The 2023 edition of creative tech fest FITC hit Toronto this week with these glitchy and dramatic titles by local studios Worship (visuals) and Cypher (audio) opening the outstanding two-day slate of speakers, panels, and workshops.

Worship CD/co-founder Nicolas Girard: “When FITC founder Shawn Pucknell first approached us a year ago to create these titles, there was still awkwardness around COVID regulations. It was unclear whether FITC would be in-person this year or not.

“Everyone was feeling irritated about not knowing how things would unfold. However, this frustration birthed a few concepts that led to fleshing out the piece. Living in the city felt very restrictive and limiting, almost like it was keeping us hostage.

“Working in the creative field, finding focus had become increasingly challenging. There is so much to keep up with. We wanted to portray the overwhelming nature of today’s reality and how seeing things from a different angle can help us simplify and zero in on what’s important.
 

“We wanted to portray the overwhelming nature of today’s reality and how seeing things from a different angle can help us simplify and zero in on what’s important.”

 
“To incorporate these themes within our visual execution, we decided to work on a parallel timeline that alternated between 3D buildings to minimal 2D buildings. This helped us tie in the theme of the conference: Interference.

“Interference in psychology refers to when some memories obstruct the retrieval of other memories. Thus, using 3D and ultra-minimal 2D shapes served as a fitting visual analogy for the weight of staying up to date with our daily lives, and how we constantly need to digest opposing viewpoints.

“The last key to our puzzle came from the Cypher team, who created the incredible audio for the project. We talked about creating an atmosphere that reflected the themes and felt very ominous and uncomfortable at first. Then, as visuals started interlocking and the chaotic city started organizing itself, the music gets quieter and clearer.

“There’s an incredible range of sounds in the middle of the piece where we go through what we called ‘the focus tunnel’. At that point, the mood of the piece shifts, and the second part introduces a subtle glimmer of hope that is more calming but doesn’t come across as overly optimistic. This sensation resonates with me post-lockdown. While things seem to be falling back into place, is it truly over?”
 
 

 
Client: FITC

Production: Worship
Team: Nicolas Girard, Jordan Clarke, Christian Whiticar, Rafael Ruiz

Audio: Cypher
Composer/sound designer: John Black, Joris Van Grunsven