International Focus

 

SIDM believes in enriching our students’ experience with a global perspective by providing opportunities for overseas industrial attachment, student exchange, study trip, attending international conferences, and participating in international competitions among others.

 

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YEAR 2011

 

The Year 2011 saw our students travelling far and wide to countries such as US, Canada, China and Japan to engage in experiential learning. This overseas immersion is made possible through our strong partnership with top institutions and companies globally.

 

Below are some of the highlights

 

Internship at Wunderman Zed Academy, AGENDA Shanghai

Two students worked as digital designers at the Shanghai office of AGENDA, a regional advertising agency. Some of the accounts they worked on include Starbucks, Estee Lauder and GAP. They were there from 6 June till 20 August 2011.

 

This arrangement was made possible through the MOU signed with Wunderman through their Zed Academy, where our students had opportunities to be posted to overseas internship placements as interactive media designers.

 

 

Project Internship at Side Effects Software Studios in Los Angeles, USA

There were 2 project internships at Side Effects Software Studios. 4 students were there from Jun to Aug 2011. Another 3 students were there from Sept to Dec 2011. During their attachment the students worked on personal VFX projects, while guided by mentors from Hollywood Studios recommended by Side Effects. Students also received training on Side Effects’ Houdini 3D software and were brought on studio tours to media companies like Dreamworks, Blizzard, Rhythm and Hues, Method Studios, Digital Domain and Sony Imageworks.

 

This Overseas Industrial Attachment is made possible through our partnership with Side Effects Software Asia-Pacific.

 

 

Attachment to Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab

Two students were attached from 16 Jul to 6 Aug 2011 for a period of 10 weeks. While they were there, they worked with teammates from other local Institutes of Higher Learning and MIT to develop game prototypes based on given research topics. Every student plays a specific role and work in a team under the supervision of a product owner (researcher) and the GAMBIT supervisors of different disciplines.

 

The Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab is a five-year research initiative, with a core focus on identifying and solving research problems using a multi-disciplinary approach that can be applied by Singapore’s digital game industry.

 

 

Project Attachment at Prologue Films

Two students went to Prologue Films in Los Angeles, USA from 6 Jun to 26 Aug 2011 on a 3-month internship. Prologue Films is a creative agency started in 2003, by one of the most acclaimed modern designer of motion picture title sequences, Kyle Cooper. This creative agency is well known for creating movies title opening for movies like Tron-Legacy, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Spiderman Returns, Iron Man 1 and 2, Resistance 3, The Walking Dead, The Incredible Hulk, Sherlock Holmes, Godzilla: Final Wars, A Nightmare on Elm Street, amongst others.

 

 

Study Trip to Siggraph 2011, Vancouver

Five students led by a staff went on a study trip to Siggraph Vancouver in August 2011. Students were exposed to overseas CG industry work practices and campus student lifestyle. They visited 3 studios (Image Engine, Rainmaker, and Electronic Arts) and 2 schools (Vanarts, and Vancouver Film School).

 

 

Study Attachment at DigiPen Institute of Technology - Redmond WA

Eight students went on a study attachment trip to Digipen Redmond from 9 Sept to 3 Dec 2011. During this trip, students were involved in game projects with DigiPen students and also had the opportunity to participate in academic modules at DigiPen USA. For the major part of the attachment, the students’ goal was to work on a game project with their DigiPen partners.

 

 

Tokyo Game Show 2011, Japan

A group of 18 students and 2 staff went on our annual study trip to Japan to attend the highly popular Tokyo Game Show from 11 to 19 Sep 2011. While in Tokyo, the group visited places such as Ghibi Museum, Polygon Pictures and Yoyogi Animation.

 

This year, as part of the trip to Japan, the group also spent 3 days at Trident College of IT in Nagoya to engage in student collaboration through animation and game.

 

 

Project Attachment at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA), China

Ten students participated in a student exchange programme at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts from 28 Oct to 24 Nov 2011. They spent a month with their Chinese counterparts in the Visual & New Media College with 3rd-year New Media Design students. The exchange programme is aimed towards fostering greater understanding and crossover between the art and design disciplines, engaging students from both fields to come together in generating new ideas and creating new interactive experiences with digital media. About 15 GAFA students were teamed in small groups with our Interaction Design students, and worked a number of small-scale, experimental projects together, culminating in a mini-exhibition at the end of their trip.

