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.
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!
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| Pencil Drawing by Michelle |
Name three things or people who inspire you.
1. Yan Wenqing, or yuumei. (http://yuumei.deviantart.com/)
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.
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?
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
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| Vector Illustration |
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| GUI application icon design |
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| Photo - Dog |
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