Tidal Tales on UTAR official site

(From left) Woo Mun Kit, Quek Shio Chuan and Lai Tjun Kong with their trophies at the ceremony.

A group of Broadcasting students of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) shone again at the Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards (NCA) 2009 ceremony held on 6 August 2009 at the Sime Darby Convention, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, bagging two awards from the eleven given out at the ceremony.

Like the previous year, UTAR students' winning entry was initially developed as a class project but it ended up as their ticket to victory at the NCA 2009 ceremony. The winning group comprised Quek Shio Chuan, Winnie Saw Shu Li, Chan Hsien Yu, Lai Tjun Kong and Woo Mun Kit, Mark. Their winning entry was a documentary titled Tidal Tales.

Tidal Tales won two awards - Revolutionary Documentary and Phenomenal Art Direction. For this excellent production, the group received a total of RM20,000 in cash, certificates and two trophies. Tidal Tales is a story about the last generation of fishermen in Segenting, Batu Pahat, using a unique method known as the Gombang to capture pomfrets.

About the award-winning documentary, Quek, 22, who is the leader of the group and was also the leader of last year's winning team, said, "Tidal Tales promises a heart warming journey of a fisherman, the obstacles he faces and also his catches told in a stylistic way. We chose this topic as a challenge as most of the footages were shot on a boat and thus required competent skills."

According to Quek, his group also submitted two other entries for the NCA 2009, namely Witty Wings under the documentary category and Consalvation under the short mobile content category. Both entries were nominated for awards too - Witty Wings for Revolutionary Documentary and Consalvation for Extraordinary Short Content Mobile.

Prior to the ceremony, Consalvation had emerged as 2nd runner-up in the Jerneh Friend of Green Malaysia Short Film Competition in the morning on the same day.

Quek Shio Chuan on Sunday People NST

Dad knows best. Quek Shio Chuan can’t deny it anymore after winning a prestigious broadcasting award, learns RACHAEL PHILIP...

click on image to view article on NST online

Tidal Tales on Kosmo - NCA 2009

NCA menerusi penganjuran kali kedua terbukti menjadi medan mencungkil bakat-bakat baru pelajar universiti dan kolej dalam bidang multimedia...

click on image to view full article on Kosmo!

Tidal Tales on The Star

click on images to view full article on The Star online
Quek Shio Chuan, Lai Tjun Kong, Woo Mun Kit Mark, Winnie Saw Shu Li, and Chan Hsien Yu teamed up to bag two awards from the Astro NextGen Contentpreneur Awards 2009 with the lastest documentary Tidal Tales. The two awards which consist of RM 10,000 cash prize each are:

- Revolutionary Documentary
- Phenomenal Art Direction


This also mark that Verve Productions had successfully kept the 100% award winning record after the recent success of the forth official project Tidal Tales, a documentary regarding the last generation of fishermen in Segenting who use Gombangs as their chosen technique of catching pomfrets.

View Tidal Tales here.

Quek Shio Chuan on NST

Contaminated on Kosmo

Quek Shio Chuan on China Press

郭修篆：電影鏡頭找到自己

報導：陳艾琳
圖：依哲、受訪者提供

人生是多姿多采的，每個人站在自己的角度看風景都不一樣。通過攝影機的鏡頭看世界，郭修篆把他眼中的風景化為影像，希望為大眾帶來訊息，也帶來歡樂……

click on image to view full article on China Press

The Last Exit on Oriental Daily

Witty Wings

Witty Wings & The Last Exit on Kosmo!

It was a glorious night as Universiti tunku Abdul Rahman students swept 14 awards from the Sixth Malaysian Students Film & Video Festival (SMSFVF) (FFVPM6).





All three grand awards which include Best Overall Production for Anugerah Cipta, Best Short Video for Anugerah Perdana as well as Best Documentary for Anugerah Perdana were all noted under the name of UTAR.