 

 

Study Trip to SiggraphAsia in Hong Kong

Ten DVE, five DMD(A), and one MGBD students led by a staff went on a study trip to SiggraphAsia in Hong Kong from 11 to 18 Dec 2011. Besides SiggraphAsia, they also visited SCAD HK and HKDI and attended User group events of Pixar, Side Effects and Contact Singapore.

 

 

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YEAR 2010

 

For 2010, it is another exciting year with more than 30% of our final-year student cohort participating in overseas programmes in countries such as US, France, China and Japan. This overseas opportunity is made possible through our strong partnership with top institutions and companies globally.

 

Below are some of the highlights

 

Student Attachment at the NYP Project Centre at Panyu Polytechnic, China

A total of 3 batches of SIDM students totaling 13 went to the NYP Student Project centre at Panyu Polytechnic for project attachment. These final-year students from Diploma in Digital Media Design – Animation, Interaction Design and Games were there for a period ranging from 3 weeks to 2 months. While there, students worked on respective projects with theme related to Chinese culture.

 

Ng Siok Chan, Lim Hee Kiat, Alex Foong, Liew Yon Mi at Panyu

 

Tokyo Game Show 2010, Tokyo, Japan

A group of 8 SIDM students and 1 staff went on a study trip to Japan to attend the highly popular Tokyo Game Show. While there they also visited Yoyogi Animation, Polygon Pictures, Premium Agency, Ghibli Museum and Vantan Future Creation. Students returned all excited and looking forward to share their experience with fellow course mates.

 

Students visiting Yoyogi Animation Gakuin

 

Students visiting Premium Agency

 

Project Attachment at GAFA, China

The Project Collaboration & Student Exchange at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) in Guangzhou, China, took place from 3rd September to 2nd October 2010. A total of 13 students from the Digital Media Design Interactive Media specialisation and the Motion Graphics & Broadcast Design diplomas participated in this exchange. The exchange culminated in an interactive art exhibition titled "Made in China", and the students, together with the assistance of the staff, put together a small exhibition at the NYP Library from 18 Nov to 19 Nov 2010. Through this exhibition, students shared their reflections of the experience and lessons learned while in China.

 

 

 

One of the projects done during the exchange

 

Project Attachment at SESI-LA, USA

A total of 9 final-year SIDM students have gone on 3-month project attachment at Side Effects Software Studio (SESI) in Santa Monica this year. While there, they worked on individual visual effects project under the mentorship of industrial practitioners from major studios like Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain, Industrial Lights & Magic, just to name a few. They also went on studio visits and participated in major conference such as SIGGRAPH 2010.

 

Yong Kiat, Han Yang, Wee Leong & Daniel Soo on attachment at SESI-LA

 

Koh Yong Kiat working on his VFX project at SESI-LA

 

Attachment to MIT, Boston, USA

 

Five SIDM students were selected to go to the SINGAPORE–MIT GAMBIT Game Lab at MIT Boston for attachment from 8 June to 6 August 2010 to develop polished casual games. This attachment, in the third year, is part of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab initiative organised by the IDM R&D Programme Office. During the period of attachment, students from MIT and Singapore collaborated to develop games prototype with innovative concepts from ongoing research and with an intention for commercialisation.

 

Angeline Toh (DMD) at work at MIT

 

Rey Neo (DET) with project team at MIT

 

Attachment to VML Digital Marketing Agency, Seattle, USA

One final-year Motion Graphics & Broadcast Design student was selected to go on an attachment at VML Digital Marketing Agency in Seattle from 1 November 2010 to 31 January 2011. This attachment is part of the MOU between NYP and Wunderman ZED Academy. While there, our student primarily worked on Microsoft account creating promos amongst other things.

 

LES E.MAGICIENS FESTIVAL 2010, FRANCE

For the third year running, SIDM send two teams of 5 final-year students to participate in the prestigious Les E.Magiciens 2010 Festival. One team, comprising animation students, competed in the Chained Animation category. The other team of Interactive Media students competed in the Battle R competition, where they pitted their skills against students from other overseas institutions over a period of three days and three nights to develop an interactive Flash animation which would eventually undergo a vote from the audience at the festival. SIDM’s Interactive Media team was awarded the E.Magiciens 2010 prize for their innovative effort. The Les E.Magiciens is an annual festival bringing together young digital creators and talents in Europe.

