9TH N.E.MATION! KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR

It is the home stretch as the final 10 teams hunker down to produce their short clips for this year's N.E.mation! competition. They are now in the final week of a three-week production period since 17 Nov, working in their studios located at Nanyang Polytechnic.

The champion will win a fully-sponsored trip to a renowned animation studio.

This year's competition focuses on Singapore's pioneer generation. Based on the theme, Believing in Singapore: Because this is home, the teams have to produce a video that pays tribute to those who have contributed to what Singapore is today.

One of the teams has been busy mixing a little of the old and the new. Using text messages as a backdrop, the team from Kent Ridge Secondary School (KRSS) - interestingly named JJKN59 (more on that later) - tells an updated story of sacrifice by Singapore's pioneers.

"We wanted to tell the story through text messaging, as a way to show that our pioneers were 'cool' in their own way," explained team member Jolene Loh, 14.

When asked what inspired them, another team member Khalisah Naseem said: "Next year is Singapore's 50th year of independence, and we wanted to tell people about the efforts of our pioneers who put in so much to build this country."

The team's moniker is a mash-up of the members' names: Jolene Loh, Jeanine Ong, Khalisah Naseem and Nikki Koh, all 14. "JK59 is the number of the long-haul bus that goes to Malaysia and we decided to use it because we wanted to show that we can travel far (like to the US, if we win)!" said the team.

Two other teams interpreted the theme slightly differently from JJKN59; choosing to focus on Singapore's military.

Using an animated pop-up book and stop-motion techniques, the team from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School wants to encourage more gratitude towards soldiers and those who protect the nation.

"We also want more people to know what the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) does," said Quek Min Yin, 14. Her elder brother served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

"Both of us are also in the uniformed groups in school, so maybe that's why we can feel for the soldiers more. We want to dedicate our work to them," said team member Siow An Qi, 14.

One of the challenges they faced came from making the props for the stop-motion clip, said team member Kay Yeung. "Making them was time consuming, especially when we had to think of how to make them pop-up from the book."

The other team with a military slant is the team from Commonwealth Secondary School. Simply titled, "SAF never sleeps", their clip shows the three different Services (Army, Navy and Air Force) working round the clock to keep the country safe.

"Apart from telling people about the sacrifices that our soldiers make to protect the country, we also wanted to tell people not to take security for granted," said Niger Lim.

Fellow team member Lim Xun Yi said: "While making the clip, we learnt that all three Services are important. We cannot just focus on one."

The 10 finalist teams will complete their production on 5 Dec. Their work will be revealed to the public for voting in January next year. Winners will be announced in February.

Visit nemation.sg for more information.