Quek Shio Chuan and crew who had brought to you Witty Wings and The Last Exit wish to thank the organizers of the event UPM, FINAS, ASTRO, PANASONIC as well as official press KOSMO in organizing such a successful event, The Authorities of UTAR including Prof Chuah the president, Dr. Carmen the dean, Mr Beh Chun Chee, Ms Maizura, Mr Nor Adzwan as well as all the other lecturers who had been supportive through the entire production, the panel of jury, our brilliant subjects Lao Gao and Alex, as well as every single person out there who had been supporting our efforts and hard work.

Witty Wings & The Last Exit Swept 9 awards at FFVPM6

Verve Productions is proud to celebrate the success of Witty Wings and The Last Exit as both projects rocked the 6th Malaysian Students Film & Video Festival (SMSFVF) or Festival Filem dan Video Pelajar Malaysia ke-6 (FFVPM6).

Witty Wings

Anugerah Perdana

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST EDITING

The Last Exit

Anugerah Cipta

BEST OVERALL PRODUCTION

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST EDITING

BEST ART DIRECTION

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

BEST MUSIC EDIT

Witty Wings Completed

After a month of continous shooting and editing, Verve Productions has finally completed the first ever documentary production. As a part of the competition, Witty Wings had been submitted to the administration of Festival Filem & Video Pelajar ke-6 and will be premiering on 8 Jan 2009. Be sure to catch Witty Wings by then.

VERVE PRODUCTIONS in collaboration with the 6th MALAYSIA STUDENTS FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL presents 'WITTY WINGS'

narrated by LAI TJUN KONG assistant director WOO MUN KIT, MARK director of photography CHAN HSIEN YU

music by QUEK SHIO YEE production manager WINNIE SAW SHU LI continuity TEOH SHU CHYI

produced, directed & edited by QUEK SHIO CHUAN

Witty Wings on The Star

OK, your script is ready and you have prepared it to the best of your ability. Next comes pitching your story to movie executives, producers and directors with the hope they will buy your idea and make a movie out of it. Unless you are a good story teller who can present a strong enough story that’s a cut above the rest, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Understanding the importance of pitching, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) recently organised the first-ever “Super Pitch” (SP) competition which saw budding filmmakers from higher learning institutes pitching ideas for the Perdana Awards, a category under the Sixth Malaysian Students Film and Video Festival (SMSFVF). The festival takes place at the varsity from Jan 8-10.

After a gruelling session, the judges selected five finalists for the film/short video category. They included Let’s Play A Game (Universiti Lim Kok Wing), Rewind (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), Aidan Damia (Universiti Teknologi Mara Melaka), Mengintai Kasih (Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan) and Kasih Mastura (UPM).
Finalists for the documentary category were Witty Wings (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), Nabi Palsu (Universiti Teknologi Mara Melaka), Autisme (UPM), Cenuai (Akademi Seni Budaya & Warisan Kebangsaan) and Tagal Sungai Moroli Ranau (Universiti Malaysia Sabah).
According to Muhamad Sham, entries were selected based on synopsis, story line, theme, character description and film location. Finalists for the short video/film and documentary categories each received a RM2,500 and RM2,000 allowance, respectively, to realise their scripts.

WItty Wings on Berita Harian

The 6th Festival Filem Dan Video Pelajar Malaysia is made up of 2 categories where students can either submit their ready made projects to the Anugerah Cipta or pitch for a grant, and receive financial sponsor to produce their works in the Super Pitch of the Anugerah Perdana.

Over 100 entries from around the country were submitted to the super pitch. 40 of them were given a chance to pitch for a grant, and only 10 were selected to produce their works in a month’s time. Selected short dramas and documentaries each received financial sponsor of 2500 ringgit Malaysia and 2000 ringgit Malaysia each as their production budget.

The main sponsor of the event, Panasonic, has allocated 5 units of High Definition Video camera to be given away as prizes for the winning projects. The award ceremony will be taking place in January next year.

Witty Wings on Kosmo!

