Lyna Mohammad
At the recent 13th VIBE Exhibition at Kolej International Graduate Studies (KIGS), diploma graduate in advertising, multimedia and broadcasting programme Nukman Syahmil bin Haji Najmuddin caught the audience’s attention when he was selected to present his final year assignments at the launch.
Speaking with the Bulletin, Nukman said, “The creative industry is one of the most exciting and colourful industries around the world because we can express our feelings through our projects and products. For me, this is an enjoyable path and I take pride in being part of it.”
Being a member of the younger generation, Nukman believes that pursuing a career in the creative industry helps to develop local industries as well as the nation’s economy through skills and knowledge in fine arts.
He believes in the significant economic value that can be found in the creative industry, from fashion to technology and media.
As creative industries are based on individual skills and talent, with the potential to create wealth and jobs through the development or production of intellectual properties, it is a sector that offers exciting careers opportunities with innovative, imaginative and have original ideas.
He said it will be encouraging to see more people, especially from the new generation, venturing into the industry, be it to start their own business or to deepen their knowledge.
Nukman said media plays the most informative role in society and is one of the factors contributing to his interest to work in the industry.
“I love to capture every moment through a lens – video and even a drone – since media affects our daily life in a positive way. My passion for media started a long time ago, when I was still at secondary school. I was a media student who managed the school magazine and the social media page.”
His first video assignment involved directing a short horror film, (Balum Tidur – Delusion, a sequel to Balum Tidur 2022) during which he convinced his second shooter, Nuur Siraaj, to gather students and friends to be part of the crew.
It takes one who appreciates and understands the artistic values in making short films, as this is where the audience understands the story of Balum Tidur.
He thanked the crew involved in the making of the film, which he believes successfully capture viewer’s attention due to the feedback received.
His second assignment was challenging as it was a documentary coverage for Cammus official authorised distributor in Brunei racetic.bn and Brunei Shell Marketing Company Sdn Bhd (BSM) under the Fuel Good Weekend event.
The documentary featured racers’ interviews and the top five racers. It received quite the response due to his creativity.
Nukman, however, finds the most pride in the third assignment as he received positive comments with some saying that he just had to brush up a little as he was close to emulating the works of professionals filmmakers.
The assignment was RetroYard, a TV show run by his college’s Faculty of Multimedia and Broadcasting (FMB) lecturer Amirul and some undergraduate students.
It was a reality show that documents the restoration process of a legendary rally car, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Nukman said that nothing has made him more proud than being the first in Brunei to make a car restoration TV show on car restoration.
The most valuable lesson from the assignment, he said, was understanding how “teamwork makes dreams work”.
More crucially, he broke the record of doing three major projects at the diploma level, something that had never been done before.
“It was an achievement for me and it proves to me that I really do have the passion to be in the creative industry. But of course this would not be possible without the help of our dedicated lecturers who have encouraged me to reach higher and beyond. It was what promoted me to take on three major video projects.”
He also acknowledged that his family and friends contributed to his achievements as they have gave him total support from day one.
As a freelancer photographer and videographer, Nukman is looking ahead and hopes to be a part of the big film industry.
He shared that one of his options for the future is to pursue his studies in a film school.
Although the local film industry is still at the development stage, Nukman believes that one day, Brunei will be on the film industry map, and he vows to work hard towards making it a reality.
