About First Shot(s) X-Change
Republic Polytechnic’s (RP) School of Technology, Arts, Media and Design (STA) had created the First Shot(s) X-Change programme to promote creativity amongst their students, as well as to foster a deeper connection with those beyond Singapore’s borders. As such, students from STA collaborated with university students from China, Thailand, and Vietnam in a 10-day creative experiment to create and produce compelling short films. The various student filmmakers and their teams explored a myriad of animation styles, using their storytelling skills to deliver powerful messages on today’s societal landscape. Through this partnership, students took part in a meaningful cultural exchange, both sharing and gaining knowledge from their overseas counterparts.
Onto The Big Screen
The event kicked off with a live screening of the programme’s four short films. These included Frogtopia repped by Evangeline Tng, The Seed of Change repped by Woon Bo Yao and Dai Hui Hao Daisy, Triumph repped by Kathir Kaman, and No Longer Me repped by Liew Jing Yan.
The films discussed thought-provoking themes like human connection, identity and generational bonds, each with their own unique animation style that blended reality and fantasy. Each film strongly showcased the programmes ‘interdisciplinary learning’ pedagogy, incorporating a blend of masterful sound-mixing, visual design, animation and creativity possible only due to the student’s diversity in fields of study.
The screening was met with applause, as the student filmmakers took to the stage to discuss the creative process with their inter-school collaborators for the next segment.
A Look Through the Lens
The event saw the student filmmakers sharing their experiences throughout the programme, as well as answering the audience’s questions. Set in the comfortable environment of STA’s lecture hall, they spoke about their struggles and accomplishments throughout their time in First Shot(s) X-Change.
“Film making is not what we see but what we want people to see,” said Liew Jing Yan, a Year 2 Diploma in Game Design (DDGG) student. He co-produced the short film ‘No Longer Me’ with Thai and Chinese collaborators, a minimalist sci-fi film on how society revolves around the digital world now.
Dan Hui Hao Daisy, a Year 2 Diploma in Media Production (DMPD) student and one of the student filmmakers, talked more about how the programme impacted her personally.
“I was quite introverted, and now, after progressing through this programme, I’ve started to open up more and become more confident,” she said. She went on to talk about her various experiences that she had encountered during the past few months of production, and how they had helped shape her into a better filmmaker and leader.
In their sharing, the filmmakers spoke of certain difficulties like facing language barriers. Still, they did not falter, working tirelessly with their peers through team calls and translation apps to overcome the issue. Through this programme, it had proved that language does not limit creativity. They had even devised a unique solution of using emojis to communicate with one another, with it becoming their most effective way of communication.
Learning beyond borders
By collaborating with peers from overseas, the students learned to embrace new ideas, cultural perspectives, and creative approaches. Through the programme, the students learned to put aside their differences and came up with beautiful films, regardless of where they had come from. Beyond the screen, First Shot(s) X-Change served as a meaningful reminder of how collaboration with students from other countries can broaden perspectives, spark creativity, and strengthen real-world learning.
STA lecturer Tzang Merwyn Tong, founder of the First Shot(s) programme, gave his closing thoughts on this year’s X-Change.
“The nature of X-Change is that first contact with somebody from a different country and discipline. That instils our students with the courage and discipline to face their own strengths, weaknesses, and difference in fields. When they come together, they discover there’s something to both learn and teach, and that’s something quite charming and beautiful.”
