Sunday, May 13, 2012

Getting to know DDM Students Series #005 - Michelle

Yo DDM / DIxM folks!

As promised, we are bringing you a new feature on Michelle Tan,  a third-year DDM student who is now working in USA for her Internship attachment under the NUS-MDA Singapore Hollywood Attachment Programme. Under this programme, Michelle's airfare, living expenses etc are all fully sponsored, plus she gets to work in a reputable company like Motorola Mobility, which was acquired by IT giant Google last year.

Without doubt,  part of the reason that Michelle managed to get into the programme because of her excellent academic results.  But is there more to it than her results?  I talked to Michelle to find out more about this girl who is not your mugger or girl-next-door as you might assume from her bespectacled looks ;)



Michelle, can you tell us a little about the schools you went to before coming to SP?

I started out in Braddell Primary School, which merged into First Toa Payoh Primary School when I was in Primary 3. I was in the Girls’ Brigade for 4 years, acting as a squad leader, which encouraged me to take on leadership roles and responsibilities.
I then went on to Cedar Girls’ Secondary, where I joined the Cedar Media Club’s photography section just because my friend was in there. Although I didn’t join out of interest for photography, in the end, I came to love photography!

From my CCA, I learned various skills such as photo manipulation, video editing and, of course, photography. That sparked my interest in digital media, especially since I realised by then, that I didn’t like studying for exams and tests


So what made you choose the poly route?
After learning that there were other routes besides going to JC, I researched a little and found out about polytechnics. From there, I set my heart on going to poly.

Once it was time to choose which course to go to, I looked in the magazines and found the Diploma in Digital Media. I looked through the modules listed on the website, and was immediately attracted to the ‘design and development’ side of the course. I put it down as my first choice, and here I am!


You are not a mugger yet you can do so well for exams! What are your "secrets of success" for your 'O' levels and other exams?


Ever since I was 5, or maybe earlier, my mother always borrowed books from the library for me every week. I’d sit down somewhere and read them all from cover to cover. From there, my love of reading started, and consequently, my English proficiency increased. It was easier to understand textbooks or what teachers taught, so I’ve done well academically since primary school

However, I realised that exams are basically just testing the amount of knowledge memorised from the textbooks. Something that really helps in examinations is knowing how to phrase answers. So one of my secrets to studying is to memorise and practice the format of the answer or solution, then memorising the information only the day or night before, so it stays fresh in my mind. It worked for my O Levels, and has also worked for all the exams I’ve taken in poly!


What do you remember most about your childhood? Tell us something you did not do in your childhood, but you wish you had done.

As for my childhood, what I remember the most is reading books! I would read almost every single day, and I remember very vividly, getting caught reading under the table in class. The teacher would try to confiscate my book, and I’d be upset not because I was scolded, but because I couldn’t finish the story!

Something I really miss from my childhood is running around and playing with my friends during recess. Those simple days were really blissful, compared to the hectic life now.

Credits to: Copyright (c)123RF Stock Photos

Something I wish I had done was to take dance lessons! I only realised how much I enjoy dance now, and I don’t really have much time to try it out nowadays. Plus, you’re much more flexible when you’re young, so it would have helped, really.


Name three things you enjoy doing.


1. Learning languages
2. Reading comics, manga, graphic novel
3. Drawing

I’ve been drawing since I was a kid; I started out drawing ponies and fairies, and just never stopped! I’ve never taken formal art classes nor has anyone taught me how to draw. I’m not sure when or how I started, but it’s such an essential part of me now, I can’t imagine not being able to draw!

Although I started out only drawing animals like horses and wolves, when I got into manga, I started drawing humans. After going through the drawing module in DDM, I started drawing more realistic humans and animals.

I just enjoy drawing and illustrating certain scenarios that my mind randomly comes up with. Also because there are so many different styles and factors that can affect the mood of the drawing and the viewer, it makes it interesting to draw.

Pencil Drawing by Michelle
 

 
Name three things or people who inspire you.

