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I am a visual artist, animator and interactive multimedia designer. I've been a multimedia specialist for theatrical productions since 2012, and I recently completed my Master’s degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. I currently work as a Multimedia Specialist at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

Topher Blair: Motion Graphics, Animation, Projection Design topherbruceblair@gmail.com Photography by Jennifer Koskinen Check out Off Center at the Jones at http://www.youtube.com/user/denverOFFcenter Thanks to Teague Chrystie Music: "Infant" by Poddington Bear

Projection Design

Photo Gallery

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, March 2025

Each of the seven grizzly deaths in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder was told by actors interacting with projections around them. From a swarm of animated killer bees to a catastrophic fall from the top of a church tower, hand-drawn projections were integral to this production’s darkly whimsical tone.

Photography by Amanda Tipton.

 

Miss Holmes

Phamaly Theatre Company, March 2024

Projections helped to create the mysterious world of Victorian-Era London in Phamaly Theatre Company’s 2024 production of Miss Holmes by Christopher Walsh. A combination of front and rear projections let us be creative with shadow play, while allowing for flexibility in blocking and making transitions easier.

 

Annie

Phamaly Theatre Company produces musicals with a cast entirely of actors with disabilities. For their 2017 production of Annie, I created a design combining forms of Art Deco, Constructivism, and the art of the Harlem Renaissance to create a contemporary look that still felt period-appropriate.

Frankenstein

Techniques ranging from stop-motion meat animation to actually setting a model of the set on fire were used as content to help tell this contemporary adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic. Co-designed with Charlie Miller.

 

black odyssey

Marcus Gardley's powerful play about the African-American experience required projections to create the mystical world in which the piece is set. Designed with Charlie Miller.

 

All The Way

Two projectors behind a 40-foot wide curved screen were used for the projection design in All the Way. Content inspired by the work of 60's design legend Saul Bass was used to help establish context for the play.

Tribes

How can sound be portrayed visually? That was the task laid out in Nina Raine's script for Tribes, a play that explores cultural identity in the deaf community. Designed with Charlie Miller.

Animation

Splat!

November 2018

Quick combo of hand-drawn and stop-motion animmation. Co-created with James Hoskens

I mean, if someone squished you into a pancake, you’d be a little annoyed too, right?

 

Sue the T-Rex

March 2021

A collaboration with the DMNS educator-performer TikTok channel, this video tells a time-traveling adventure story in under a minute.

 

BFD Loop

February 2011

A brief animation that I did for the Big Freakin' Deal film festival at CU Boulder. Each frame is hand drawn and then inverted in Photoshop.

Sometimes simple works best. After creating a complex, time-consuming ad for the CU Boulder film festival, as an afterthought I created this ink-and-paper animation loop to be played in the lobby of the film studies building. While my commercial wasn't seen much, I heard people talking about this loop all throughout the building and around campus. Lesson learned.

Camp Christmas

A quick intro to Lonnie Hanzon’s virtual 2020 Camp Christmas!


Ascent

November 2011

A look at the benefits and drawbacks of human cooperation and the role of mass media in that conflict. A composite project drawn with ink on paper, scanned in and painted in ToonBoom Studio, and assembled with traveling mattes in After Effects CS5.

This film is look at the benefits and drawbacks of human cooperation and the role of mass media in that conflict. My undergraduate honors thesis for the CU Boulder film program.

 

Isolation Guidelines

November, 2020

A quick informative video designed to teach refugee populations how to properly isolate themselves after testing positive for COVID-19, with the aim of being able to be understood by non-English speakers.

 
 

Videography

Spring Institute Promo

A short promotional documentary detailing the work done by the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning. I filmed events, conducted interviews, created custom motion graphics and did the editing for this project.

Whose City?

 

In the winter of 2010, the homeless community in Boulder staged a protest at city council, causing them to issue a moratorium of a controversial anti-camping ordinance. I created this documentary with a grant from CU Boulder as part of a series on the right to the city.

 
 

Shalom Park

A promotional video done to feature in Shalom Park Nursing Home and Elder Community’s annual fundraising event. For this project, I conducted interviews over Zoom, edited and created custom hand-drawn graphics to fit with the event’s “superhero” theme.

Gingerbread Baking 

A short video I helped to put together for Lonnie Hanzon’s “Camp Christmas” event, which had to go virtual in the winter of 2020. For this project, I helped Lonnie to set up lights and his camera, and I did editing and graphics.

Illustration

Banner image for ITP Winter Show 2019
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Aurora Fox Season 37
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 Interaction Design

Extinction Party

Originally designed to be a constructed object, Extinction Party is an interactive game, designed to teach participants about the history of life on Earth by telling the story of the five major mass extinction events.

Play Game

Quadropus

An escape-room style interaction combining animation and physical computing.

Dear Curiosity

A chance to reconnect with a beloved friend.

albers Box

An homage to the work of Joseph Albers, this box generates a tetrad of color adjustable by hue, saturation and value

Do Not Push

An invitation to play with an art installation, with surprising results.

 
 

Mountain

This piece combines live audio and visuals with pre-rendered animation to tell a story about the cycle of resources across three different environments.

 

Contact

 

Get in touch!