How Disguise’s projection mapping solution transformed the University Museum of Bergen
A bicentennial is a rare distinction. As the University Museum of Bergen prepared to mark 200 years of scholarship and discovery, it sought a commemoration equal to its legacy: a cutting-edge light installation that would honour two centuries of cultural and scientific achievement with understated sophistication and technological finesse.
Event company Kulturoperatørene was tasked with bringing this vision to life. They commissioned visual agency KolibriMedia to produce a 15-minute public, outdoor light show, which would directly display onto the facade of the museum building. This was to be the largest projection mapping project ever executed in Bergen.
The aim, explains Eirik Svensen, Producer at KolibriMedia, was to “transform an iconic Norwegian landmark into a living canvas.” The public show, which ran for two nights in January 2025, attracted more than 15,000 visitors.
According to Eirik, Disguise’s projection mapping technology played a critical role in ensuring the success of this project: “Disguise helped us to previsualise, map and run the show with full confidence, ensuring artistic and technical elements could work hand in hand without compromise.”
The Brief
KolibriMedia were asked to create a show that would be “bold enough to hold attention in a large outdoor setting,” explains Eirik, “but also be deeply grounded in the museum’s identity and content.”
Kulturoperatørene gave the team two months to achieve this ambition, with animation, composition, and technical preparation happening in parallel.
Marius Marthinussen Søreide, Creative Director at KolibriMedia, adds: “The aim was to create something that audiences of all ages could enjoy, while still staying true to the museum’s identity and what it stands for.”
Their vision was ambitious: to use the museum itself as a storytelling platform, where the building would come alive through sequences drawn directly from its collections and scientific research. Giant whales breached across the façade. Northern lights shimmered overhead. Insects fluttered through illuminated windows. Every moment was crafted to reflect the institution’s mission and legacy.
With the building’s 90-metre-wide structure featuring architectural irregularities and historical details, the technical requirements were complex. The team needed a media server solution that could deliver pixel-perfect projection alignment, smooth playback of high-resolution 5K video content, and seamless synchronisation with a bespoke musical score.
Image credits: Eivind Senneset
The Solution
Disguise served as the creative and technical bridge throughout the entire process. Creative Technology oversaw the technical set up of the show, having used Disguise technology since 2019.
The team used Disguise’s powerful 3D engine to import a detailed LiDAR scan of the museum, ensuring perfect architectural mapping and previsualisation prior to arriving onsite.
With six Panasonic RQ35 and four Panasonic RQ25 projectors deployed across the site, Disguise’s VX 2+ media servers provided rock-solid playback and cue automation. From initial alignment to final execution, the Disguise platform enabled frame-accurate mapping across the museum’s highly detailed surface - even under extreme weather conditions, including heavy wind and rain.
“The ability to simulate our projection in advance and make real-time adjustments was critical,” says Eirik. “Other systems offer pieces of this workflow - but only Disguise ties it all together in a stable, production-ready environment.”
Creative Technology Norway used Disguise technology to ensure clean coverage across the entire structure and to maintain image sharpness over long throw distances and extreme projection angles.
Disguise is well known for its strength in live events and broadcasting. This project shows how the same tools can be applied to large-scale public storytelling in an educational and cultural context.
Producer at KolibriMedia
The Result
Over the course of two nights, more than 15,000 people came out in stormy weather to witness the museum transformed into a glowing monument to science, nature, and Norwegian cultural history.
The response from audiences and the media was overwhelmingly positive, with the event featured in national headlines and described by attendees as “mesmerising,” “educational,” and “powerfully moving.”
The University Museum of Bergen project not only demonstrated what’s possible with architectural projection, but it also showed how Disguise technology can empower public cultural storytelling at scale.
“This wasn’t just a technical showcase. It was a cultural moment, and Disguise helped us bring it to life without compromise,” says Eirik.