Dasein Academy of Art organized a special movie day at MBO Cinema, Starling Mall recently in January to celebrate the efforts and achievements of 11 graduates from the college’s animation program who were involved in the visual effects (VFX) production of the award-winning movie, “the Garden of Evening Mists” starred by Lee Sinje, Hiroshi Abe, Slyvia Chang Ai-chia and more. The event was attended by 150 guests including those who are involved in the movie production – representatives from VHQ Media’s VFX department, teachers and students from Klang Valley schools who are interested in arts and design, lecturers and students from the college’s animation program.
Dasein Animation graduates who worked on the film visual effects for “The Garden of the Evening Mists”.
Graduates from Dasein animation program, Chan Jia Jyn, Steven Chan Hong Yew, Lim You Xuan, Lim Hong Guan, Lee Kah Yee, Ng Mun Hoe, Cheng Keng Yee, Lim Woh Yew, Lim Chia Sien, Wong Ting Wei and Lai Jun Yit* participated in the movie’s visual effects production under VHQ Media, one of Asia’s largest post-production firms. The company is also notable for their post-production works for films such as “Once Upon A Time” (2017), “Forever Young” (2018), “Born to Be Wild” (2019) and the new Netflix Originals “The Ghost Bride” (2020) to name a few, all which involved Dasein’s animation graduates.
“The most important thing is that one needs to be honest, need to know what they want, and everyone will grow at their own speed. I think (Dasein graduates) have good mindsets - with the right focus, they progress quickly,” said Olivier Ryard, VFX Lead from VHQ Media. “The Dasein movie day is a great move by the college, not only recognizing the achievements of their graduates, but also to inspire and provide industry insights to students who want to take up the animation program and join the industry.”
(Left) Olivier Ryard, VFX Lead from VHQ Media and Mr Gooi Hean Chye, President of Dasein Academy of Art at the moving screening.
Jason Loh Chap Loong, head of animation program at Dasein Academy of Art who mentored the graduates and witnessed their growth and achievements, said that “our graduates are very much in demand in the market. They are involved in the production of games, animated series, advertisements, music videos - not limited to local projects only but also international ones from South Korea, Japan, China and Europe.”
“Recently, animation fresh graduates from the college Lee Chi Cong, Chin Pei Qi, Seet Yong Wei, Tan Chao Ren and Tong Hao Yee took home the ‘Honorable Mention in Audience Favourites’ award at the Florida Animation Festival (FAF) 2019 with their six-minute animation, The Chronicles of the Guardian Lion. The project was also selected to be included in the official screening at the Palm Spring International Animation Festival (PSIAF) 2019 at Palm Spring Air Museum, California USA. The animated short was created as a final year project as a part of the Diploma in Animation program offered at Dasein Academy of Art.”
