BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 

A TEAM of students from Sekolah Perdagangan (Business School) have been selected to represent Brunei in an upcoming digital art competition for youth across Asia.

The selection was announced yesterday at the closing ceremony of a workshop for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Digista Teens 2015, where the Business School participants scored the most points among local contenders for their animated short film.

Accounting student Emily Tan said her team was pleasantly surprised to find out they were chosen to represent the sultanate in the final round of ABU Digista Teens 2015 in November.

“We had no formal experience in making animation before taking part in this workshop, so we didn’t expect to be selected. It was also very challenging, because we are new to this. Of course, we tried our best and we will try to win for Brunei,” explained the 21-year-old.

Despite lacking in experience, the team of four students channelled their creative energy and amateur interest in animation to produce a short film on the impact of digital devices in daily life.

“Among the biggest challenges we faced was in coming up with the script. Eventually, we decided to create one based on a mother who wanted her family to spend time together as her children spent more time on digital devices. It’s a common issue most people can relate to,” said Tan.

Other members of the Business School team are Business and Finance students Noramirah Hj Abu Bakar, 19; Mohd Asrul Nur Rashid Hj Wahap, 22; and Nurayaani Hj Hamit, 21.

Mohd Hirwan Ibrahim, producer for the ABU Digista Teens 2015, said the team was chosen based on their storyboard and storyline.

A total of eight teams from six vocational and technical colleges in the country participated in the workshop.

“It was a tough, because they all produced very good storyboards. We set the criteria, but all the teams were thinking outside the box. That was impressive,” he commented.

The workshop, which served as a preliminary round for the competition, was held from August 10 to 18 at the Knowledge Hub, Creative Arts Facilities (K-Hub, CRAFT) at the Anggerek Desa Technology Park involving lessons on creating digital art.

It was organised by Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB) with the support of CRAFT under the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) and Institute Brunei Technical Education (IBTE).

During the closing ceremony at the K-Hub, RTB Content Deputy Director Hjh Zalinar Hj Abdullah presented certificates to the participants and tokens of appreciation to the facilitators.

The deputy director also congratulated the Business School team and offered words of advice to the students.

Youth from Brunei, Mongolia, Bhutan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan will compete in the final round of ABU Digista Teens 2015 that will be hosted by RTB in the country.

The Brunei Times