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.

The pressure comes when he has to capture the bomber jets, which fly at low levels and high speeds, and only his camera can do this.

He intends to apply to study in film school after finishing NS, and hopes to pursue a career as a film-maker, content creator or journalist.

For Lieutenant Chua Bi Juan, deputy organising secretariat (admin) of the multimedia committee, the challenge was coordinating the multimedia show for such a large-scale production.

This is a first for the combat engineer officer. She works with army personnel and creatives on the content and LED screens, cameras and other hardware involved in the show.

Having studied broadcast media production at university, the 26-year-old is no stranger to the technical aspects of multimedia.

Lt Chua said the challenge is when different performers come together in weekly combined rehearsals after practising separately. The multimedia team has to make changes on a tight timeline, based on feedback from directors. Adjustments are made to the camera angles, choreography, script and other aspects of the show.

She said watching NDP from the stands is worlds apart from putting it together behind the scenes. “It really takes a lot of months of work and coordination,” she said. “Then everybody just has a single goal, which is just to make it a good show. This has given me an understanding of what it means to organise a big-scale event for the nation.”