In The Media
New Straits Times, Life & Times, 1 July 2003
Operafest to star in sing-along music video
By Faridul Anwar Farinordin
WE all have seen the computer-animated advertisement in cinemas featuring popular computer game character Lara Croft and her nemesis in a stylishly- choreographed fighting scene.
They are locked in hand-to-hand combat in mid-air when the irritating sound of a ringing handphone suddenly goes off. As they are lying on the ground flustered and frustrated, the message reads: "Do you want action or do you want to action?"
The ad, made for a leading handphone company, won an award at the recent Malaysian Video Awards. But do you know the person behind this creative work?
Meet Jerry Verschoor, an Australian freelance animator who came to Malaysia two years ago. A former lecturer at a university in Bangi, he was attached to a production company in Kuala Lumpur where he co-produced the ad with his colleagues.
After obtaining a degree in animation, Verschoor left Australia in 1990 to work in Europe. He later secured a job as an animator at Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks studio in California (which released the animated movies The Road to El Dorado and Prince of Egypt) before working as a storyboard artist with Universal Studios.
The talented thirtysomething, now back in Australia, is currently working on a sing-along music video of popular nursery rhymes featuring live action and animation with our Operafest Children's Choir and its founder/director Kam Sun Yoke.
Combining the choir members and 3-D computer graphics, the two hope to make sing-along music videos more appealing to children and market the product worldwide with help from various organisations.
"As far as children's entertainment and sing-along songs for the Malaysian public are concerned, the products that I have seen so far are limited to a person singing along to keyboard accompaniment. This is boring and uninteresting. What I am trying to achieve is something along the lines of Barney, Disney and Sesame Street," Verschoor said in an interview in KL.
The project took off a few years ago, when he and his friends decided to come up with a quality sing-along video for children.
He wanted to find someone "who can turn ordinary nursery rhymes into different styles of music" and met Kam, who has been nurturing young talents for operatic performances for the last 18 years (under her guidance, the group has participated in various choir festivals abroad, including in India and Argentina, and received a number of recognitions).
"I met Kam in April last year and told her about my idea. Six months later, she came back with a list of 17 nursery rhymes arranged and to be performed by the children's choir group. I listened to them and was immediately hooked ... Nursery rhymes have never sounded so rich before!" he recalled.
Among the songs in the video are Hickory Dickory Dock, Humpty Dumpty, Pussy In The Well, Old King Cole - operatic style!
"We recorded all songs live at the Cantonese Methodist Church in Pudu, KL because the acoustics there is fantastic!" Kam said, adding that the three-part harmony choir performance is accompanied by piano, courtesy of Khoo Soo Ghee.
"Another reason why we are doing this project is because we want to introduce children to the art of opera and operetta. With children (from the choir group) singing the songs themselves, we hope the young will learn to appreciate this art of singing," Verschoor explained, while Kam nodded.
For each song, Verschoor will adopt different techniques of story- telling through animation.
"It begins in a basement of Kam's old house, which is actually filmed in the cafe's old attic. Each song sparks the children's imagination, and brings out the artwork," he said, adding "the animation comes alive through stained glass, wallpaper and the children's drawings."
He added: "It's like Disney's Fantasia. Each story carries a different form of animation - from bold black lines to superimposed 3D animation. In Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, for example, we morph the clouds to look like elephants and other animals, something that children can relate to."
The finished product is expected to be ready for distribution by end of the year.
"We hope to market the sing-along nursery rhyme video overseas and donate copies of the VCD to children's organisations, hospitals and other charitable organisations which benefit children. We will also sell them in schools and at events where the choir is performing," said Kam, adding "if it goes well, we will probably release a second nursery rhyme video".
So far, Operafest has also released a CD of American pop classics (its second volume will be released soon) and a Christmas album featuring famous carols. "Every sen goes back to Operafest to benefit the children in their pursuit of artistic excellence," Kam said.
So what is Verschoor's view on animation in the country?
"It is still new, but a lot of development will take place soon. But this is only possible when people in the industry begin to share knowledge and information and help each other. Only when this happens does it have a chance to flourish."
Operafest comprises 40 children between six and 18 years old. The group has staged well-known operettas and musicals including Carmen, South Pacific, The Student Prince, The Flower Drum Song, West Side Story.
Next month, it is scheduled to perform in the US at the International Choral Festival in Missoula, Montana.
* The writer can be contacted at faridulanwar@nstp.com.my |
