KQ: The sweet spot between craft and alchemy
KQ with Phil Tippett, a movie director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, in Berkeley.
In the future, KQ hopes to helm a Singapore comedy at the scale of Tropic Thunder, with the warmth of Little Miss Sunshine. From his portfolio, one would be inclined to agree that this sounds more like a pipeline than a pipedream.
With over two decades of creative experience under his belt, KQ has worked on numerous international productions with award-winning names in the industry. In his career, he has had a hand in different parts of the production process; his recent roles include being a visual effects producer on Stephen Chow’s Mermaid 2 and Ning Hao’s Crazy Alien, where he worked on CG Creature Animation.
KQ’s passion as a storyteller comes through as he shares about his craft. “Filmmaking came naturally to me. Making stories come alive onscreen has been more than a ton of joy; it was and always is truly magical.”
Once A Upon A Movie
“I grew up with Kung-fu and Gung-fu movies from the golden era of Hong Kong cinema. Then Back To The Future opened up my eyes to new possibilities. Shaolin Soccer was also an inspiration! These fun movies motivated me to get into the film industry.”
From getting inspired to getting a foot in, KQ started from ground zero, working on local gigs. As an assistant on ad and TV shoots, he did everything from lugging equipment and buying crew meals.
“Coming from humble beginnings in Singapore, I couldn't afford overseas film school. I had to start at the most basic level. From dawn to dinner time, it was constant sprinting on set to get things done. Then after a quick snack or skipping dinner altogether, it was off to night classes to get my arts and communication degree.”
Almost like a timelapse in a local boy made good narrative, he received his degree with distinction within two years, and was offered producer and director gigs before he hit 23.
“The desire to do more and do it bigger was constant. That keeps me going. Beyond local TV, I started to learn animation and other new techniques, which then led to awards and opportunities abroad.” he recalled.
His first shot at international team and regional supply chain management was in Thomas Chou’s sci-fi animation movie LaMB. The production, which was made for Sony Pictures Entertainment anime channel ANIMAX, won the Best Animation Show at the Golden Bell Awards. This was the confidence boost he needed to get onto the world stage.
Deconstructing His Craft
Analysing his progress over time, KQ reflects, “Previously, I specialised in Asian movie projects that needed Hollywood-level technologies and expertise. This is where my multilingual and multi-cultural strengths can be applied. But in order to be a truly diligent filmmaker, you have to dig deep into the craft of scripts. So in recent years, I have also moved more into writing stories and shaping characters after half a decade of learning the global pipelines of visual effects.”
KQ speaking at the Beijing Film Academy on Digital Humans Visual Effects.
He seems to have a proclivity for producing as he discusses the different roles he has taken on over the years.
“Producing is simply taking on more duties in getting something made. Confining myself to the director's path meant that I would only be limited to solving a particular set of problems. But I am adventurous and curious. Why not try to come up with more solutions in other parts and phases when necessary?”
You don’t often see a person waxing lyrical about having a lot to do but KQ does exactly that as he weighs in on how there is much to do as a producer behind the scenes, from the creative to the business side of things.
“The best directors in film history also frequently work as producers on many movies. That inspired me to be a producer too. As a producer, I have the chance to enjoy the creative development of ideas and turn poetic observations into projects that bring together artistry, capital and technologies. The magic and the fun in that process keeps me going. A producer is a teammate for the director; and together they can make dazzling alchemy happen.”
Is there foreboding behind all that fascination?
Lest one gets the unrealistic picture that trials and tribulations are plot devices that occurred in the earlier scenes of his story, KQ actually does share about overcoming the odds in his everyday work. For instance, he relates how he worked with Oscar award-winners to complete an arduous movie, which was incidentally titled Impossible.
He also shares about how his grandmother was a role-model as a strong entrepreneur who triumphed over her struggles during a difficult time in history. ”That was also a key inspiration for me to understand other forces that propel the world forward.” he explains.
Evidently, he has applied this attitude and perspective as he went into freelancing for many years. While some creatives have found the plunge daunting, KQ has instead looked forward to the freedom. He rationalises, ”Starting out full-time is essential to build a network and immerse more deeply into a team. However, freelancing gives you the opportunity to learn more. To use the analogy of filmmakers as chefs and projects as kitchens, what propelled me to switch to freelancing has always been the natural curiosity to observe more chefs, and learn from more kitchens.”
To him, there was nothing scary about venturing into the unpredictable world of freelancing.
“The scary thing is the philosophical view that we are merely deluded beings on a huge rock flying through space. So all kinds of wild fun in making shows and movies is a great antidote to ennui.” he quips.
Let’s chew over that as we mull over what a Singapore comedy at the scale of Tropic Thunder, with the warmth of Little Miss Sunshine may look like. And hope that, by the time it screens, we can all laugh out loud in the theatre without our masks in the way.
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