1. Yan Wenqing, or yuumei. (http://yuumei.deviantart.com/)

Her comics invoke incredible emotion, and her drawings are not only skilled but meaningful as well. I love her use of colour, and her comic series, Knite, is an interesting use of Adobe Flash to show such a comic. I admire her not only for having stories that hit just the right note of bittersweet, but also for art that is a feast for the eyes! I recommend reading 1000 Words (http://yuumei.deviantart.com/art/1000-W0RDS-126831037) as an introduction to her work.

2. Emily Carroll is another person who has inspired me. Most comics are merely A4-sized, and drawn in boxes, even when they are digital web comics. However, she has made full use of the web as a medium, and has created vividly illustrated comics with interesting ways of navigation. I recommend reading Margot (http://emcarroll.com/comics/margot/) before exploring the rest of her website (http://www.emcarroll.com/). Her art style is also quite brushy and is an interesting style.

3. Andrew Hussie is currently one of my main inspirations.   He is the creator of the web comic Homestuck (http://www.mspaintadventures.com/), that currently has over 4000 pages and counting, and also incorporates no less than 63 Flash animations.

He single-handedly wrote the story and drew the pages, working together with other artists contributing media like original soundtracks and fan art to create the longest ever web comic. If you just take a look at one of the animations (http://www.mspaintadventures.com/cascade.php?s=6&p=6009), you’ll see why he’s such an amazing inspiration. This is the culmination of a major arc in the story, and he put together 6 .swf files just to create this 13 minute long animation, with a soundtrack specially composed for it. He uses the frames quite creatively as well, effectively thinking out of the ‘box’.


Have you travelled anywhere before? If so, which countries have you been to? Which country do you like most?
 
 I’ve travelled to various countries around Asia, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Japan, but I’ve never been out of Asia.

I loved visiting Japan the most, for various reasons. Firstly, I got to experience snow there because it was winter, and secondly, because I stayed with a very warm and welcoming host family as part of the exchange programme. I could also test my knowledge of Japanese, which is entirely self-learned, by talking to the people there, and I learned many new things through experiencing their culture.

Share your feelings about being selected for the NUS-MDA SHAPE program. What do you hope to gain from this program?

I’m very excited to be in the programme! I can’t wait to fly over and begin work immediately!

The company I’m going to work in is Motorola Mobility, which is a research department. I’ll be allowed to work on on-going projects, or even start a new one of my own.

I hope to learn Java from my colleagues there, and how to program Android apps, which is what they’re focusing on.   I also hope to pick up tips on working in the industry from there.

Besides that, I’ll be living alone for five months there, so I hope to learn how to live independently and also experience American culture


What are your favourite modules in SP? Name something that you really enjoy learning and something you wished was taught, but was not taught.

My favourite modules are Design and Aesthetics (DEAE) and Web Applications Development (WAD).

For the former, because I loved experimenting with different design styles like digital painting and vector illustration, and for the latter, because I loved learning how to program iPhone applications.

I really wanted to take the 2D animation elective, but sadly, the majority of my course mates chose the music elective instead, so we were all forced to take it. I’ve heard a lot about 2D Animation from my friends in DDA, so I had hoped to be able to learn it myself.



Please share 3 pictures of your creative work


Vector Illustration

GUI application icon design

Photo - Dog

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Coming up next -- Getting to know DDM Students Series #005 - Michelle

Wow, it's been 4 weeks since the start of AY1213s1 and its been an exciting 4 weeks as we welcome our new batch of DIxM students and try to settle them in!

I don't personally teach the DIxM Year 1s so I am not sure how stressful the workload is at the CYOT Stage 1B for this semester, but I bet, from the students point of view, it's always "Wah so many assignments ah!"...

So if you are one of our Year 1 DIxM "babies" reading this, you must be wondering, how do my seniors cope?! Is it possible to get good results and still have a life?!!

Well, glad to say... definitely YES! And here's your senior - Michelle Tan to prove it!!



In the next issue of the DIxM bites which will be launched on 13 May 2012, we are going to have a little peek into the life of this top student in the DDM course and see how she manages to enjoy her hobbies while she maintains her good results.