Witty Wings topped FFVPM6 Super Picth

SUPER PITCH Results
5 winners from 5 different Universities

DOCUMENTARY Standings

1 WITTY WINGS UTAR

2 NABI PALSU UiTM

3 AUTISME (NAMUN KU PUNYA HATI) UPM

4 CENUAI ASWARA

5 TAGAL SUNGAI MOROLI RANAU UMS

Verve Productions would like to congratulate fellow university mates and their project Rewind which had also received financial sponsor from the FFVPM6

SHORT FILM Standings

1 LET’S PLAY A GAME LIMKOKWING

2 REWIND UTAR

3 AIDAN DAMIA UiTM

4 MENGINTAI KASIH ASWARA

5 KASIH MASTURA UPM

View Official Website

Verve announces 3rd official project "Witty Wings"

3 months after the official launch of The Last Exit, Verve Productions is back to produce the 3rd official project, Witty Wings.

Witty Wings is a documentary which tells the story of a niche group of people who share the same pastime which is bird keeping. Two groups of bird keepers will be focused led by Kwey Shen Chan and Teh Zhi Nian representing the elder generation and the youth group respectively, both sharing the same passion.

This upcoming documentary covers the entire range of their activities including methods of preparing bird traps, procedures of catching desired species of birds, rearing and cultivating them and ultimately taking part in bird pageants. Besides the core elements of bird keeping, Witty Wings also portray how this specific hobby play a part in the keepers’ lifestyle and culture especially in enhancing their social network as well as fulfilling their self-actualization needs.

Witty Wings focuses on two species of birds which are the White-Rumped Shama (Copsychus Malabaricus) and the Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus Saularis). At the end of the documentary audiences will understand the features and details of the specific birds, utensils and techniques needed to capture these birds, ways to rear and train pet birds to ensure healthiness and beauty, criteria judged in an actual bird pageant and the overall benefits of this unique activity.

Headline News of UTAR official website

UTAR Students Celebrate Victory at Astro Awards



The award-winning team and their trophies




The brilliant minds behind the music video 'Contaminated' celebrating their success

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) received another boost in the recognition of its programmes when a group of Honours degree in Broadcasting students won four out of 11 awards during the Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards (NCA) ceremony held on 19 April 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur .

The competition was organised by Astro, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Content Initiative. It aimed to recognise and encourage young Malaysians to pursue content excellence in media forms such as short film, documentary, music video, website and animation.

Participants were judged based on the originality of their content writing and storyline, the strength of the concept, technical aspects of the production as well as the medium's ability to communicate its message to the audience.

UTAR students' winning entry was initially an assignment for their Broadcasting II unit, but it ended up as their road to victory during the NCA . The Year Two students were Chin Ying Yih, Chong Sze Yen, Elaine Cheng Xiao Funn, Quek Shio Chuan, Tan Jia Vern, Teoh Chin Hong, Thee Wei Chuan, Winnie Saw Shu Li, and Yeoh Seok Khim. They produced a music video under the supervision of their lecturer, Beh Chun Chee.

Their video was entitled 'Contaminated' and it featured visuals of the deteriorating Mother Nature through a series of dance movements and human representations.

It won four awards - Outstanding Music Video, Exceptional Lyrics, Finest Music and Arrangement as well as Phenomenal Art Direction. For this excellent production, the group received a total of RM40, 000 in cash and four trophies.

Team leader, Quek, 21, shared, "We decided to come up with a project that has a blend of both classical and contemporary styles because we felt that it would be unique. However, I have to admit that it was a challenging experience completing the project on a tight budget."

Tan added, "For most of us it was the first time we handled the recording with the camera on our own. My involvement in this project itself has helped me to learn new practical skills such as acting, editing, lighting techniques and working with limited equipment."

"It did not cross our minds to send this music video for the awards. But thanks to Mr Beh's encouragement, we submitted it and won," Tan expressed.

