Creative multimedia talents get RM1mil worth of MDeC grants

By Digital News Asia October 24, 2013

Two competitions – IPCC and Digicon6 – collectively attract more than 153 entries
IPCC winners get grants, Digicon winners get cash prizes and get to compete in regional finals

Creative multimedia talents get RM1mil worth of MDeC grants

THE Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has disbursed nearly RM1 million (US$314,000) worth of grants to the winners of the MSC Malaysia Intellectual Property Creators Challenge (IPCC) 2013, while 15th Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) Digicon6 (Digital Contents Animation & Movie awards) Malaysian leg winners got cash prizes.

The IPCC and Digicon6 competitions collectively attracted more than 153 entries, showcasing the best of Malaysia’s talents in the creative content industry, encompassing animation, casual games and digital interactive comics, MDeC said in a statement.

IPCC 2013 aimed to boost the amount of locally created intellectual property (IP) by funding multimedia companies and individuals with creative talent to take their ideas to the next level. It was open to amateurs and professionals from the creative multimedia industry, allowing them to submit and pitch their creative content ideas, which then gave them a chance to receive funding for their winning ideas.

Alternatively, the 15th TBS Digicon6 Malaysian leg was aimed at local content creators who have already taken their digital content ideas to the next level, which will ultimately lead to them competing at the regional level in Tokyo.

Creative multimedia talents get RM1mil worth of MDeC grants MSC Malaysia or the Multimedia Super Corridor project managed by MDeC, amongst other ICT initiatives, hopes to turn the creative multimedia industry into one of the main engines of growth for Malaysia by engaging creative multimedia companies and individuals to spearhead the use of digital technologies to produce high quality creative content.

“We are delighted to see the level of entries that we received for the both the MSC Malaysia IPCC 2013 and the 15th TBS Digicon6 Malaysian leg competitions,” said MDeC vice president Kamil Othman (pic).

“This is a solid testament to the increasingly sophisticated creative content that our local talents are able to produce.

“MDeC continues to support the efforts of these outstanding individuals by providing as much training and development resources as possible. With an increasing focus on the creative multimedia industry at an international level, it is imperative that our local players are able to remain competitive and be at the forefront of the latest digital content in the industry,” he added.
At this year’s IPCC, 22 projects were awarded grants across three categories – animation, casual games, and digital interactive comics.

A total of almost RM1 million in grants were disbursed in order to move the winners’ ideas past the conception stage and onto a platform where they can produce world-class content that leverages upon Malaysia’s rich historical, cultural and social elements, MDeC said.

The grant recipients in each of the categories will also receive consultancy from industry heavyweights that will further help them turn their ideas into reality. Additionally, finalists will also be granted access to MSC Malaysia Animation and Creative Content Centre’s (MAC3) facilities.

Since the first IPCC in 2006, over 190 individuals and companies have received a total of approximately RM7.8 million (US$2.5 million) in financial support, in addition to training and development programmes.

For the 15th TBS Digicon6 competition, The One Academy took home both first and second place titles, with the Dead Pixel group coming in first with its ‘Death in D Minor’ animation, while Team LELO came in at a close second with its ‘ZZZ’ animation.

The third place prize was awarded to the Autumn Lane Animation group for its ‘The Silent Note’ animation.

The first place winner was awarded RM3,000 in prize money as well as a return trip to Tokyo for the regional leg of the Digicon6 competition, while the second and third place winners were rewarded with prize money.

IPCC 2013 Grant Recipients List