See you then! :)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Getting to know DDM Students Series #004 - Jeremiah

After featuring students in the last three instalments, I've found that students do truly enjoy getting to read about other course-mates that they do not know in person. Are you one of them? If so, here's one more feature to look forward to! :D

Today, we will feature Jeremiah Ang, DDM Year 1 going to be Year 2 student.  Unlike Fifi, Nicholas and Ibrahim, whose features were written in the third-person, Jeremiah's writeup is crafted all by himself!   In fact, it was Jeremiah himself who volunteered to do the writeup on his own, so I am really impressed by his initiative.  Thanks Jeremiah! :)

Anyway, I will cut short my long blabbering and present you, Mister Jeremiah Ang's writeup right below! Enjoy! ^.^


My name is Jeremiah, I came from Yishun Secondary School.

If I were to describe myself with a word, it would have to be carefree. I really enjoy a slow pace life and to just relax.

DDM was actually my first choice of course.   The reason why I put it as my first choice was because I wanted to learn more about designing, but more than that, I wanted to learn a little of IT as well. And just nice, DDM offered both of them. As I go through the first year, I started to appreciate design more and grew greater interest in IT as well.

Other than IT and designing, I really enjoy swimming as well. Whenever I plunge into the water, it always feels like entering a whole new world where I can simply forget about the fast-paced life and all the assignment I have.


I joined SP Lifesavers as my CCA and I’ve been swimming for quite a long time, but only took it seriously when I’m secondary 4. Swimming is in fact one of the ways I actually destress and take time out from the crazy and packed schedule.


More than just swimming, I’m also learning lifesaving technique and have worked as a lifeguard in a pool before. I think this is where my passion really lies in, being ever ready to provide help for people in need, in the pool. I am now pursuing a higher certificate in lifesaving, and hope to one day be a either a swimming or lifesaving instructor.

My philosophy in life?
‘To go fast, go alone, to go far, go together’
‘You are your greatest challenger’

My dream is to be able to learn diving and to go out for diving trips in the future, and to go Australia to experience their waves.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Coming up next -- Getting to know DDM Students Series #004 - Jeremiah

Hullo DDM babes and hunks, geeks and fashionistas,

Sorry for the horribly long hiatus since our last post (like one month ago)!

I hope you will accept my 'excuse', but really..we the lecturers have been really busy marking the exam papers and assignments since you finished your exams and take my word for it, its a really tedious and mind-boggling process!

Anyway, I want to give you a preview of what's coming next for issue #004 of our "DIxM Bites"! We are going to feature the sporty Jeremiah (wow, another sporty DDM student?!),  can you guess what sports he is really passionate about?


Well, if you know this lanky and dimpled boy in person, you will already know the answer :).

If not, wait for his write-up to be featured soon!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Getting to know DDM Students Series #003 - Ibrahim

After getting to know two Year 1 (2011 cohort) students for the last two issues, this week, we will peek into the life of a Year 2 DDM student -  Ibrahim Zubir!

When I was given his name for interview, I was told he is the current "poster boy" of DDM.  After viewing his profile at Facebook, I understood why - he looks so charming and friendly!  Seeing is believing.. check out his photos below to see what I mean!

Before coming to Singapore Polytechnic, Ibrahim studied Retail Management (NITEC) and Integrated Logistics Management (Higher NITEC) at ITE College East.   Woah, what a contrast from what he is studying now!

Ibrahim felt that both his courses at ITE have developed him well, "Through my Retail Management course,  I developed better communication and inter-personal skills.  I learnt how important it is to understand the customer’s needs and how to be a great sales provider."
"In Higher Nitec I took Integrated Logistics Management as I wanted to explore something new, and how this industry works. It is basically about business, how to handle goods, goods that are imported and exported and delivery through various transportation modes such as vehicles, ships and plane."

I got curious to see that his secondary school and primary school were both in the West - Hong Kah Secondary School and Yung An Primary, yet, he decided to enrol in ITE College East which is the opposite side of the island from where he stays!

Ibrahim explained, "I didn't mind the distance because ITE College East was then one of the newest campus during my intake.  The facilities was the best among others. I wanted to experience a new environment on the other parts of Singapore; also during that time, I wanted my school to be far away from home, so that I could have a little freedom. And the last reason was because of the interesting courses that the campus provides, with real work industry facilities such as 77th Street outlet in the campus, for our training sessions."

