INSPIRING A NEW GENERATION OF N.E.MATORS

Hear the word "animation", and you probably think of high-tech graphics and digital images.

But for one of this year's N.E.mation! finalists, it started with something more rustic - the humble needle and thread.

To create finger puppet characters representing the Total Defence (TD) pillars, Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School students Ketheesan Olivia Surrthi, Nur Adilah, Tan Jing Yi and Ng Hui Xin, who make up the team [Blank Space], actually learnt to sew and make intricate costumes!

"We were brainstorming ideas and we thought, we have five fingers and five pillars of Total Defence, why not match them up?" Olivia explained.

On top of sewing, they also made the characters' headgear from clay, and cut elaborate background sets out of paper.

The team also did research to match the traits of each finger to the pillar they represent. "For example, we usually think that the pinkie is useless, but it provides 50 percent of our grip strength! Just like economic defence (which was represented by the pinkie finger) - people don't think of it as defence, but it is very important," she added.

The first-time participants, all 14, were inspired to take part by their seniors, who won the competition in 2013. The journey, however, was not without its challenges.

"It's fun working together to make the props, but there are stressful moments too," said Adilah. "But we know it's worth it because once it's done, it will look really good."

[Blank Space] was one of the 10 finalists of N.E.mation! 11, an annual inter-school digital animation competition that allows students from secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes to express their thoughts on TD. No prior knowledge of animation is required and students work under the mentorship of experienced animators to create their one-minute short clips.

Since 21 Nov, the teams have been working hard at Nanyang Polytechnic to bring their story ideas to life. At the N.E.mation! 11 open house on 6 Dec, they had the opportunity to showcase their works-in-progress to a selected group of invited guests, as well as their families and friends.

A second chance at winning

It was second-time-lucky for Cedar Girls' Secondary School's Doughnuts and Donuts. Three of their four members had participated in the N.E.mation! competition last year, but failed to break the top ten.

This year, armed with a better understanding of the judges' story requirements, the Secondary Two students finally made it to the finals.

"This time, we made our story more relatable so that more people can understand it. Snakes and Ladder (also creates) a sense of nostalgia, and we hope more people can relate to that," said Raksha Saravanan.

Drawing inspiration from the boardgame, the team of Raksha, Michelle Chia, Nur Ilyzah Erffian and Chong Wai Sheen depict a Singaporean's journey through the nation's ups and downs.

"Through this story, we are showing the idea of being strong together as a nation," Ilyzah explained.

Like Doughnuts and Donuts, the members of team N.E. HEH HEH from Singapore Chinese Girls' School are familiar faces to the competition.

Secondary Three students Sarah Mak and Wang Lei were Top 10 finalists in N.E.mation! 9. With new members Michelle Khor and Karen Nakajima, both in Secondary One, they are hoping for another shot at winning the competition.

And this time, they've selected an interesting subject - the families of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel.

"The SAF works hard to defend our home, (and their) family is behind them to give them a lot of emotional support," said Sarah of the team's reason for shining the spotlight on these unsung heroes. They had been inspired after watching a video and hearing how servicemen and women, including volunteers, were serving to protect their families.

To tell their story, the students opted to use stop-motion, which required them to move their hand-painted plastic cups millimetre by millimetre to create a seamless shot.

Sarah explained: "This is a traditional method of animation that is very tedious. But it looks more natural and handmade and will help to accentuate the storytelling of the families' emotions."

The students' works drew praise from the visitors, many of whom were impressed by the effort and creativity that went into the animation clips.

Ms Dawn Pereira from the Red Cross Blood Donor Recruitment Programme was one such visitor. "Most people might think that those who are very young don't have a lot of creativity, but their ideas are really inspiring to me."

The teams will wrap up the three-week production phase on 9 Dec. Public voting will begin on 14 Jan 2017, when the top 10 animation clips will be made available for public viewing.