Disrupt #3: Malaysia’s got creative talent, but is that enough?

• MSC Malaysia companies in Creative Multimedia cluster had revenues of US$1.95bil in 2011
• Leon Tan and two other panelists to share their experiences and thoughts

KNOWING what he knows now about the movie industry, Leon Tan (pic) of Tripod Films which produced the 3D animated movie War of The Worlds: Goliath, says this about what it takes to create a hit:
 
“Making a movie is like running the marathon but with the main difference being that you have to hand the baton over to someone else for the last mile to complete the race for you.”
 
It may sound cryptic but you will get more clarity on Nov 20 at 5.30pm sharp. For those waiting for it, the topic for our third DNA-TeAM Disrupt series of sharing and networking is centered on digital content.
 
Specifically, our panelists are going to share their thoughts on the topic "Creative Content: Does Malaysia have talent? Is that talent enough to create success stories?”
 
The panelists include Tan himself; and Chun Chong Leong, who has worked with Electronic Arts in Los Angeles and Shanghai, and headed Disney Interactive’s studio in Shanghai. A third panelist has yet to confirm and we will update readers when that happens.
 
While a lot is known about Tan and Goliath, very little is known about Chun. Suffice to say that Chun, who has been back in Malaysia for over a year, has some interesting viewpoints especially about the quality of the teaching in our multimedia and animation programs. He is also co-founder of Geolopigsgames.com, a small studio working on mobile games.
 
As for Tan, in terms of Malaysian media exposure, you can safely say that he and his movie Goliath, to borrow an American baseball analogy, “belted it out of the park.”
 
I am not sure what got the media bandwagon started or what triggered it, but the Malaysian press is now big on digital content.
 
Just to highlight one: Leading English daily The Star ran a two-page feature on the animation industry in its Nov 10 business section which was followed by a cover story on Tan and Goliath in its entertainment pullout the following day (Nov 11).
 
For consistency, let me use the term Creative Multimedia rather than digital content because that is how Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) defines its cluster of companies that are making digital content, be it animated movies or TV series. Companies that make games also sit under this cluster.
 
So, how big is this sector? According to MDeC, its MSC Malaysia companies recorded revenues totaling RM6.1 billion (US$1.95 billion) in 2011, out of which exports accounted for RM3.65 billion (US$1.17 billion) while the remaining RM2.45 billion was revenue generated from the domestic market.
 
The Malaysian Government has also recognized the high potential of this sector and recently announced the formation of MyCreative Ventures, which is supposed to get RM200 million (US$65 million) for the creative multimedia sector.
 
The MyCreative Ventures company has been formed and the CEO appointed; however, it is not clear if the money has been allocated. But that’s a story for another day.
 
Watch out for the invitations that will go out today or go here to register.
 
 
Related Stories:
 
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A veteran’s take on the state of M'sia creative industry
 
Creative industry: Will govt get serious about quality?
 
MDeC to host inaugural Asian Animation Summit in December
 
Vincent Tan: Young people deserve ‘Angels’
 
Digital Malaysia should focus on ‘policies, not projects’