Beh, the broadcasting lecturer said, "UTAR students are encouraged to participate in competitions as they can gain real life exposure to the industry. For instance, by interacting with other participants and the industry practitioners they can understand different view points, production styles and useful working habits that they could adopt. Besides that, they are able to gauge their production level based on industry benchmarks and may also receive the recognition and appreciation for their hard work."

Apart from widening their frontiers in broadcasting, the production crew from UTAR also enjoyed the ceremony as a memorable event that related them to their future profession. Quek commented, "Attending the ceremony taught me one or two things about event organisation. In addition to that, I was interviewed by the press after receiving the awards. All this was a great experience!"

ArtSentral interview session

Interview with winner of Astro NCA 2008: Quek Shio Chuan


ArtSentral had conducted an e-mail interview with the founder of Verve Production regarding the success of Contaminated in tha Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards Night.

Read the full interview here

28th April 2008

Contaminated on R-AGE

Ace assignments

THE next time your lecturer gets you to do a project, take it seriously because it could win you thousands of ringgit as was the case for some students at the inaugural Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards (NCA) held last Saturday.

The competition was open to tertiary students to encourage and nurture young talents in Malaysia in multimedia content development

At NCA, winners not only won RM10,000 per award and a trophy but also had a chance to pitch for a government grant up to RM1mil to make a full-length multimedia content production. The competition was organised by Astro, Multimedia and Communications Commission Malaysia and MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Content.




In the case of a group of second year broadcasting students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), their music video assignment (which was worth 20% of their final score for the subject) won them a whopping RM40,000. Quek Shio Chuan, Chin Ying Yih, Tan Jia Vern, Teoh Chin Hong, and Shio Chuan’s sister Shio Yee produced Contaminated and won the Outstanding Music Video, Exceptional Lyrics, Finest Music and Arrangement and Phenomenal Art Direction awards.

Shio Chuan co-wrote the classical/hip-hop song with his sister Shio Yee, who has just finished SPM. The music video uses fast-paced juxtaposition of abstract images to tell stories about Mother Nature's sufferings.
Shooting was done in Shio Chuan's house in Batu Pahat, Johor, and at an abandoned house near their college. In one scene, worms burst out from Shio Chuan's mouth before he collapses.
"We shot it only once, thankfully. The worms had no taste but the bird seeds the worms fed on tasted horrible," says Shio Chuan, 21, grimacing.
"We had a lot of footages but couldn't fit them into the time frame given. So we use them at a fast pace and it looked nicer too," he adds.

"Winning this competition is an encouragement to broadcasting students like us. What we've done is really worth it," says Chin Hong from UTAR.
He is encouraged by the fact that the entertainment industry is growing in Malaysia. He is hopeful that he can have a career in the industry and will continue to make films.
Knowing that there are opportunities to do what you love best, develop your talents and gain recognition is perhaps the best news for any young, creative Malaysian.

Read the full report
24th April 2008

Contaminated on The Star

Utar students sweep awards
By YAM PHUI YEE

KUALA LUMPUR: What began as a 20-point assignment turned into an unexpected RM40,000 winning piece for a group of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman broadcasting students.

A music video entitled Contaminated won four awards in the Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards (NCA) on Saturday night.

They were for Outstanding Music Video, Exceptional Lyrics, Finest Music and Arrangement and Phenomenal Art Direction.



Winning ways: Ros (left) and Shio Chuan chatting after winning the Astro Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards with video projects initially used for their university assignments. Each award comes with an RM10,000 cash prize.

“We expected to win something but not this many. It was our first video and we were not familiar with the camera. It was not even a professional camera,” said a surprised Quek Shio Chuan, 21, who co-wrote the song with his sister Shio Yee, 18.

The music video was a group project which involved Shio Chuan, Chin Ying Yih, Tan Jia Vern and Teoh Chin Hong and portrays Mother Nature’s sufferings through images like a maggot-infested mouth and a girl buried in sand.

Said to be the first of its kind for tertiary students, the NCA is a collaborative effort between Astro, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Content Initiative.

Each award brings an RM10,000 cash prize, a trophy and an opportunity to pitch for a government grant to produce a full-length multimedia content production.

