Night Lights Denver

In 2024, I was a part of over 30 students at CU Denver to produce a 2D and 3D animated video projected onto the historic D&F Tower in downtown Denver, Colorado. This projection mapping installation illuminates the 140-foot landmark and stands as one of the few large-scale public art platforms of its kind in the United States.

I created a 60-second animation with the driving theme of dreams. To create a surreal atmosphere, I used the program Cinema 4D to create cloth displacement effects to gather and unravel the materials. I then composited the 3D footage in After Effects to create the appearance of lights turning off in the clock tower window. The goal of this project was to blend reality and the dreamscape, questioning the barrier between the subconscious and conscious.

Storyboards

To establish my narrative and what I would be animating later, I began by creating storyboards. Using a mask of the D&F clock tower, I mapped out how I would be animating the mask in Adobe After Effects. I knew I would be blending 2D and 3D elements at this point, and planned for that step in my pre-production by creating a key frame where the balloons could transform into a curtain. The red curtain would then transition into a purple mass, floating away to reveal a single purple window at the end of the animation.

Final Animation

The completed animation now aired for a special showcase in December 2024 as part of Night Lights Denver's nightly programming, contributing to a rare and celebrated public art installation that transforms a historic Denver landmark into a canvas for contemporary motion graphics. This project demonstrated my ability to integrate 2D and 3D animation techniques with architectural considerations and technical projection requirements, producing work that moves beyond the screen to engage public audiences.