Fund Your Passion

The drive to do well for final-year projects has left many investing thousands of dollars, all in the name of a good grade.

By Wong Oi Shan

Perfection comes at a cost.

As school comes to a close, hordes of seniors rejoice at the submission of their final-year projects. Yet, some do so with their pockets burnt.

For final-year broadcast students from the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), the pressure to produce a quality film meant spending a lot.

“Last year, one group’s budget was around S$30,000 — probably the most ambitious project so far in terms of the production value,” said Assistant Professor Vladimir Todorovic from ADM.

Cecilia Ang, 23, a final-year student from WKWSCI and director of the short film Purple Light, spent about $8,000 from her own pocket for her Final Year Project (FYP).

“When you see a video, you want to it to be of a good production quality. To get that, you have to spend, even if you were to save on manpower,” she said.

The money she invested into her film went mainly to hiring professional actors and a film crew.

In order to fund the budgets for their films, many students submitted previous works for film competitions in hopes of winning prize money, or approached sponsors for financial help.

Most return fruitless. “They seek funding from private companies, but they usually don’t succeed,” said Asst Prof Todorovic.

“But one of the main agencies that sponsors our students’ films is the Singapore Film Commission. We are thankful to them for this support, and every year we have students getting their short film grants.”

Others, like Ahmad Khan Surattee, 24, producer for short film Discoteca!, took it a step further by working five days a week as a bellboy during the school term to fund his FYP.

“It really took a toll on my physical and mental state,” he said.

But he said the sacrifice was necessary to raise the money needed for the film.

Each of his team members originally had to fork out $3,000 to $4,000 from their own savings. But the financial burden was eased when they were awarded a $10,000 grant from the Media Development Authority.

“We didn’t want to let (the lack of) money be a deterrent. So we were well aware of what we were getting ourselves into. We asked for it,” said Ahmad.

Still, Ahmad said he doesn’t regret making an expensive short film as he did not feel that a low-budget would have allowed them to achieve the standards they set out for.

“I would rather regret doing it and suffering, than not doing it at all and eventually produce something that we don’t even feel strongly for. We felt that it was a story that really needed to be told,” he said.

These experiences also mirror the actual process of making a short film.

As such, the required rigour equips students with the right perspectives for filmmaking, said Mr Kym Campbell.

The WKWSCI Broadcast and Cinema Studies lecturer said: “That’s part of the film business. It’s not just a simple project.”

“It’s going and producing a film and finding money and trying to handle a budget.”

Ms Nikki Draper, senior lecturer at WKWSCI agrees. “Struggling with funding, using your own money, worrying about it, all of that are learning opportunities. And it’s very real world,” she said.

“It’s how it works.”

Yet, money isn’t everything, said Mr Campbell.

He recalled “really dreadful movies” that had a high budget but did not live up to the expectations.

Budget aside, every part of the process from handling cameras to recording audio and even special effects are fundamentally crucial to the process.

But the harsh reality of funding a film has become a burden to bear that some end up turning away from their craft.

Nicole Ye, 22, feels that competition became stiffer as groups tried to outdo one another by having a larger budget.

Groups with more money were hence able to able to enlist help from more professionals.

“My project turned me away from production, completely. I am not going to apply for a career in production,” said Ye, who was the producer for her film, Hidden Folk.

She declined to state a specific sum, but said she had self-funded between $5,000 to $10,000 for the cost of the production.

Yet the need to spend large amounts may not be necessary.

The grade of the FYP is not just based on their production values, said Asst Prof Todorovic.

“They could only gain if they experiment with the film language instead of competing with industry, and putting most of their efforts in higher production values,” he added.

Even film competitions look beyond the production value and judge the ideas behind the movie, said Ms Draper.

“I supervise student projects sent out to festivals. And I would say that the projects that have got the most attention have not been the best funded.”