BET“.

Paintscaping worked with Jeff Kleiser, owner of the Under the Sign Studios, which is operated out of the nearest house to the Hollywood sign. Six 40,000 lumens Barco UDX projectors were placed on top of Kleiser's house for the mapping - with three projectors mapping three letters each and three as backups. The project required extremely narrow lenses and a 56,000-watt generator which was stationed in the studio side yard.

Two teams of drones flew around the sign, to capture images of the mapping, while a third was located on the ground for a different viewpoint.

Paramount Global, which owns BET, had entered into a partnership with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns licensing rights to the sign, enabling the projection mapping to take place.

The sign was lit up with footage from previous BET Awards, featuring performances from the likes of Tyler, the Creator and Lizzo. American flags and the phrase “Culture’s Biggest Night” — the awards show’s slogan — also flashed across the sign.

The mapping could be seen on the Friday and Saturday prior to Sunday's show when footage from the mapping was incorporated into the BET Awards production.