Flash in The Can Talk

Last Week, Simon Conlin from Flash in the Can came to speak to our class. While the slogan on the website reads "Inspire, Educate, Challenge", our talk focused on only one thing: Inspire. While I really enjoyed hearing about what creative and interesting things other flash guru's are doing, I was a little disappointed that we did not learn anything specifically about Flash in the Can. Simon left me no choice but to google FITC and learn about it on my own! It's too bad, I believe the festival itself would have been a point of interest to many people in the class.

For anyone interested here's a littlebit about FITC. 'FITC is a Canadian company that produces design and technology events. Established in 2002 the company has held successful events across both Canada and the United States and is expanding overseas. Events are held in: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Chicago, and Hollywood. The FITC name was derived from the first show that was produced in 2002 called ‘Flash in the Can’ -- a reference to Adobe’s (previously Macromedia’s) Flash software, and CAN taken from Canada. This inaugural event focused strictly on Flash, but the scope of future events has broadened with the explosion of interactive media to include all platforms including mobile, installations, motion graphics and games. ' For more information see their website.

From an artist's perspective, I did enjoy his presentation of the interactive video work by Zack Booth Simpson. It reminded me that IMM can be art for art's sake in addition to its obvious commercial uses. The strange thing is that when I was in art school, I wanted to design. Now that I am in a design program I miss art! While I could make some of my projects conceptual art pieces, I doubt very much that they would be strong portfolio pieces the end. Such is the constant struggle an artist has between making a living and making art.

One of the coolest things Simon showed us was Adobe's interactive billboard. What a great new way to advertise! The Adobe billboard basically created itself as people walked by it. The graphics that emerged were fantastic. The motion and sudden appearance of these images captivated the passerby's. Amazingly, people danced with it, played with it and just enjoyed it! I would love to make something of that caliber!

Simon also mentioned that IMM can be thought of as an art movement. He's right. It's as fresh as cubism was in the early 20th century but with out the hatred and backlash from society. We are lucky to be entering this field while it is still relatively new. A decade from now I doubt we IMM designers will be able to enthral and engage an audience the way it does now. Even today in it's infancy, I feel like IMM design is getting a little repetitive. Evidence of this can be seen in the exhibits of this year's Nuit Blanche. How many times must we superimpose audience images onto a rare or fantastical background? I left Nuit Blanche feeling that IMM designers need some new ideas, some creative ideas! Speaking of the festival, how do artists apply for the event? I can't seem to source this information on the net. Wouldn't it be fantastic if some of the IMM graduates' art were accepted into the festival next year?