You’ve already met my other N.Emation! 10 team, BAMM (NE10C02) and in today’s post, I’ll like to introduce Rockin’ Tomato (NE10C08). Made up of 3 members that are secondary 2 classmate at Hua Yi Secondary School, they are Foong Chen Fu, Philemon Tei Kai Jie and Cutural Ko Rui Wei. The team has had countless of ups and downs getting to this final stage of the N.E.mation competition. Chen Fu and Philemon have been working hard from the conceptual period of their simple idea and stuck to their guns even when one of their original members couldn’t join them all the way through and when another team member dropped out due to commitment issues. Together with bubbly Cutural, this team has one of the strongest team spirit I’ve come across.
They have never done any type of animation before and embarking on this project is literally a life altering experience. With one member short, the team works late every night from morning to 9pm because their “never-say-die” attitude refuses to let them back down from any type of challenges. We’ve all have experienced demanding periods in our lives at one point or another. Times where everything we do isn’t good enough and when Murphy’s Law of “what can go wrong will go wrong” manifests itself in bold ways. Team Rockin’ Tomato has been plagued by repeated software problems, a steep learning curve and manpower shortages. Yet, each time I see them, they are filled with smiles and laughters. The determination to do their best with a positive mindset is inspiring in ways they don’t even realise.
It takes this kind of guts, hard work and tenacity to be one of the final 10 teams out of thousands in a country level animation contest. Rockin’ Tomato has the right formula to succeed and while time is not on their side, I am. I hope that you all are too. Please support them and encourage them as they fight their hardest, every single day, to make their ideas for spreading happiness and togetherness come to life. Just like their animation philosophy, they have spread their light to me and meeting them always makes my day brighter and happier.
I can’t be with them on their production process because this fight is theirs solely but I will share with you how they got there using some of the same techniques as they are using for their 2D animation. Drawing digitally is a huge part of their process so I’ve drawn Rockin’ Tomato and their journey to becoming the top 10 teams is N.E.mation! 10.
Everything starts from a little idea. Brainstorming and planning on how best to spread the message of ” Together We Keep Singapore Strong”.
There are countless of rounds of pitching the same idea to inspire and to convince the judges why their idea (out of thousands) is an incredible one.
During the process, the story gets improved and fine tuned till the final storyboard is conceived. Rockin’ Tomato can’t believe it but their passion and convictions helped them to outwit and outdo many other teams to earn them a chance to make their dreams come true.
Currently, they are in the animation stage. A stage of hard work, learning and sometimes tears. There are days where they feel like they want to tear their hair out and days where a small accomplishment can leave their hearts feeling lighter. They are experiencing first hand, the pains and gains that animators and designers feel on a daily basis. The experience by itself is the beauty of N.E.mation!
My teams are working hard on their animation clip so they can make the world a better place through their efforts. Please encourage these talented (and fun) students by liking their profiles on the Top 10 N.Emation teams FB Page even if they are too busy solving problems to update their blog regularly. I’m rooting for BAMM (#NE10C02) and Rockin Tomato (#NE10C08) from Hua Yi Secondary School. I’ll share more updates about their progress soon.
Have a good week.
