Poly media student’s final-year project: Animating graphics for NDP 2023

SINGAPORE – A Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, 18, is animating motion graphics for the National Day Parade (NDP) show on Aug 9 as part of his final-year capstone project.

Mr Hussein Haiqal Riduan, who studies video editing and motion graphics as a media post-production student, was excited to take up the opportunity as an animator for the parade in the multimedia committee. This was a group project offered to students as one of the industry projects at his poly, and he started work on-site in May.

“I didn’t know there were these kinds of chances in school,” he said. “So I was curious about what it was going to be like being involved in NDP. I was also curious about what goes on behind the scenes of the yearly occasion.”

Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of the NDP preview show on Saturday, Mr Hussein said the hectic schedule and time pressure were challenging for him.

“In school, the lecturers are there to guide you, and you can always ask for extensions. But with the NDP, there is a tight schedule for you to follow, so you really don’t have time to mess up and search for tutorials. A lot of the things are on the fly.”

He works with directors to bring their vision to life. For instance, he animated an orchid, a galaxy for the chapter title and the formation of shapes for a segment called the Military Tattoo. The graphics will overlay the performers and be shown on screen.

“It was really scary and daunting, because it’s something that’s national – a lot of Singaporeans are going to see it. There’s the pressure for you to do well and to not mess up.”

His hard work paid off when he saw his work on the big screen for the first time at an NDP National Education show on July 2 that he attended with his capstone project group mates.

“When my work was shown on screen, it was kind of embarrassing because my friends were like, ‘Wow, it’s your work’. It also really made me proud to see the fruits of my labour,” he said.

Full-time national serviceman Kanthawat Akarawatcharakiat extended his national service by three months just so he could be a camera operator for NDP.

The combat engineer with the army jumped at the chance to take up the role when it was offered to him. His interest in videography was sparked during NS, when he was tasked to shoot videos for his unit while they were training overseas.

Third Sergeant Akarawatcharakiat is in charge of the camera that can take wide shots of the whole parade. These include the floor projection of the marching contingent, the flypast and fireworks – his favourite part of the show.

“Being behind the camera, you can show the audience all the shows that we have been doing, capture the beautiful moments from different parts of the show,” he said.