 

Team led by Patricia Tan at eMagiciens Festival

 

Students having fun with snow in France

 

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YEAR 2009

 

For 2009, our students were provided the opportunity to venture further afield to countries like Sweden, US, and China. Through our strong partnership with top institutions and companies globally, our students get to participate in game concept challenge, work on visual effect projects in Hollywood or immerse in creative production of animation. It was an exciting 2009 for our students indeed. For more details about our students making stunning visual effects in Hollywood, please read this article: http://www.smf.sg/enewsletter27/Pages/story3.aspx

 

Below are some of the highlights of the events

 

Game Concept Challenge at the School of Future Entertainment, Sweden

 

Four final-year students went on an intensive Game Concept Challenge event in Karlshamn, Sweden. They joined student teams from the School of Future Entertainment (SOFE) for 8 weeks to conceptualize, develop and implement commercial viable games as part of SOFE’s annual Game Concept Challenge event.

 

Students Xue Yuan, Nigel Low, Jun Li and Roy Chong with their Swedish team mates.

 

GAMBIT Summer Programme @ MIT, USA

The GAMBIT Summer Programme is a 9-week internship programme for tertiary institutions at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Two of our final-year students joined students from other institutions to work on game based on research topics from MIT. Students worked in a studio-style games development environment to complete their projects.

 

Students at the certificate ceremony

 

Jeffrey Gan & Victoria Yvette Chastan

 

VFX Project Attachment at Side Effects, Los Angeles, USA

Two batches of 4 final-year students participated in the 3-month Visual Effects project attachment programme at Side Effects Software office in Santa Monica, California, USA. This programme is part of a collaboration between NYP and Side Effects Software Incorporated (SESI); creator of the award-winning Houdini software. While there, students worked on their vfx projects and closely mentored by industry practitioners from Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks, just to name a few.

 

Students Ming Jie, Joel, Marcus and Hui Sian having a blast on Santa Monica beach near the SESI office

 

Staff Michael Ng with Sanwan, Min En, Melissa & Renee at SESI-LA office

 

Renee, Melissa, Sanwan & Min En at DreamWorks Animation Studio

 

Student Exchange at CUC, Beijing, China

Two staff and 13 final-year students from animation and motion-graphic & broadcast design programmes went on a one month exchange programme at the prestigious Communications University of China (CUC). While there, they worked with CUC students to create animated films slated for competitions.

 

SIGGRAPH ASIA Conference 2009, Yokohama, Japan

SIGGRAPH ASIA conference is an international conference on computer graphics. This year, it was held in Yokohama and 8 students and 1 staff participated. While there attending the numerous keynote sessions, talks and demo, they also get to visit Toei studio and Studio Ghibli in Tokyo.

 

Staff Siew Lan with students at the Toei Museum in Tokyo

 

Students at the conference

 

Tokyo Game Show 2009

13 students and 1 staff went on a study trip to Tokyo Game Show (TGS). TGS is an international event for game developers to showcase their latest games in front of the game-related people from both Japan and overseas. With close to 200,000 attendees at TGS and with myriad of games on show, the trip was certainly a blast.

 

Students in front of TGS’09 convention center

 

Staff Siew Lan with students at the Pixar Renderman User Group Party

 

Les E.magiciens Festival 2009, Valenciennes France

A team of 6 final-year students went to France to compete in the Chained Animation and Battle R events at the prestigious Les E.magiciens Festival. After 72-hours of grueling competition, they emerged all psyched up and inspired. Our Battle R team emerged victorious with the E.magiciens 2010 Awards.

 

Students getting ready for the competition

 

Participants from many countries intensely at work

 

Staff Che Chen with Battle R team

 

Staff Che Chen with Chained Animation team

 

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YEAR 2008

 

For 2008, SIDM again was busy with several overseas programmes including our regular trips like SIGGRAPH conference and Gobelins Summer School in Paris. However, the highlights of 2008 were the new programmes to South Korea and Japan! Below are some of the highlights of the events.
Industrial Attachment Programme at Sieundesign, S.Korea

 

A total of 4 final-year students went on industrial attachment over two periods of 3 months each to Sieundesign in GwangJu City. They were involved in the preproduction works of Sieundesign’s children animated TV series Banana Shake.

