Heckler Singapore collaborates with Director Choann for Pink Dot music video
Leading production, animation and VFX house Heckler, has teamed up with the genre-bending Singaporean filmmaker Choānn, to create a music video for Pink Dot.
Pink Dot is Singapore’s primary annual event in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, curated by Cannes Film Festival nominee and filmmaker Boo Junfeng. The music video Singapura Queens, features fabulous drag queens and showcases Singapore’s iconic backdrop creating a dazzling visual palette synonymous with Choānn’s style. Set to a track by Diana Boss “Give Me Life” (feat. Quanah Style and remixed by Vanda Miss Joaquim) the music video was shot in Singapore over 2 days. All post production and VFX was handled by Heckler Singapore; including the creation of 3D neon dragons, exploding pink hearts and CG miniature shophouses.
Director, Choānn, said: “I knew from the start that I wanted to juxtapose these larger-than-life drag queens against local motifs and spaces, as a way of elevating Singaporean reality to the level of drag. The COVID period has been challenging for all sectors, and the drag scene is no different, as the pandemic had affected a lot of their work in the form of lost gigs. The concept of the MV as a tribute to drag queens, made complete sense to me as a way of celebrating their strength and spirit amidst such adversity.
“I also consciously wanted to integrate the drag queens within everyday spaces e.g. kopitiams. Not only asserting their presence and identities in the local community, but enhancing it. Of course in keeping with the spirit of drag, there’s humour to some of the imagery as well, like the Nasi Lemak bed and the Duck Stall dancers. There are no limits to imagination when it comes to the art of drag and similarly, I wanted to push the boundaries of how wild or playful the Singaporean identity can be.
“This was my first time working with Heckler and from start to finish it’s been an amazing collaborative experience. It’s always exciting to work with talented people, but even better when they’re amazing people who care for the project and the cause, which made it extremely enjoyable.”
Meghan Dwyer, Heckler Editor, said: “Aside from it being a meaningful project, I was drawn to Pink Dot for the creative freedom that a music video allows. I’d seen an early board, along with some of Choānn’s past work and was very keen to collaborate with him. He has such an incredible eye for detail and brings such enthusiasm to his work, that’s quite infectious.”
Billy Wychgel, Heckler’s Colourist, said: “The rich set design and cinematography was a lot of fun to grade. Choānn and Kelvin were really at ease with the remote workflow and championing the look, to a great end result.”
The film launches as part of the annual Pink Dot Event on the 12th of June 2021, as part of ongoing Pride Month.
Credits:
Director: CHOĀNN
DOP: Kelvin Chew
Production: Abundant Productions
Producer: Maryann Chan
Art Director: Karen Thien
1st AD: Brenda Ong
Post-Production: Heckler Singapore
Editor: Meghan Dwyer
VFX Supervisor: Cody Amos
Executive Producer (Production): Martin Hong
Executive Producer (Post): Charu Menon
3D Artists: Ruiting Wang, Cody Amos
Colourist: Billy Wychgel
Compositing: Azreena Ahmad, Keith Seah, Abi Santos
IO: Johnson Lim
Online: Meghan Dwyer
Assistant Producers:
Debbie Wu Yana Gagarin
Drag Queens:
El Nina
Opera Tang
Salome Blaque Sapphire Blast
Vyla Virus
Becca D’Bus
Femme Fatale Vanda
Miss Joaquim
Ambika Raichand
Dancers:
Syazwan Rahmad Haiky Zulkifli
Kopitiam Man:
Ryan Yong Thanakan
Graphic Designer: Warren Tey
Sound Design: Fuse Adventures In Audio
Music: Diana Boss – “Give Me Life” feat. Quanah Style
Remixed by: Vanda Miss Joaquim
