Little Spotlight Animation Showcase

To provide a hands-on experience in animation for students, Little Spotlight animation showcase was organised at Sungai Long Campus from 25 August 2017 to 27 August 2017, with the collaboration of Taiwan Information Design, Art, Technology, Education Association (Info DATE), The Ministry of Culture, and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Malaysia.

The Little Spotlight was a first-of-its-kind event in Malaysia. It aimed to offer students who are passionate about animation a golden opportunity to discover more about this field and career opportunity in this industry.

From left: Dr David, Jane, Prof Cheng, James, and Peggy at the opening ceremony

Present at the opening ceremony were TECO Representative James Chang Chi-Ping, Culture Division Director Peggy Chou, Info DATE Board member Jane Yu Chuan Tseng, UTAR Institute of Management and Leadership Development Director cum Division of Community and International Networking Director Prof Dr Cheng Ming Yu, and Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) DeanDr David Tneh Cheng Eng.

Prof Cheng (left) and James delivering their speech

“I am grateful to see that such international exchange enables UTAR to boost the university’s international collaboration, besides providing our students with a greater and richer learning experience. I believe our students and staff will be able to gain more exposure, in addition to learning from experts and peers in the field of animation. I look forward to more similar events in the future to provide a platform for the students to learn and unleash their talents, at the same time promoting international networking and collaborations with the industry,” said Prof Cheng in her opening speech. 

“It is an honour to have UTAR as our partner this year. The Republic of China, Taiwan is now actively promoting the New Southbound Policy and President Tsai Ing-Wen has targeted Malaysia as one of the key countries in the Southeast Asia. Taiwan’s relations with Malaysia have extended to the area of technology, tourism, education, culture and others, and Taiwan intends to strengthen a long and developed tie with this southeast country,” said James, with his belief that this event will enhance the bonding between Taiwan and Malaysia.

Chang (left) and Ken sharing their views to the audience

Also attended the event were National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Graphic Art and Communication Assistant Professor Chang Yen-Jung and Lemon Sky Studios Founder and Co-director Ken Lai. They shared their experiences in the creation of animated productions and gave a far insight about the field of animation to the audience.

“As a teacher, I concern about the animation industry and situation. I would like to share my observation about animation development in Taiwan with you all and talk about the history of Taiwan, as it used to be a major animation production-based in the world,” said Chang, after briefly introducing himself to the audience. He explained the different areas of animation, the trend and struggles that may incur in the animation world with some appropriate examples and suggestions. He also explained the applications of animation other than just for movies and games.

“The development of animation in Malaysia grew very fast. Artists switch around from studio to studio. They learn something in the studio A and then bring what they’ve learnt from studio A to studio B. That’s how an industry work,” said Ken in his speech.  He shared the story of how he started his career in Malaysia, and also described the working environment, culture and daily life of the Lemon Sky Studio to the audience.

Top from left: Hsueh, Hassan, and Wang
Bottom from left: Usamah, Huang, and Andrew

Besides the exhibition, two-day workshops and a series of seminar session took place with the participation of prominent guests and with some interesting activities such as card game design, animatic storyboard design, the making of dough craft, animation character design and creative concept drawings. The prominent guests, from both Malaysia and Taiwan, included Independent Digital Animator Hsueh Yu-Ting, Pioneer Animation Maker, Film Historian and Critic Hassan Abd Muthalib, Engine Studios Director Wang Shih-Wei, Wau Animation Chief Agent Usamah Zaid, TurnRhino Original Design Studio Director Huang Yun-Sian, and Inspidea Sdn Bhd Managing Director Andrew Ooi. 

When asked, Diploma in Graphic and Multimedia students Aisyah Binti Abd Munir and Anis Anati Binti Mohd Faizal said, “We came here because we want to learn more about animation. At the same time, we want to get more exposure rather than just studying from the syllabus.”

Prof Cheng (left) presenting a token of appreciation to James

James (left) with FCI Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Aloysius Yapp during the exhibition tour

An exhibition by FCI

Participants during the workshops