The NCA drew about 400 entries from tertiary students nationwide.

Other winners at NCA were Ros Nadia Zainuddin from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (Top 10 Most Common Habits Among Students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah Kampus Antarabangsa Labuan); Redha Fansuri Ahmed Fauzi from Multimedia University (Project 57); Mohd Rasydan Naim, Engku Aziziuddin Engku Muhamad from Universiti Malaya (Kesungguhan).

Eu Yong Tiong, Aw Choong Yi and Loh Siew Wai from In-House Multimedia College (The World of Beautiful Wonders); Reuben Kang from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (The Lock); and Eng Lee Peng, Tan Wen Yee, Leong Kai Shiang, Lim Kan Hai, Teh Heong Siong and Chiong Hsing Ye from The One Academy of Communication Design (Fisherman in Pasir Penampang).

21 April 2008

Contaminated on Kosmo!

UTAR ungguli Malam Anugerah NCA


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KUALA LUMPUR - Lima pelajar Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) mengungguli Malam Anugerah Nextgen Contentpreneur (NCA) di sini malam tadi apabila filem pendek yang mereka hasilkan menggondolkan empat anugerah sekali gus.

Karya mereka berjudul Contaminated merangkul Anugerah Kesan Bunyi Terbaik, Lirik Terbaik, Persembahan Terbaik dan Anugerah Muzik Video Terbaik.

Filem pendek karya Redha Fansuri Ahmad Fauzi dari Universiti Multimedia Malaysia (MMU) berjudul Project 57 pula memenangi Anugerah Kategori Animasi Terbaik dan Persembahan Visual Terbaik.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah pula memenangi Anugerah Penggunaan Medium Kreatif melalui karya Top 10 Most Common Habits Among Students of UMS, Labuan.

Anugerah pertama kali anjuran Astro dengan kerjasama Suruhanjaya Komunikasi Multimedia (SKMM) dan MSC Malaysia (MSC) itu diwujudkan khas untuk penuntut kolej dan universiti bagi menggalakkan para belia di Malaysia penghasilan filem pendek.


DUA pelajar yang mewakili UTAR dan UMS, Quek Shio Chuan dan Ros Nadia Zainuddin bersama trofi yang dimenangi pada Anugerah NCA semalam.

20th April 2008

Contaminated on China Press

Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards

拉曼大學連掃4獎

（吉隆坡20日訊）來自拉曼大學的組合，成功在第一屆 Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards（NCA）獨領風騷，連掃4個獎項。
這項活動是由ASTRO、大馬通訊及多媒體委員會與多媒體超級走廊聯合舉辦，主要目的是要表揚及鼓勵年輕的大馬公民在短片、紀錄片、音樂錄像、網頁及動畫上追求卓越的內容。

學以致用

ASTRO執行董事再尼說，此活動是公開給予學院生與大專生，讓有創意的青年人有機會展示才華，並在未來工作，可學以致用。

他昨天出席第一屆 Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards（NCA）頒獎典禮后，在記者會，如是說出。

他說，年輕人市場具有很大潛能，該公司注重年輕人市場，並擬定計劃推廣市場。

出席者包括大馬通訊及多媒體委員會主席拿督哈林與MDEC總執行長拿督峇利斯恩。


第一屆 Nextgen Contentpreneur Awards（NCA）獎項成績
卓越短片（電視與電影） ：林國榮創意工藝大學

革命紀錄片 ：第一學術學院

無可比擬的動畫 ：多媒體大學

最驚人的視覺效果：多媒體大學

獨特的網頁設計 ：英豪（In House）多媒體學院

驚人的藝術方向 ：拉曼大學

傑出音樂錄影帶 ：拉曼大學

特殊歌詞 ：拉曼大學

最優秀的音樂安排：拉曼大學

最佳聲音效果 ：馬來西亞大學

特別貢獻獎 ：沙巴大學（巧妙的運用媒介）


20 April 2008

The Last Exit

Contaminated MV