Meet Team Lueur, the Media Post-Production students who are working on the projection mapping animations on Stamford Clock Tower for the upcoming Singapore Night Festival. From left to right: Elyza Tan I-Sher, 19, Siti Fairos Masyirah, 20, Han En Yu, 19, Sherlene Chan Yeng Huei, 19, Chan Yun Qi, 21 and their project supervisor Francois Antoine Saverias.
Photo Credit: Shanice Zhuang

Look out for a beautiful hornbill projected on Stamford Clock Tower if you are there for the upcoming Singapore Night Festival. The animated bird will take you on a virtual tour of the Bras Basah.Bugis (BBB) precinct, which is set to glow in the dark between 19 and 27 August.

This visual feast featuring the hornbill is served up by Team Lueur, a group of Media Post-Production (MPP) students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. They created this pop art-style projection mapping artwork titled Madeleine as part of their final-year capstone project, with the National Heritage Board (NHB) as their client.

NHB has been organising the well-loved Singapore Night Festival (SNF) since 2008. The iconic art and cultural event was suspended in the last two years due to Covid-19, but will resume with the theme of “Rebirth” next week. 

The animated projection done by Team Lueur takes viewers through the BBB precinct’s historical, art and other significant landmarks. Photo Credit: Lueur, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

The idea of the hornbill came to Team Lueur after they visited a William Farquhar exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore. “We realised that the hornbill kept popping up in artworks,” said Siti Fairos Masyirah, 20.

The team also visited Stamford Clock Tower at the start of their brainstorming process. When they realised the clock tower’s face was brown, the team knew that the colours of their projection mapping artwork must be vibrant.

“It wouldn’t work if we used dull colours,” said Sherlene Chan, 19.

Projection of the team’s design on a prototype of the Stamford Clock Tower. 
Photo Credit: Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Campus TV

Over the last few months, the team had to go through several rounds of storyboarding before settling on the final concept. They also had to learn how to create their artwork in Adobe Illustrator.

The design had to be carefully thought through to ensure that drivers from the cross-section along the road beside Stamford Clock Tower can view the installation clearly. Photo Credit: Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Campus TV

Besides that, they had to build on what they had learnt about projection mapping technology in their Year 2 module , which was taught by Mr Francois Antoine Saverias, 44.

“[Projection mapping] basically gives you the opportunity to turn almost any surface, whether it’s a building or a car or even a human body into a screen as long as it meets certain technical criterias,” said Mr Saverias, who’s the team’s project supervisor. 

“You need a projector and you also need the backend, which is your content and design that you want to show,” Elyza Tan I-Sher, 19, shared. “But you need to make sure whatever you create fits on whatever you are projecting on.”

The students used a laser cutting machine at the Maker’s academy to generate this template to adhere to the precise measurements of the Stamford Clock Tower. They had to ensure their design would not cover the black portions, which are the windows. Photo Credit: Nashita Farveen

Hence, the team made a scaled-down model of the face of Stamford Clock Tower to ensure the dimensions of their animations are similar in scale to the actual tower.

The elements of the projection mapping animation were done with five different software. First, the team used Photoshop and Illustrator to create the design elements. They then used After Effects to create the animation itself. Finally, the team used Premiere Pro and Media Encoder to string together and edit the animation. 

After many long days and late nights, the team felt relieved when they exported their final work. “We were finally done with everything and proud that we made it this far,” Sherlene said.

The stakes are high for Team Lueur as they are the first batch of students from the Media Post-Production diploma to take up a commissioned project, which will be showcased during the iconic Singapore Night Festival. Photo Credit: Shanice Zhuang

Although the team are anxious about how the public will view their work, they are also excited to have the opportunity to show their work to a big audience. “We’ve spent so much time on this [and] a lot of people will see it,” Masyirah said.

The team said they also have newfound appreciation for the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct after working on this project. 

“It’s common to think of the Singapore Flyer, the Esplanade and the CBD area as the main iconic part of Singapore that we overlook the more humble areas such as Bras Basah Bugis,” Masyirah said. 

“There’s a rich history and stories behind the precinct that we’ve enjoyed learning about. For instance, the religious buildings spread across the area has reminded us of the diverse community that we live in,” she added. 

The team hope that their animation has represented the BBB precinct well. 

“I hope the public can enjoy and realise the significance of all the elements included in our animation,” Sherlene said. 

Catch Team Lueur’s projection mapping animation, Madeleine, at Stamford Clock Tower during this year’s Singapore Night Festival from 19 Aug to 27 Aug.

Click here to read about Stamford Clock Tower and five other landmarks to look out for during Singapore Night Festival. 

Proofread by Effa Serena and Shanice Zhuang