Post by amytan on Jun 15, 2004 2:10:26 GMT -5
Luring Hollywood here
Singapore's creative talent pool needs to be nurtured further to attract global movie houses, reports EDMUND TEE
Published June 14, 2004
A LARGELY unknown Kiwi company named after a weta - a native cricket - propelled both itself and New Zealand onto the world stage with its award-winning post-production work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Stars may come and stars may go: Mediacorp actress Fann Wong (above) broke into Hollywood recently with a juicy role in the film Shanghai Knights. Yet what the Media Development Authority wants is for the local media industry to grow and develop further.
Might a Singapore company named after, say, a cicada, do the same for Singapore? The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) certainly hopes so.
The local media industry now has an annual turnover of about $10 billion, which makes up 1.56 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) and provides about 38,000 jobs here. The MDA hopes to increase the industry's contribution to GDP to 3 per cent, and to add some 12,000 jobs.
However, before film-makers from Hollywood to Bollywood come here, Singapore's creative talent pool needs to be nurtured.
'From a technology point of view, most of the toys are available here. That's one of the great things about Singapore,' says Peter Barber, director of creative services at Blackmagic Design. 'However, what's lacking is creative talent.'
Blackmagic Design is a Singapore-based post-production company owned by an Australian maker of digital video equipment.
Adds Mr Barber: 'Anyone can learn to use the software and machines. But what the international companies are looking for are people who are creative, who can dream up a story, put it together, and make something special.'
Given the tech advances and applications like Final Cut Pro and Shake from Apple, just about every post-production outfit - even schools - now have the kind of capabilities that were once reserved for big companies with huge budgets.
'As recently as a few years ago, the way it used to work was that the guy with the most money got the best jobs, because they could afford the best, most expensive post-production machines. Not any more,' Mr Barber says.
'With advanced technology from companies like Apple, the post-production process has become a level playing field. That means the creative level is where you have to come in to differentiate yourself. But remember, just because you buy a keyboard, that does not make you a musician. It depends on the creative talent of the individual and the team.'
Mr Barber, however, recognises that Singapore does have the capability to adequately nurture its talent base and that the MDA is doing a good job in promoting the industry.
'Singapore has the opportunity to become a hub for post-production work. There has been a lot of effort that has gone into the schools, there are lots of people wanting to get into them,' he says.
But what could be improved is the way government funds are disbursed to support the industry.
For instance, rather than just throwing large amounts of money at established film-makers, perhaps some of the money could be better used going to students. 'In the long run, it would be better to give small grants to talented students, get them to make a short film or animation, and then encourage them to get to the next level.
'And cut the red tape,' Mr Barber says. 'To get the money, there are lots of hoops to jump through.
'Young creative people are less likely to do that. And even if they did, many may not have the right academic qualifications. By all means, have an application process, but find an easier way to get the money to the students.'
Companies such as Blackmagic Design will continue to contribute to the talent pool with its focus on hiring fresh graduates and training them from scratch, as well as getting those with more experience to adopt new technology and techniques.
'We will always be at the leading edge of technology, so the people we train will be doing things that they won't be doing anywhere else,' he says.
Schools shouldn't teach students to work on specific machines or software because by the time they graduate, what they learn would have become obsolete.
Instead, it's important to teach the fundamentals, the creative side, how to tell a story with editing, design and animation. The machine or software used is not as important as the skills or creative talent.
'School is a great place to learn the theory and get some practice, but once you leave school, the battle has only just begun. You need to start from the bottom and learn from the guys who are doing it,' he adds.
Singapore's creative talent pool needs to be nurtured further to attract global movie houses, reports EDMUND TEE
Published June 14, 2004
A LARGELY unknown Kiwi company named after a weta - a native cricket - propelled both itself and New Zealand onto the world stage with its award-winning post-production work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Stars may come and stars may go: Mediacorp actress Fann Wong (above) broke into Hollywood recently with a juicy role in the film Shanghai Knights. Yet what the Media Development Authority wants is for the local media industry to grow and develop further.
Might a Singapore company named after, say, a cicada, do the same for Singapore? The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) certainly hopes so.
The local media industry now has an annual turnover of about $10 billion, which makes up 1.56 per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) and provides about 38,000 jobs here. The MDA hopes to increase the industry's contribution to GDP to 3 per cent, and to add some 12,000 jobs.
However, before film-makers from Hollywood to Bollywood come here, Singapore's creative talent pool needs to be nurtured.
'From a technology point of view, most of the toys are available here. That's one of the great things about Singapore,' says Peter Barber, director of creative services at Blackmagic Design. 'However, what's lacking is creative talent.'
Blackmagic Design is a Singapore-based post-production company owned by an Australian maker of digital video equipment.
Adds Mr Barber: 'Anyone can learn to use the software and machines. But what the international companies are looking for are people who are creative, who can dream up a story, put it together, and make something special.'
Given the tech advances and applications like Final Cut Pro and Shake from Apple, just about every post-production outfit - even schools - now have the kind of capabilities that were once reserved for big companies with huge budgets.
'As recently as a few years ago, the way it used to work was that the guy with the most money got the best jobs, because they could afford the best, most expensive post-production machines. Not any more,' Mr Barber says.
'With advanced technology from companies like Apple, the post-production process has become a level playing field. That means the creative level is where you have to come in to differentiate yourself. But remember, just because you buy a keyboard, that does not make you a musician. It depends on the creative talent of the individual and the team.'
Mr Barber, however, recognises that Singapore does have the capability to adequately nurture its talent base and that the MDA is doing a good job in promoting the industry.
'Singapore has the opportunity to become a hub for post-production work. There has been a lot of effort that has gone into the schools, there are lots of people wanting to get into them,' he says.
But what could be improved is the way government funds are disbursed to support the industry.
For instance, rather than just throwing large amounts of money at established film-makers, perhaps some of the money could be better used going to students. 'In the long run, it would be better to give small grants to talented students, get them to make a short film or animation, and then encourage them to get to the next level.
'And cut the red tape,' Mr Barber says. 'To get the money, there are lots of hoops to jump through.
'Young creative people are less likely to do that. And even if they did, many may not have the right academic qualifications. By all means, have an application process, but find an easier way to get the money to the students.'
Companies such as Blackmagic Design will continue to contribute to the talent pool with its focus on hiring fresh graduates and training them from scratch, as well as getting those with more experience to adopt new technology and techniques.
'We will always be at the leading edge of technology, so the people we train will be doing things that they won't be doing anywhere else,' he says.
Schools shouldn't teach students to work on specific machines or software because by the time they graduate, what they learn would have become obsolete.
Instead, it's important to teach the fundamentals, the creative side, how to tell a story with editing, design and animation. The machine or software used is not as important as the skills or creative talent.
'School is a great place to learn the theory and get some practice, but once you leave school, the battle has only just begun. You need to start from the bottom and learn from the guys who are doing it,' he adds.