Friday 5 January 2018

Animation Talk @ Unity Secondary School

Sharing knowledge about the animation industry, local and international, trends and outlook. Interestingly, More students have heard of Ubisoft but cant name more than 2 franchises, while many haven't heard of ILM but know of Star Wars and Indiana Jones.




Sunday 31 December 2017

Happy 2018!

In 2007, when we first started Tiny Island, we only have one simple dream. We wanted to create a commercially sustainable environment that allow us to pursue our passion in animation.
With no money and little knowledge, I have busted 4 credit cards to start this journey. I started running a night class in Animation Production by renting a classroom from a local polytechnic. My first batch of graduates joined us in production who eventually become the departmental head of the company. At that time, I thought we will only last for 6 months. With blessings, from a 2000 sqft office, we grew to a 10,000 sqft office after a year. From a few freelancers to eventually a 120 man team.
For the last 10 years, it has been a roller coaster ride. It has been tough. We were on our own by bootstrapping. Not taking a single cent were taken from any investor. When the crew run out of job, I decided to create jobs for ourselves by investing all our years of savings of USD$5.2M to create our IP Dream Defenders. Many people thought we were insane. What has been seen as a mistake has eventually become a global IP that has been sold to 80 over countries. 5 platforms in the US. And eventually gotten DreamWorks to be our distributor. Now Dream Defenders is heading to China, becoming our first feature film.
A few years back, our local industry climate started to change. We were hit badly by 2 crisis that almost wipe us out entirely. I still recall that one of my ex staff told me to close down the company and find a job.
At times, I felt hopeless seeing some of our core people leaving one after another. I am forever grateful for those who stayed and fought really hard with the remaining team. Without this persistence, we will never able to turn the table around. Looking at the video brings back so many great memories and it wasn’t easy to hold back the tears.
The journey we have gone through isn’t about fame and money. It’s about a team of individuals coming together, going through thick and thin to build a dream they believe in. Many of us started as fresh grad, later got married, have kids and we grew old together. Tiny Island is all about this family culture we have built. Its this spirit that has made the company special which will last a life time. And all I hope for is a better living for our crew in the future.
For those who has been with us, I sincerely thank you for being part of this wonderful memory and journey. It’s you that has brought us to where we are. Without your support, we will never reach this 10th year.
2018 opens a new chapter. A new future. A new beginning. With the new passionate individuals joining us, together I know that we are going to make the difference.
From the Bottom of My Heart. A Big Thank you to those who has supported us.
Happy New Year 2018.


Thursday 12 October 2017

Entrepreneurship in Animation and IP Creation Master Class

This will probably be the LAST BATCH. After 1st Nov, the policy is going to change and it will not be easy for individuals. (I am not sure if we will run anymore) So if you are interested, please drop an email to admin@cgprotege.com by 20th Oct 2017. The course will start in Dec 2017.

After subsidy (SINGAPOREANS AND PR ONLY), you only pay $275 per part. If you are really interested and facing financial difficulties, let me know. I will help you.



How to Bring your IP from Ideas to Development? (Part 1)

How to Bring your IP from Development to Monetization? (Part 2)

Sunday 27 August 2017

BEACON - BEKRAF ANIMATION PRESS CONFERENCE 2017



Business Strategy in IP Creations. Industry sharing.

I always enjoy teaching in Indonesia. The people are so nice and warm, always hungry to learn. I can talk all day. Ha ha honoured to be the only foreign company invited to speak at the event.
Thank you friends from Bandung. Thanks for having me. I look forward for more opportunities to share with you.

Friday 25 August 2017

BEACON - Tomorrow Is The Day!

For our friends in Bandung Indonesia. Tomorrow is the event. Look forward to see you.

Monday 21 August 2017

BEACON BEKRAF ANIMATION CONFERENCE

Hello to our friends in Indonesia
BEACON
BEKRAF ANIMATION CONFERENCE
I have been invited by the Indonesia Govt Agency to give a talk on "Business Strategy in Developing IP"
Venue: Trans Luxury Hotel Bandung
Jln Jenderal Gatot Subroto 289, Bandung 40273, Indonesia
This Sat 26th August 2017
Time: 3pm to 5pm
Entrance is FREE

Tuesday 8 August 2017

Shared Link: The 'Avengers' of Singapore's game development scene just secured funding

Singapore-based game developer BattleBrew Productions has raised an undisclosed funding from Harish Nim, CEO of Emerio Corp, an NTT-Docomo affiliated company. Emerio Corp is a Singapore-based IT services company while NTT-Docomo is Japan’s largest mobile operator. 

BattleBrew will use the newly-raised funding to finish development on its first game, a free-to-play mobile game for the iOS and Android platforms. 

Ian Gregory, Strategic Director of BattleBrew, did not disclose much details of the game, but told e27 that it was a mobile strategy game. 

Founded early this year, BattleBrew’s team is an ensemble of veteran game developers from Singapore. Three members on the team, Benjamin Chua, Louis Cua, and Greyson He have previously worked at Ubisoft, developing triple AAA titles such as the Assassin’s Creed series. 

Others had cut their teeth in other renowned gaming companies such as Gameloft and Garena (now known as Sea).

...

To read more about this article, click here