Wow, from how he described his educational experiences before he came to SP,  Ibrahim has a wealth of interesting stories to share indeed!


Next, I asked him these questions and here are the answers he gave:

Name three favourite things:
My three favorite are All Spider Man Movies, American Idol, and Music Band, MAROON 5.  My three favourite songs from Maroon5 are Misery, Goodnight Goodnight and Never Gonna Leave This Bed.



Ibrahim, how do you think your friends think of you and what do you think of yourself?
My friends think I am a sympathetic person and I agree. 

I guess they think I am so because I can easily understand other people feelings' and being concerned towards them when they are facing problems, especially my friends.
Personally i think i am an ambitious person
I always give my best in everything that I do till the very end in order to achieve a great result until I am fully satisfied. I wanted to achieve my dreams of becoming a very successful person
in future.

What are your favourite modules in SP?
After studying for 2 years, my three favourite modules in SP are DVDE (Digital Visual Design), DEAE (Design and Aesthetics) and VEFX (Visual Effects).

  • I appreciate DVDE because this module has helped me develop my skills of using Adobe softwares such as Photoshops and Illustrator. 
  • I enjoy DEAE (Design And Aesthetics) because it helps me explore all the different area in the media industry such as photography, graphics design as well as website design. 
  • As for VEFX (Visual Effects), I love this module because I love to edit videos and add cool effects to it. 


What is your CCA in SP?
I join the Photography Club. I learned some photography skills and tips of capturing different types of shots, we also did photography outing at popular places in Singapore such as Chinese Garden and took night photography at Clarke Quay to capture the night scene.



Ibrahim, can you share with us what are your strengths and weaknesses please?
I believe these are my strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
  1. Optimistic person, as i always think positively in whatever things that i do.
  2. Sociable, as I'm friendly and able to get along easily with everyone.
Weaknesses
  1. Easily distracted
  2. Spendthrift.  I spent a lot on shoes and apparel. When I see nice things, I will just buy them :)


I like his answers to this question  the most :)

Ibrahim, so who or what inspires you?
Hanagumori Digital Painting
I am inspired by
  1. Hanagumori Digital Painting by Diane Ozdamar
  2. Steve Jobs and
  3. Mr Leon Chua (SP Lecturer)

  • When I first saw the Hanagumori painting, it totally caught my attention right away. The painting really wowed me, as if it was a real person staring at me, haha.  I love every detail of the painting that the artists drew. Especially the character eye and the textures of the work piece.
  • To me, Steve Jobs is the reason why things are getting much simpler today in the technology industry. I believe his passion and dedication for work has made him to be one of the wealthiest and successful businessmen in the world, and I hope to be like him too. 
  • As for Mr Leon Chua, I remember how he showed us his portfolio and some school works that he did during his time. All of his works are very inspirational, seeing the work which he had done was way much better than most of us now. He always motivates his students, and gives honest and generous comments when we had consultation with him for our design work. Mr Leon is a lecturer who teaches his students with great passion.


If you can be somebody else for a day, who would you choose to be?
If I can be somebody else for a day, I would like to be Peter Parker a.k.a Tobey McGuire the main actor from Spider Man Movie. So that I'm able to use the spider-web to explore around the world and capturing great photos at the same time.  

Ibrahim, can you share with us some of your favourite photography works please?
My three favourite works are as below.
Paddy Field

Lady Knitting

Young boy by the roadside

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Preview of Getting to know DDM Students Series #003

Sorry for the long hiatus, work has been busy!

But not to fret, we are coming up with a good one in the next issue - our handsome Year 2 going on Year 3 DDM posterboy Ibrahim!

Look out for him on 27 Feb 2012!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Getting to know DDM Students Series #002 - Nicholas

Hi peeps!

How time flies, it's been a week since we last featured Fifi, the rock-climber cum passionate digital art designer and now it's time to feature our next student in the list.

Today, we present Nicholas Ching,  a former Bukit Batok Secondary school alumni who describes himself as a ROCKER.