 

Banana Shake Production Studio in GwangJu City, S.Korea

 

Woon Tian Yong & Russel Lim with staff of Banana Shake Production

 

Gobelins International Summer School 2008, Paris

Gobelins Summer School 2008 is our third year of participation and again, our 5 top animation students came back all inspired and fired up to do great animation.

 

 

SIGGRAPH Conference 2008, Los Angeles USA

Besides attending the exciting SIGGRAPH 2008 conference, our team visited several studios and institutions in the Los Angeles area.

 

Visit to Rhythm & Hues (In production of “The Incredible Hulk” &“The Mummy 3“)

 

Visit to Art Center College of Design

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Tokyo Game Show 2008

Thirteen students and two staff went on a trip to Tokyo Game Show (TGS). In addition, they visited famous studios like Polygon Pictures and Toei Animation. With close to 200,000 attendees at TGS and with myriad of games on show, the trip was certainly a blast.

 

Tokyo Game Show 2008

 

Are these our students?

 

Visit to Koei Animation Studio

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Les E.magiciens Festival 2008, Valenciennes France

Our team of animation and IM final-year students went to Valenciennes to compete in the Chained Animation and WebJam events. They came out all psyched up after 72-hours of grueling competition – an exhilarating experience indeed.

 

 

Our WebJam team did us proud for their effort

 

Student exchange programme at Supinfogame in 2008

 

Edmund with his project team

 

Edmund and Vinod on skiing trip with Supinfogame classmates

 

Entrance to Supinfocom & Supinfogame – ranked #1 3D CG global school by 3DWorld magazine

 

 

Similarly, 6 Supinfocom/Supinfogame students were on exchange programme at SIDM in August 2008. Besides working on projects, they visited several companies in Singapore.

 

Visit to Scrawl Studios

 

Visit to Lucasfilm Animation Studio

 

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Year 2007

 

In 2007, our school facilitated student exchange opportunity for our students at Supinfogame; a premier game design institution in France. Eight final-year students also attended the prestigious Les E.magiciens 2007 festival in Valenciennes to participate in the Chained Animation and WebJam competitions.

 

Our students beat 13 other teams comprising University students to win the Autodesk Media & Entertainment Awards. This award is one of the four given out for Chained Animation.

 

Participants of the Les E.magiciens Festival visiting Paris.

 

In addition since 2006, our top final-year animation students were given the opportunities to attend the Summer School at the Les Gobelins, a top animation school in Paris.

Five final-year DMD students at the Gobelins International Summer School 2007 in Paris, France.

 

Students with Kyle Balda, formerly with Pixar & ILM, who conducted the masterclasses during the Summer School.

 

This is what one student said about the Summer School experience:

“..This trip to Paris has really sparked a new fire for my passion for animation and film, It was a hundred times the course I had imagined it to be, and I’ve gained priceless knowledge and experience, learning from professionals and fellow int’l summer program friends…Clara”

 

And in Rome, our student received the top prize for the student category of the Global Junior Challenge Awards 2007; a competition co-organized by the Digital Youth Foundation of Italy and Media Development Authority of Singapore.

 

SIDM student receiving the top award from the Mayor of Rome in the Campidoglio Palace.

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And across the Atlantic Ocean at MIT, 3 final-year SIDM students were attached to the MIT’s School of Comparative Media Studies in Boston for a period of about 3 months. This attachment is part of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab initiative organized by the IDM R&D Programme Office at MDA.

 

Participants of GAMBIT in New York during attachment.

 

Annually, our students also went on study trips to attend the premier CG conference SIGGRAPH in the US. The trip includes visit to top studios like Dreamworks, EA, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Universities like Art Center College of Design, USC, MIT, Pratt Institute, etc.

 

Visit to Shiny Entertainment during study trip to SIGGRAPH 2007.

 

Visit to Dreamworks SKG Studio in Los Angeles, USA.

 

And in Asia, our SIDM student Alex Tan represented Singapore in the Graphic Design Technology category at the WorldSkills Competition 2007 in Shizuoka, Japan. For his effort, he was awarded the Medallions for Excellence awards. 

 

 

 

In China, some of our students attended the prestigious International Digital Media & Entertainment Conference in Shanghai and visited Universities while others went on industrial attachment with a game company in Xiamen working on massively multi-player online games.

 

Students at the International Digital Media & Entertainment Conference in Shanghai.

 

Visit to the Animation School @ Shanghai Tongji University.