FITC continues to break out

Appropriately themed "Break It," last week's Flash in the Can (FITC) Design and Technology Festival drew a record-breaking 1200 delegates to the Toronto Hilton. And FITC knows a thing or two about breaking out; in only six years it has advanced from a home-based group celebrating all things related to Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash graphics software to organizing conferences around the world. Founded in 2002 in the home of new-media entrepreneur Shawn Pucknell, the group now has seven fulltime staff, several consultants and an impressive open-concept space, named Element 156, in Toronto's trendy Kensington Market. The complex boasts administrative offices, lab space rented to emerging new media designers and developers, a gallery devoted to immersive art and a bookstore with hard-to-find art, design and technology titles. The FITC festival itself has also expanded from a Toronto-only run to include several road shows across Canada, annual events in Hollywood and Chicago and this year's first FITC festival in Amsterdam, which attracted a sell-out crowd. In addition to its record-breaking crowd, this year's Toronto show boasted over 90 presentations with speakers from more than a dozen countries, including industry heavyweights Joel Baumann, founder of London UK-based Tomato Interactive, Ryan Honey and Orion Tait, co-creative directors at LA-based Buck, and Adobe's group manager of platform evangelism Mike Downey. All presenters contributed to the "Break It" theme. "It's the idea of showcasing presentations and lectures of those in the industry who are breaking the rules," says David Girolami, FITC director of development. "These can be people who are breaking out of the traditional business thinking or people who are breaking boundaries in the technical sense - like hacking into existing software and learning how to manipulate it in ways that it's not really meant to be used, but that are used in ways that artists want to use it." The festival also featured the new segment Creative by Pixel, which went beyond the creative, technical and business streams that have become a mainstay at the event by including designers, developers and artists who are genuinely breaking the mould by incorporating immersive aspects of art into their creations. For example, Drawn, an exhibit by Zackary Lieberman, showcased a hands-on digital art program that allows users to draw a picture on a plain piece of paper, using traditional ink or paint, then rearrange their etching on a projector screen after its been captured by the program. And Evan Roth's Department of Homeland Graffiti presentation showed an artist painting a picture from 50-feet away using a laser pointer - Roth demonstrated on Toronto's city hall. Fortunately the image disappears when the device is turned off. While pieces incorporating open frameworks may have attracted significant interest, Flash remained the star of the event. London UK-based Less Rain's Flugtag Flight Lab, a promotional website designed for Red Bull, earned best-in-show at the annual awards show. Designed in anticipation of Red Bull's globetrotting flugtag contests - where contestants attempt to fly their own homemade creations - the site allows users to design their own digital plane, including dimensions, angles and colour and attempt to fly it in a virtual world. The concept of creating through gaming permeated the festival. In the centre of the conference floor, the interactive art installation "Battleship" was a hub of activity. Here, spectators could battle an army of characters using Nintendo Wii remotes on a giant screen. Using a combination of Flash software, custom art brushes and various animation techniques, the installation allowed users to interact with their characters on Adobe's Interactive Wall. "This really showcases the cutting edge use of hardware and software that exists," explains Girolami. "It's still in its first phase, but it really is breaking trends." FITC may provide a forum for artists to showcase their technological breakthroughs and mashups, but it is more than a stage for grandstanding - it's a stage for business innovation. "This has a great residual effect, because companies like Adobe want to see what artists can and want to do with their products, so they can incorporate these needs into future versions," said Girolami. "What we're seeing now is really the future of immersive environments. Environments where you're not only touching and moving the work in front of you, you'll actually be able to be the one to create the environment."

FITC continues to break out

News | 04/29/2008 1:37 pm EDT

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