Fifth choice but loving it
So how did a ROCKER end up in a digital media course like DDM?

"Actually, DDM was not my first choice, it was my fifth choice! My first choice was Media Communications in SP.  I tried getting in through JPSAE but failed, and was posted here"

But all is not lost.  As Nicholas added, "I like this course, even though it is not my first choice. I feel that this course is fun, and really cool. especially Photoshop! haha!".

Though he admitted he was initially quite disappointed that he did not get into his preferred course, the out-going student from Bukit Batok Secondary has learnt to adapt and blended incredibly well into his course and with his coursemates.

"I'm loving life here in SP, in this course.  Except for the part where I have to take less of DDM-type of modules under the Common Year One (CYO) curriculum,  I love everything else about SP and DDM.   I love the food here, the people here, everything in SP is really good! I find the teachers/lecturers and students are all very friendly, easy to mix with, after 10 months here, I have loads of new friends already! hahaha."

Paintball MANIAC?
So what does this active boy with boyish good looks do besides going to school?

"I love playing soccer and basketball and also paintball."

His passion with paintball is evident from the way he talks about it, "I really love playing paintball. I started this sport when I was in poly Year 1.  I've focused a lot on it and feel that it is something I'm good at."

What makes him love paintball so much, I asked him, "I think paintball makes me grow as a person.  Playing paintball really helped me realise how important teamwork is and made me communicate more with my peers and also realise how important friends are."

Nicholas playing paintball at a competition in ECP, Oct 2011
One question popped into my mind and I asked Nicholas, "Hey, why do you call yourself a rocker?"

Nicholas smiled and said "Well, I call myself a rocker because I listen to a lot of rock music, very fast-paced songs. and I like to dress like one! I am ALWAYS in jeans and band tees!"


Trying to act like a rocker!

Besides paintball and listening to music, like any typical teenage guy, he also loves to play video games like FIFA, NBA and  first-person shooting games like Call Of Duty and Battlefield.

He loves all kinds of western food especially fish & chips and steak.  But don't feed this boy any vegetables - he HATES them and Chinese dishes are not his cup of tea either.

Missing ManU
I asked Nicholas what would he want to do if he was allowed to be anything or do anything he wanted.   He jokingly replied, "Play all day, and get people to give me a huge allowance everyday!"

Later, he reverted to a serious face and shared this with me, "I really want to go back to Manchester and see that place again. I've been there once and really love it.  Manchester is the home of my favourite football club, Manchester United, and what's more, the food there is good, the houses are nice, everything seems great over there."

Nicholas at Old Trafford, a football stadium in Manchester

Anything else he really wants to do?
"Well, I really want to learn the guitar or another instrument as I love music and hate how I can't motivate myself to focus on something and perfect it instead of quitting it halfway."  I learnt later that Nicholas had tried to self-learn the guitar on his own but he could not discipline himself and gave up after a while.   He declares that in order that history would not repeat, he would sign up for guitar lessons in future, and put his heart into learning it this time, "I would live on the "never say die" slogan just like my father!"

Never say die slogan just like his father?
"Actually I really wish I can do something really meaningful to my life and make something out of myself.  I really wish I can make the people around me happy, for instance, my dad.  He's a really great father who inspires me alot.  He has the 'never say die' attitude, and always willing to help people no matter how badly they've treated him before.  He always helps me when I'm in need, teach me what to do and stuff"

So what's your philsophy in life?
"What goes around, comes around"
"A man who never made a mistake never tried anything new"
"All our dreams will come true, if we have the courage to pursue them"

If you can be someone else for a day, who would you choose to be?
"If I could be somebody else for a day, I would like to be David Beckham because I love soccer, and he is my idol. I love how he plays soccer and gets to play in those big clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan. It would be really awesome to be him for a day and imagine the things I could buy with his one day salary!"

So what would make this carefree boy really happy in life?
"I would be really happy in life as long as I know my family and friends are always there for me, and that I hope that luck would shine on me from time to time(I'm a rather unlucky person in some ways) haha. As long as everyone who's in my life right now is doing great, I'll be glad :) "