Blog
3D animation puts Singapore on world map
27 December 10
A Singapore small production company is creating attention in the world with its animation project “Dream Defenders”, a show targeted at six to nine year olds.
Featuring cool gadgets, scary villains, “Dream Defenders” is made in both stereoscopic 3D, which requires special viewing glasses, and flat animation, which is what is seen on screens.
The production firm, Tiny Island has been working on this project for a year. Production of the 26—episode series started in June, and they have completed their first episode, with four more on the way.
“Though we are very strong in creating content, the 3D opportunities and 3D market really give us a much higher advantage, because of the strong demand in the West: in US, in Europe as well as in Asia,” said the firm’s Managing Director, David Kwok.
Their work has impressed a major US network that it commissioned Tiny Island to work on one of its projects.
Mr Kwok has also set up a school, CG Protege, to train budding animation artists across various ranges of specialisations. The courses are supported by both the Media Development Authority (MDA) and the Workforce Development Agency.
It is expected that more animation properties will emerge from Singapore, to have second, third, fourth, fifth to nth life across multiple platforms, into games, publications, both hard copy as well as electronic, television, long form as well as feature films.
MDA has allocated a S$10 million fund for stereoscopic 3D productions, with S$2 million set aside for feature films.
According to the MDA, the media sector contributed S$5.5 billion of value—added and S$22.4 billion in revenue to the Singapore economy in 2008, employing some 63,000 workers.