Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) received another boost in the recognition of its programmes when a group of Honours degree in Broadcasting students won four out of 11 awards during the Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards (NCA) ceremony held on 19 April 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur .
The competition was organised by Astro, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Content Initiative. It aimed to recognise and encourage young Malaysians to pursue content excellence in media forms such as short film, documentary, music video, website and animation.
Participants were judged based on the originality of their content writing and storyline, the strength of the concept, technical aspects of the production as well as the medium's ability to communicate its message to the audience.
UTAR students' winning entry was initially an assignment for their Broadcasting II unit, but it ended up as their road to victory during the NCA . The Year Two students were Chin Ying Yih, Chong Sze Yen, Elaine Cheng Xiao Funn, Quek Shio Chuan, Tan Jia Vern, Teoh Chin Hong, Thee Wei Chuan, Winnie Saw Shu Li, and Yeoh Seok Khim. They produced a music video under the supervision of their lecturer, Beh Chun Chee.
Their video was entitled 'Contaminated' and it featured visuals of the deteriorating Mother Nature through a series of dance movements and human representations.
It won four awards - Outstanding Music Video, Exceptional Lyrics, Finest Music and Arrangement as well as Phenomenal Art Direction. For this excellent production, the group received a total of RM40, 000 in cash and four trophies.
Team leader, Quek, 21, shared, "We decided to come up with a project that has a blend of both classical and contemporary styles because we felt that it would be unique. However, I have to admit that it was a challenging experience completing the project on a tight budget."
Tan added, "For most of us it was the first time we handled the recording with the camera on our own. My involvement in this project itself has helped me to learn new practical skills such as acting, editing, lighting techniques and working with limited equipment."
"It did not cross our minds to send this music video for the awards. But thanks to Mr Beh's encouragement, we submitted it and won," Tan expressed.
Beh, the broadcasting lecturer said, "UTAR students are encouraged to participate in competitions as they can gain real life exposure to the industry. For instance, by interacting with other participants and the industry practitioners they can understand different view points, production styles and useful working habits that they could adopt. Besides that, they are able to gauge their production level based on industry benchmarks and may also receive the recognition and appreciation for their hard work."
Apart from widening their frontiers in broadcasting, the production crew from UTAR also enjoyed the ceremony as a memorable event that related them to their future profession. Quek commented, "Attending the ceremony taught me one or two things about event organisation. In addition to that, I was interviewed by the press after receiving the awards. All this was a great experience!"
Photos and Captions
Picture 1: The award-winning team and their trophies
Picture 2: The brilliant minds behind the music video 'Contaminated' celebrating their success
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