NYP, Kent Ridge teams win N.E.mation! with Covid-theme entries
One team honours front-line workers, another highlights how Singaporeans can beat pandemic as one
With "pandemic" being named Word of the Year by dictionaries in 2020, it is no wonder that the coronavirus has been on the minds of many young people.
And the teams who made the defence against Covid-19 the subject of their entries reaped rewards at N.E.mation! 2021, the annual animation competition in its 15th season and organised by Nexus to boost awareness of Total Defence.
Cocomelon from Nanyang Polytechnic and Anonymous Platypie from Kent Ridge Secondary School were named the winners of the youth and student categories respectively at the awards ceremony on Sunday at the Singapore Discovery Centre.
They were chosen through a combination of public votes and a judging panel consisting of members from the government, community and industry professionals.
Many of the over 1,000 stories from over 270 teams highlighted how Singaporeans have put Total Defence in action against Covid-19, in accordance to the theme Together We Keep Singapore Strong.
Following the change of format from an animation production to a storyboarding competition in the student category, Anonymous Platypie's entry, Mask Made Of Love, reminds Singaporeans to work as one - like how the characters in their clip worked together to sew a mask for Merlion.
On choosing to feature the national icon, the team's spokesman told The New Paper: "We first created the story of a bunny that was suffering from a flu. But after several rounds of discussions with our trainer and teachers, we wanted a stronger character that epitomises Singaporeans and a storyline that is able to bind us together."
BANDED TOGETHER
Cocomelon's clip, Taking A Step, showed how different front-line roles and professions banded together against Covid-19 to keep Singapore strong.
Elated and "in disbelief" over their win, the spokesman told TNP that the team members were inspired by the "Covid superhero stories in the news".
"We wanted to show our own as well as the general public's appreciation for (front-line workers) and also send the message that these people can be examples to the public to be selfless in doing their part to help with the tough pandemic and stay-at-home situation."
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