What was your childhood dream?
I’ve had lofty dreams once upon a time.. I wanted to be an animal doctor, I wanted to be an air stewardess, I wanted to be a writer or I wanted to be a pop star!
Well.. The dream of being a vet died rather early when I realised just how many years of education I needed to be a vet. I just absolutely hated school and further thinking about how being a vet might mean I have to cut up little animals made me reconsider, hahaha! Thus, I relinquished the idea of being a vet, even briefly toying with that of being a zoo keeper (well I really wanted to work with animals!) before I finally decided that it wasn’t gonna happen.
Surprisingly though, many years down the road, I discovered an interest for art and design in my secondary school days, which is how I ended up as an illustrator/designer for two years, before TheVelvetDolls happened!
Reflecting back on my school days, I’m actually very thankful to have picked a course (digital media design) that I was actually interested in, even though I didn’t stay on in the design industry eventually, I felt that having a strong passion for what I was learning really helped me through my school years, and also honed my aesthetic sense, which is still related to what I’m doing now! Can’t imagine myself ever studying science or engineering or anything of the sort!! I really feel that choosing the right path in education is so important.
One of my regrets though, is not having a university degree. I stopped my education as a diploma-holder, and if I were to turn the clock a few years back, I might have considered going on to get a degree, which I unfortunately decided against, back then!
I’ve always thought I’d have liked to try Mass Communications as my major, and I was really interested when I was invited down to check out MDIS School of Media and Communications, and given a chance to take part in one of their student productions to fulfil my other childhood dream.. Becoming a pop star!!!
The MDIS School of Media and Communications is the pioneer in the mass communications programme field in Singapore. It is also the first institution in Singapore to offer mass communications programmes from an American university- Oklahoma City University (OCU).
Here’s a little more information about MDIS School of Media and Communication.
Did you know that the OCU mass communications degree programme is fully taught by OCU faculty in Singapore?
What I think is really great about MDIS School of Media and Communications is that the programmes are industry-focused, relevant and of high quality. MDIS has its very own fully-equipped TV and Radio studios as well as Audio and Video edit suites and is one of the few Private Institutions to have such facilities for practical training!
I feel that that is very important so that students can have the opportunity to practice what they learn within their academic curriculum, and also be trained to master essential skills such as handling radio and television equipment, content producing, directing, scripting and video editing. In mastering these techniques, they are exposed to a wide range of roles including television and radio presenting.
To gain more experience, students can also join the Media and Communications Club. Students are groomed to be radio DJs and they will run their radio show in the campus every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during lunch time. Students will also make full use of the TV studio to produce videos, doing editing of the videos and publish the videos on the YouTube channel called AEE Channel Raw.
MDIS School of Media and Communications also covers all main areas of mass communications studies ie advertising, public relations, journalism and broadcasting, hence giving our graduates wider career options.
Did you know, MDIS School of Media and Communications offers Singapore’s 1st American Mass Communications Degree Programme back in 1992?
No better way to experience what the students learn and go through at MDIS School of Media and Communications – TV & Radio Station (fully equipped with studio facilities to help students learn in and out of the classroom with practical hands-on experience!), than to actually take part in one of their student productions!
Jessica and I had the really cool job of performing in a live band, and recording a music video 100% filmed and produced by the students of MDIS School of Media and Communications! I’ve always wanted to record my own music video as a singer, so this was a very fun and interesting experience for me.
I was extremely impressed with the students. They were very professional and experienced in the entire set-up and filming process, and I felt like the students really knew what they were doing! All the filming work and post-production work was handled by the students, who did a really admirable job!
It’s not my first time in a recording studio, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the facilities at MDIS School of Media and Communications! There was a huge recording studio with a wide-array of professional equipment for students to use and learn. In my opinion, hands-on experience and practical learning is one of the most important aspects of any school, and I can see that MDIS School of Media and Communications is very adept in that area!
In order to have synergy with the rest of the band members, Jess and I went down to MDIS on a couple of occasions to meet these lovely folks to rehearse and practice together as a band. I love jamming, so I totally enjoyed the sessions! Heh. It’s always awesome to make music together with other talented musicians!! Usually, it’s just Jess and I belting our lungs out at KTV, so you can imagine how much fun we had with our very own live band.
READY, CAMERA, ACTION!
The entire filming process was handled just as well as any professional team, and it was a fun-filled afternoon with the crew and the band!! Though it did take us some time to warm up to the camera.. I still feel rather self-conscious on video! Thanks to the lovely crew who did their best to help us relax and bring our best across to the camera!
I’m always intrigued by seeing myself on a screen. But I secretly like it!
Unfortunately though, I tend to make lots of silly facial expressions when I’m singing! Hahaha cannot maintain.
We recorded a few takes of our song before we called it a day! It was really enjoyable and exciting for us! 🙂
Group photo of the student team, great job on the MV y’all!! I feel proud to know that this is a full student production, cos I think they did a marvelous job! The students at MDIS School of Media and Communications are always involved in events and campaigns such as the MV that we filmed (in fact, they have a dedicated YouTube channel called AEE Channel Raw with some really good stuff!) to contribute in their future career, which is awesome! I wish I had such opportunities to experience all these back when I was in school!
Of course, without further ado, you get to watch the MV made by the students of MDIS School of Media and Communications – Media Hub too!! There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement when it comes to Jess’s and my performance, as seeing how we are both inexperienced at this, but the production team really put together a great video! Thank you guys!!
Find out more about MDIS School of Media and Communications on their website!