CG Overdrive, organized by 3dsense, was one of the events recently sponsored by Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA). All CG Overdrive images courtesy of 3dsense Media School.

“We have benefited from the presence of grants that cover many parts of the production process, such as scriptwriting, screenplay development, pilots for original titles and, even, training and marketing,” said Tang. “MDA has also put together a panel of different companies who have experience on the international stage producing world-class content, and has made these relationships available to young, upcoming companies such as us. The Malaysian government, also, is making good progress in this area through the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Creative Multimedia Content Initiative (CMCI).”

Tang added that Omens Studios is developing, with support from the local governments, an original animated series called XenoHunters which features cutting-edge animation in collaboration with various scriptwriting, directing and voice-acting talents from Los Angeles and other parts of the world. The series has already interested some major distributors at the recently concluded MIPCOM in Cannes, France.

He noted that both governments are also giving a lot of support to local studios who aspire to develop their own feature films, with many long-form animation projects in the pipeline, particularly in assisting the realization of co-production agreements by local studios with those in other countries with more mature animation and film industries, like Canada, New Zealand and the U.K.

Formed in 2003, MDA, a regulatory agency for Singapore's media industry, also helps to establish policies and programs that facilitate growth of that country’s media industry. Participants at CG Overdrive celebrate.

“We feel that these governments are doing a fabulous jobs stepping into and filling the vacuums in the infrastructure necessary to spur the local animation industries. We continue to be impressed with the level of support made available,” Tang added.

According to Aldric Chang, founder/md of both Mediafreaks and Character Farm, “MDA has also been arranging a lot of meetings with overseas production houses and relevant parties.

“MDA have co-funded us for the production of 480 minutes worth of animation, as well as entered us for the Synthesis scheme and the Licensing Program. Through the Licensing Program, we gained a lot of knowledge learning how to manage, protect and exploit our licensing through the mentorship of licensing expert Global Brands… they’ve also subsidized us for visiting shows like the Asia TV Forum, the Hong Kong Licensing Show and MIPCOM.”

Vincent Lim, md of Big Communications, also commented on MDA’s active involvement in elevating animation in the region. “MDA has taken on a huge portion of our marketing and business development responsibilities — all carried out by very dedicated and hardworking officer. For Master Raindrop, it began with the MDA leading a Singapore delegation of several independent production companies for a mission trip to New Zealand in 2003 to establish working relationships with our counterparts in New Zealand. We met Flux Animation Studio during the trip, and the rest is history.”

David Kwok, chairman of the Singapore Animators’ Connection added, “As part of the larger national framework to build the digital media industry in Singapore, the number of government funded training options relevant to our industry has been increased in the key tertiary institutions. Scholarships are provided for Singaporeans seeking training in this industry at other world-class institutions overseas.”

XenoHunters is an original animated series in development by Omens Studios, with support from local Asian governments. © Omen Studios.

Malaysia — The Multimedia Super Corridor
My wife and I had the pleasure to give a presentation at the Multimedia Development Corporation (MdeC), the company that governs and manages Malaysia’s famous Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Founded in 1996, MSC is Malaysia’s initiative for the global information and communication technology (ICT) industry. It is now home to over 900 foreign and homegrown companies. It will continue continues to attract companies all over the world to locate their industries in MSC Malaysia.

In the animation realm, MdeC is taking on a more active role by producing the first 13 parts of the 3D animated TV series Saladin, hailed as “a national project.” Saladin, a historic figure who lived during the Crusades, is a legendary warrior that unites and leads the different Muslim factions.

“The project represents the collective talent in the animation field in the country,” said Kamil Othman, vp for MDeC’s creative department. “MdeC could potentially spend up to RM10 million to produce the full series, which would make Saladin as the most expensive, locally funded animation series. We are definitely targeting for a worldwide release, as the content is being created in a way that will be appealing to the global market. We are already generating interest from several countries but all will depend on the final quality of the series.”