Missed the previous season of N.E.mation? Here’s your chance to be part of N.E.mation 5! Registration is now open, and like before, a trip to DreamWorks Animation in the USA is up for grab! More details over at http://nemation.sg. Go form your team of 3 or 4 now!
N.E.mation! 4 has come to an end, with lots of excitement and for some, feelings of disappointment. As in all competitions, there can only be one ultimate winner, but all the students in the Top 10 should be happy too, because you are all winners too!
From my personal experience, I know sometimes participants may have thoughts of dislike for the judges going through his/her mind if he/she lost. That’s also why, I hate being a judge for any competition. Especially one like this, where I’ve seen and experienced the production process together with the teams.
Well, I’ve received feedback from the judges for N.E.mation! 4, and I’ve to say, they’re all very impressed with the achievements and accomplishments by all of the ten teams! Sparing them from being identified in public *coughs*, I shall not reveal their face on the blog! 
Scroll down to read what they’ve got to say about your clip…
Building the Future with Our Hands – The Big Bang
“Interesting concept. Creative use of symbolism to depict what our hands can do.” – Iqbal Sanjiman, Senior Manager at OnePeople.sg
“Nice, clear graphic sensibility” – Jazno Francoeur, Professor in Animation at DigiPen Institute of Technology
Post-it With Love - Yellow-Earthworms
“Clever, concise and charming” – Jazno Francoeur
“The ‘Post-it’ concept connects with the viewers.” – Felix Soh, Digital Media Editor at Singapore Press Holdings
Our Favourite Hotspot - N.E.mators!
“Catchy rap. Effective use of Singaporeans’ passion with food to engage and convey the message. One of my favourites.” – Ann Chan, Deputy Director, National Marketing and Resilience Division at MICA
“Fun and engaging. This definitely connect with a large group of audience.” – Felix Soh
Carevolution – Spoof
“It simply tugs at your heart strings. Inspires you to do more for Singapore” – Iqbal Sanjiman
“Very impressive work.” – Jacques Frety, Lecturer, School of Interactive and Digital Media at Nanyang Polytechnic
What’s Yours? - NJC Design Club
“I like the humourous touches. Make the clip memorable. The message comes through clearly and connects emotionally.” – Felix Soh
“Interesting and thought-provoking, ending off with a question that made me think why I care.” – Ann Chan
The Way Home - RandomAcademy
“The video establishes the fact that sometimes one needs to go away to strengthen our sentiments about home.” – Iqbal Sanjiman
“Sophicated execution of a clear and single message. This clip moved me emotionally.” – Felix Soh
pRICEless - C.H.E.F
“Very engaging video! Catchy and it simply shows our commonality – Rice.” – Iqbal Sanjiman
“Nice use of our staple food, rice, to thread the elements in the story.” – Ann Chan
Inking Our Vision - 822
“Simply shows that Singaporeans can ‘ink’ our future together. A creative video indeed!” – Iqbal Sanjiman
“Refreshingly creative concept. The execution is very sophisticated. I love the animation!” – Felix Soh
“Very original art direction.” – Jazno
Caretalysts – Catalysts
“The execution and craftmanship, plus script stands out.” – Felix Soh
“Clever styling.” – Jazno
Cir-care-latory System – DreamTeam
“Interesting idea but execution could be more polished.” – Jazno
“Engaging animation, with cute characters that would attract the young.” - Felix Soh
Overall
COL Lim Kok Siong, Director of Nexus, Ministry of Defence shared…
“Excellent range of perspectives on “Why I Care About Singapore”. The animations and storylines are original and show a lot of spontaneity.”
And Melvin Tan, Animator at Bluesky Animation Studio said…
“Overall I enjoyed all the pieces and thought they were very well done, considering they are only students and not working professionals. Really impressed at the quality and creativity that was churned out with this competition. Please convey my thoughts to all the students and also the people involved in this whole event. I can’t imagine the amount of hours put into these projects.”
Yes Melvin! Those who didn’t experience the arduous and tiring production these students have gone through will never be able to imagine how much effort and time has been put into these projects! Really! I salute all ten teams and the trainers from Animagine! Keep up the great work people!
11 February 2010, that was the day the journey ended. It was a bittersweet ending for me. The anticipation for the results that day was nerve-wrecking. I was so nervous that I kept fidgeting in my seats. The two men sitting next to me must have thought I had some problem or needed the toilet badly.
Finally when the results were announced, I couldn’t help but cheer and clap as loud and long as I could for every finalist and winner. They’ve all done a great job and deserve our applause.
Congrats to all winners for N.E.mation! 4!
Champion for N.E.mation! 4 – National Junior College
1st Runner-Up – School of the Arts
2nd Runner-up – Dunman High School
Additional prizes were given out that day too! These were given out after the formal awards presentation, and were meant to reward the teams for their outstanding achievement in two categories:
(a) Best Booth Design: Each team had to come up with a creative design and concept for their booth to showcase to all the visitors who were present that day on 11 February 2010! Which were the 3 teams who came up with the best design?
(b) Best Social Media Team: This is the first time N.E.mation! teams each has their own Facebook Fanpage, and this prize is an encouragement to the team that did the best in engaging their fans through interesting updates, status posts and video posts!
BG Gary Ang, Deputy Secretary (Policy) of the Ministry of Defence gave out these prizes. And here are our winners….
Best Booth Design Winners –
Victoria School
School of the Arts
Methodist Girls’ School
Best Social Media Team – Anglican High School
N.E.mation! 4 was a great great experience for me and for everyone involved, especially the participants! Quoting from Carmen from Spoof…
… it’s not just about the awards or the prizes,
it’s about the process and the enjoyment…
Yes, the enjoyment of the entire process is most valuable, that’s one thing that money can’t buy.
The journey may have ended, but the experience is pRICEless and I believe many of us will all continue to be in touch (through facebook). We will be building the future with our hands and posting it everywhere, like our favorite hotspots or on our way home. At N.E.mation! 4, words were invented, like carevolution, caretalysts and cir-care-latory system. These are all inked into a part of our life story, one we will not forget. I will continue to share care for the people and things around me. That’s my “I Will” pledge. What’s yours?
[Sidenote: Alright, I've to admit that last paragraph was a little off, but I tried my best. If you'd noticed, there are the ten titles of our ten finalists' clips. Have a great year of the Tiger ahead everyone!]
