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September 03, 2010 -Friday |
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MALAYSIAN ANIMATION SHINES IN KOREA
Friday 31/07/2009
MSC Malaysia Status Company - Shock3D! Wins Prestigious Award At SICAF 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, 31 July 2009 – It was a glorious moment for Malaysia on the 24th of July 2009, when our local animators emerged as the winner of the international animation festival in Seoul, Korea. The Malaysian animated IP called “Alamaya: Garden of Beautiful Creatures” created by an MSC Malaysia Status Company, Shock3D! Sdn Bhd was awarded as the Best Planning – 8th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival Promotion Plan Competition (SPP).
Shock3D! was the only foreign company to emerge as the winner other than the Korean hosts and to bring home the prestigious award. The company managed to stand out among other entries received from other international studios such as Japan, France, Italy, United States, Taiwan, India, China, HK, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, etc. This was the fourth consecutive year which Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), the leading Government agency for ICT initiative, helped to submit Malaysian animation entries to SPP. Among the past Malaysian animation that have made it to SPP was “Saladin”, which emerged as the winner for Best Technology at the 5th SPP Competition, three years ago.
Joining and supporting Shock3D! during the award ceremony was MDeC and other supporting Malaysian delegates who were present to participate at the SPP B2B Matchmaking Event. The Malaysian delegates represented by Backbone Entertainment Sdn Bhd, Cartoon4Kids Sdn Bhd, Centraline Animation Sdn Bhd, Elemental Ventures Sdn Bhd, Kolej Yayasan Sabah, MFX Sdn Bhd, Tripod Entertainment Sdn Bhd, and Young Jump Animation Sdn Bhd.
“Alamaya” by Shock3D! Sdn Bhd was among the two Malaysian finalists (the other finalist: “Zoorocco” by Tripod Entertainment Sdn Bhd) from a pool of 80 over entries this year and was declared winner for the “Best Planning” by a panel of international jury consisting of Mark Taylor, Vice President for Nickelodeon; Andrew Beecham, Senior Vice President for PBS Kids; Richard Rowe, Acquisition Executive for Cartoon Network Europe; Nam Han-Kil, Producer for EBS; and Kim Il-Hwan, Executive Director for Stonebridge Capital Investment. Based on the 10 minutes presentation and project entry, Shock3D! was selected as a worthy winner for their originality, planning competence, and commercial viability for their “work-in-progress” project. The other winners were from the host nation (Korea) for Best Technology and Best Creativity. Each winner received a trophy, certificate, and USD 5,000.
“Alamaya”, a 90 minutes 3D feature animation, was produced locally by Malaysian talents in a humble studio in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. Eugene Foo, Creative Director, recounts when he first illustrated the first character in his sketch book almost 4 years ago and had no idea that it would be developed into an entire world-class animated film back then. Syed Hezri, Business Development Director and Keeta Brennan, Co-Script-Writer for the title saw the viability of commercial value of the characters, and hence the trio formed the core team that developed the initial concept into its current form - a fully fledged feature film, which proved to be potentially the next success after “Geng: The Adventure Begins”.
Eugene & Syed Hezri added that without the tremendous support & commitment of MDeC and the Malaysian Government’s e-Content Grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), “Alamaya” may not have had the right chance to fully unfold its leading-edge potential in its digital animation technologies & skills in the competitive global industry. Shock3D! is also proud to be able to employ 26 highly skilled local animators and is expected to expand its pool to approximately 50 by 2010.
Due to be released by the first quarter of 2011 in local theatres, the story tells a tale of a local child living in the suburbs of SS2, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia who is mysteriously led into a fantasy world teaming with bizarre and odd creatures. The little antagonist finds that he is rather reluctant to stay at first, until a series of events unfold revealing his greater purpose being in this other worldly place.
Kamil Othman, Vice President – Creative Multimedia Policy of MDeC who led the Malaysian delegation for the Korean Animation Week said that this is an indication that local producers such as Shock3D! and our local talents have the capability and technical know-how to produce animation that can compete with the world’s best.
“Everyone talks about Korean, Japanese and American animation giants; at this festival, we have proven that Malaysia has the potential to match their quality standards.” Othman said.
The team at Shock3D! is strategically maneuvering “Alamaya” to be a brand and not merely a title of a standalone feature film. Plans are underway to produce miniature episodes utilizing selected characters from the film to be broadcasted on television prior to the film’s release. Online games, mobile contents, and various souvenirs & merchandizes for the brand are also being developed to capture the masses into the culture of “Alamaya”. Currently Shock3D! is also seeking for potential collaboration with co-sponsors and advertisers who would like to join in on developing promotional plans for the movie.
According to Adam Ham, Manager – Entertainment & Media Specialist of MDeC ever since Malaysia capturing the awards in Korea, we have been swamped with enquiries from Korea and other foreign partners, who are keen in collaborating with Malaysian producers.
“The most gratifying element is that the ability to open up the minds of the global creative community to the potential of what Malaysia has as a creative hub. It is now time to move ahead and make sure “Alamaya” gets off the ground as a viable project that will open doors for Malaysian resources such as talents, facilities and services.” said Ham.
This good news yet represents Malaysia’s best opportunity in the global digital content industry, in preparation for the upcoming world’s largest content market – MIPCOM in Cannes, France (3 – 9 October 2009), where “Alamaya” will be up and available for pre-sale to cinemas, distributors, licensors, and broadcasters.
SOURCE : Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT :
NAME : Syed Hezri B. Datuk Syed Hisham
MOBILE : +6017 333 8444
TEL : +603 7724 1227
FAX : +603 7724 1327
EMAIL : hezri@shock3d.com.my
DATE OF RELEASE : 31 JULY 2009
RELEASED BY BERNAMA MEDIA RELATIONS & EVENT MANAGEMENT
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