It is always in retrospect that moments become poignant. When you look back at them, it becomes uncannily clear that things do happen to us for a reason, for the better, or for the worse.

Purpose
On our “About Us” page, it’s stated that we “share a common interest in storytelling. For us, stories engage, educate and inspire… The ingredients for a good story have always been empathy and imagination. To this end, we work with film, photography and motion art.”

This mindset doesn’t just apply to projects that we work on. Whenever we watch a good film, we talk about the story, learn from the techniques used, or simply, gawk at the actresses (well, they’re part of the story right?). Whenever we come across a new ad campaign, we discuss the effectiveness of the concept and see how we can implement it in our future projects. Like what the late Steve Jobs said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

At the end of 2 years, I’m heartened that we are still heading towards our common purpose, and this is the main reason why work doesn’t feel like work. In 2012, we will continue to pursue this with the same fervor.

Projects
This year, we have worked on projects of varying natures and requirements – dealing with kids, camping in the great outdoors, operating our gear out at sea, etc. And I have to say that some of these projects have been nothing but phenomenal. They tested our skill sets, opened our minds to new ways of storytelling, and taught us the meaning of “you never know till you’ve tried”.

People
We welcomed three good people into our family this year. They gave us lots of laughter, saved our asses a few times, spurred us on to do better, and sang more off tune songs than we ever thought possible.

Keyuan: Mr No-qualms came in when I was in reservist earlier this year. Within 10 months, he has become a pillar of support for us in his own understated way. Thank you for accommodating all our demands and tolerating your mad bosses. Do learn how to say “no” in 2012.

Kevin: Soft-spoken and highly perceptive, Kevin is a gem in disguise. Although he only comes in during his school breaks, he gives us a much-needed edge in post-production. Thank you for being Mr No-qualms No. 2, and for all your help in 2011. Do graduate in flying colors and join us when school is over!

Rachel: On 7th October 2011, I received an interesting request for an internship from a NUS undergraduate. This blossomed into a short 5 weeks stint for Rachel, when she tried her hand in conceptualizing, directing, editing and producing. We would have loved to let her dabble in other areas though. Nonetheless, I hope you have enjoyed your time here!

I’ll like to mention another group of people we can’t live without – our collaborators, in particular, my uncle/awesome DP Ong Boon Kok, one-man team Jean Loo (The turkey rocks! Thanks for the love!) and her cousin Jonathan. Thank you for helping us tide over the tough times.

During these peak periods, what makes or breaks a project boils down to whom we are working for. If the client is someone who is understanding, reasonable and most importantly, appreciative of our creative inputs, the project’s demands become immaterial. On the flipside, nothing hurts and discourages a creative professional more than a client who doesn’t value our thoughts, opinions and rationale. Let’s put it this way – when a sick patient visits a doctor, he/she explains all his/her ailments, trusts the doctor’s diagnosis and follows the doctor’s instructions and prescription on how to get better. Why should it be any different for the creative industry?

On hindsight, we were blessed with wonderful clients in general. Clients who listen to us, clients who discuss their ideas with us, clients who partner us to get the job done and clients who make us smile and clients who we want to go the extra mile for. Thank you.

Personal
I remember our very first presentation when our dreams were almost shattered by an ignorant gatekeeper of a grant provider. I also remember the days spent in a stuffy basement when we first started out with a single 5D Mark 2. Etched firmly in my mind, these memories serve to remind me of the perseverance that brought us thus far. And it will be the same perseverance that will push us to become even better multimedia storytellers. While we aim to grow in skill and stature, I want to remain humble and be attentive to stories in daily life that we often overlook amidst the hustle and bustle. These are the stories that will energize, inspire and delight us, in one way or another.

2012, here we come!

- Yan Zhao, 31 December 2011

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