Directed by Ash Thorp with art direction by Michael Rigley, the FITC Tokyo 2015 title sequence was produced by a globally distributed team across three timezones as a passion project. The concept, contrasting the harmonies of traditional Japanese culture against the sensory overload of contemporary Tokyo, structures every formal decision: elegant typographic order collides with abrasive glitch, moments of density fold into stillness.
The typeface is central. Nicolas Girard developed a custom glyph set drawing on both Kanji structure and Norm: Replica, generating forms that evolve from simple geometry into complex animated systems. The type doesn't illustrate the concept, it enacts it.
The process reel at vimeo.com/118998266 documents the full development from style frames to final composite, making legible a production model that has since become common: high-craft collaborative work organised around shared creative direction rather than a single studio.