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To encourage young people with grassroots background to pursue their dreams of being animators, The Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation sponsored the “Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project”, a one-year programme run by Act Plus Education Foundation. Students overcome numerous difficulties and challenges brought by the epidemic, including moving to online learning, having to use mobile phone for online classes since they have no computer at home and spending four hours in traffic for school. 26 students completed the programme with flying colours, some found their life goals in animation, and some are willing to cut their salaries by half just to become an intern at Act Plus. The “Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project”ignites students’enthusiasm in learning, develops their talent in art and sets the direction for their careers.

“Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project” Graduation Ceremony. Mr YANG Bin,
CEO of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation (second row, sixth from left),
Mr David CHU, Chairman of Act Plus Education Foundation (second row, seventh from left) and the graduates.

To celebrate the successful completion of the “Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project”, the graduation ceremony was held on July 11 at the YO PLACE of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation. In his speech, Mr YANG Bin, Chief Executive Officer of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation said: " In this digital world, through innovative ideas, independent thinking and perseverance, youths can thrive in their own ways to achieve better lives and career. I believe that through the professional training and hands-on experience as well as career planning guidance by the tutors, the students will surely benefit a lot and get inspiration for their future development. We hope the students can leverage on what they have learned to express their creativity and potentials so as to explore future possibilities not just in Hong Kong, but also in the Greater Bay Area. " Mr David CHU, Chairman of Act Plus Education Foundation said, " We are thankful for the support of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, in helping young people with grassroots background to develop professional skills."

Mr YANG Bin, CEO of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation
hopes the students can explore future possibilities not just in Hong Kong, but also in the Greater Bay Area.

Mr Sunny TANG, General Secretary & Managing Director of Act Plus Education Foundation, who used to be a youth at risk but found his future in animation. He inspires many young people with the belief “ No matter what is your education level or family background, as long as you are willing to learn and work hard, you will find a way out.” He led students and graduates to participate in more than 10 movie productions, including The Great Detective Sherlock Holmes - The Greatest Jail-Breaker, Warriors of Future, and To the Fore, as well as the creation of more than 100 TV advertisements for famous brands, such as Snow Brand, SK-II, and Fortune Pharmacal. The employment rate of graduates from Act Plus is as high as 80%. Some of them are engaged in diverse and promising career in games and toy making, etc. The works of Act Plus Animation & Media Studio have won many awards, including Best Editing in Hong Kong Mobile Film Festival, Best Animation and Best Advertisement, Best Digital Entertainment (Student and Independent Group) Gold Award in Hong Kong ICT Awards. Sunny said, “We hope youngsters who come here will embark on a journey of growth," he said. “Like going to Shaolin Temple, after overcoming many challenges, we can cultivate students with the attitude that animators should have and enable them to have fruitful lives. " 

Mr Sunny TANG, General Secretary & Managing Director of Act Plus Education Foundation, expected the Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project can cultivate students with the attitude that animators should have and enable them to have fruitful lives.

Animation Performs Magic　Helps Youngsters Evolve

John YEUNG, a graduate and tutor of Act Plus, said he was addicted to games when he was young. More than ten years ago, he enrolled in the animation programme by chance. He found that he was not only interested in animation making, but also surprised that he had the ability to do it. John enjoys his work. Becoming a teacher enables John to encourage young people to pursue their dreams and develop their potentials.

As a tutor in “Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project”, John witnessed that many students who came from problematic families had to overcome many difficulties to complete their graduation assignments. Some experienced domestic violence, some suffered from ADHD or are lack of confidence. John recalled that in the online class, "One student had to use a mobile phone to take lessons because she didn't have a computer at home and took notes with pen and paper. To give students some hands-on experience, we let them remotely use the better performed computers in the Kam Tin Glocal Cultural Hub for making animation. Sometimes we still see them working hard on their homework in midnight! " 

John YEUNG, a graduate and tutor of Act Plus, spoke about how the project developed students’talent in art and set the direction for their careers at the Graduation Ceremony.

The Magic of Animation

“There are several 15-year-old school leavers who have no goals at first and are indifferent to the things around them. However, animation has the indescribable magic power which transforms them into active and lively persons. They take the initiative to ask their tutors how to do better, try to solve problems by themselves, become the "Barrel of Laughs "in the class, and are full of enthusiasm for learning. They learnt to plan for the future.” John added. Most students made animations that are comparable to tertiary students despite having zero knowledge in animation at first. Several students decided to further their studies and work in animation industry.

No Regrets in Cutting Salary by Half

John LEE is a graphic designer who enrolled the part-time programme. He left office at 7pm ,arrived in Kam Tin at 8:30pm with an empty belly, and missed nearly half the session. John had no complaints returning home late at night as he is so enthusiastic about animation. He was amazed when he saw the teachers achieve a set of walking animation by pressing only a few keys while he has to spend hours to do so. He would rather give up his job as a graphic designer with $18,000 monthly salary, cut his salary by half and become an intern at Act Plus in order to devote himself wholeheartedly to animation production. 

As a student of civil engineering in IVE and being familiar with Building Information Modeling (BIM), Bill LAU thought he could pick up animation production pretty quickly. He did not expect animation production to be so complex that consists of eight procedures: storyboard, modeling, rigging, motion, shading, texture, lighting,  special effects and rendering. During the programme, a teacher had asked a question that made him think seriously: What kind of job do you want to spend the rest of your life? ” Bill said frankly, “I don't just look at money now, but interest comes first.”

Pan LEE, Student of the programme, is the Merit Award winner of the 2010 Hong Kong Youth 3D Animation Competition. Affected by the epidemic, his salary suffered a big cut. After joining the programme, he decided to pursue his original dream in animation. His graduation coursework “Easter E-Card” left teachers humming their approval.

Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Project aims to support the growth of disadvantaged young people. The course content includes professional skills training such as computer animation production techniques, digital model design, art design and visual art related skills. The course also emphasises the whole person development of students, offering guidance by life mentors. It also provides employment support services, counselling services and job referrals.