Graeme Tan Jie

Picture a boy saying to his mom, "Ma, I'm going to the cafe to go research for scholarships", but instead ends up scrolling through Facebook. Well, I am that boy and this is how my application and approval for the Chancellors Scholarship flipped my life around.

On the plane ride here, I didn't know what Kuala Lumpur had waiting for me. I once helped my church produce one of its production projects when I was younger. Then, I realised that everyone wants to be a director or cinematographer, but no one wants to be a producer. Thus, I did my own research on production and I was very intrigued by it. I got involved in more projects. I've worked with many local celebrities and a few big brands in producing for events as well as videos. If you want to take a lesson from this story, take this; always be bold and strive for your passion. Don’t do something because everyone is doing it and always follow your passion.

Getting my scholarship application accepted has granted me the opportunity to learn in depth about digital film production. I used to be a "guerilla shooter", a production term for just shooting with no real structure, but being educated about this industry has opened my eyes and I can never watch films the same way again. "Why does this director shoot this scene this way?", "Why do they shoot the shoes first before anything else?", and most importantly "Could this be foreshadowing?", are the questions I ask myself nowadays when I'm watching a film.

In my first year here I can definitely say that I have experienced the full Sunway experience. I am grateful for this opportunity that I have been given. I'm Graeme Tan Jie and this is #MySunwayStory.

Graeme Tan Jie
BA (Hons) Digital Film Production
The Chancellors Scholarship of Sunway University & Lancaster University