Creating a Highly Recognisable Feature

As part of TILT’s retainer for creative works for NTUC Club, U Sports, our works revolve mainly around their U Games collaterals. From designing the master creative to their below-the-line collaterals, we constantly seek to value-add to our client. In the very first month of our work with them, we had proposed to them that since the U Games has been around for a period of time, there is a need to create a highly recognisable feature which can be here to stay.

With that, we proposed to them to create a series of sports pictograms, each to depict the individual competition that falls under the umbrella of U Games. Each sport pictograms have a distinctive, contemporary graphic style that is intended to make them a highly recognisable feature from this year on.

The series of pictograms.

The pictograms were definitely well-received and have since been turned into iconic give-aways (eg. A4 clear folders) such that awareness is raised.

Below is the design of the folder.

150,000 and still counting

Since April 2008, when we bought Nikon D3, we decided that it will be good for TILT to keep track of the shutter count so that we can be prepared when the camera may fail. In a short period of 2 years and 3 months, we realised that we have already taken 150,000 photos to date.

150,000 definitely sounds like a big number. Considering that we do not go for photoshoots every day, this certainly is quite a huge number. As such, we decided that we can do some quick mathematics. To our surprise, that is an average of about 180 photos taken in a day, a pretty digestable number.

Having said that, during our peak periods, the number of photoshoots can be pretty overwhelming. Recently, in the month of June, we did a reality check and realised that we were out on photoshoots for 21 days out of 28 days (and that is inclusive of Saturdays and Sundays). On certain days, we can be rushing for places to places for photoshoots. In fact, just in early June, there was 5 photoshoots happening in 1 single day. Our photographer was shooting from 8am – 10pm. Well, there are breaks in between where it is used for travelling and meals, but nonetheless, it definitely can be very tiring.

So, what exactly is shutter count? Why does it matter? How do you keep track of it?

The shutter count is the number of pictures that a camera has already taken. Shutter count is actually the laymen’s way of saying it. The actual term is known as actuations. The shutter blades are delicate mechanical parts, and are subjected to wear & tear. They are generally the first thing to fail on a digital SLR.

For entry level cameras (Canon Rebel, Nikon D80, etc.) the shutter is rated for 50,000 shots.
With mid-range cameras (Canon 40D, Nikon D200) it’s 100,000 shots.
With professional cameras it’s over 200,000 shots.

Note than any given camera can fail sooner or last much, much longer. These numbers are just guidelines. At any rate, the lower the shutter count, the better.

For those who are interested in finding out your camera’s shutter count, you can download the free Opanda IExif where you can then use it to check on your camera’s shutter count.

For the record, this is the photograph taken which was our registered 150,000 shot. This was taken at Jalan Besar Stadium on 16 July 2010 for a S-league match between SAF FC and Home United FC. The photo shows the contrast between Home United’s celebration and SAF FC’s disappointment after Home United had scored a goal. For the record, Home United won 5 – 2 at the end of 90 minutes.

We are still counting and we definitely will be looking to getting a new DSLR soon.

Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition and Interview

The Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography exhibition is now on at most National Libraries. TILT is honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to contribute photographs for this exhibition which is being held from 2 May 2010 – 26 August 2010.

With a theme of Excellence, Friendship and Respect, our chief photographer was also honoured to have been selected by Singapore Sports Council to be interviewed by CNA, which was conducted on 25 June 2010.

“There is not a single genre of photography which will be able to provide you with a full spectrum of emotions within 10s (for 100m dash) to 90 minutes (for soccer). It is only in Sports Photography that you will be able to capture the joy, the sorrow, the anger and the agony all within such a short period of time.” revealed TILT’s Chief Photographer, Tay Ling.

“Behind each and every photograph is an actual story. This story serves to inspire everyone to pick up sports. And the beauty of this is that all of us have a part to play in it! Not everyone can be good in sports. But all of us can do our part to aid Singapore in becoming the Sporting Hub. We can do our bit in playing a supporting role, whether in sports photography, sports marketing, sports event management or sports journalism and more!” as he shares on his passion in sports photography.

With the recent conclusion of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, Tay Ling also shared that his dream is to be able to take photographs at the Fifa World Cup before he stops clicking on the shutter.

Below is the news article which was published.

Below is the video clip of the segment which was shown on Channel 8.

We Did It!

We did it!

As much as this is the tagline used for NTUC Club U Sports Awards Night 2010 collaterals, this tagline also goes to show how much we take pride in our work. In the space of 12 days, we managed to complete the following:

1) Proposing of master creative

2) Sourcing for Talents

3) Conducting of 3 full days of photoshoot

4) Designing of the following
a) Logo
b) Master Creative
c) Series of 5 Giant Pole Banners
d) Entrance Arc
e) Series of 4 Curved Wall Banners
f) Series of 12 Pillar-Wrap Banners
g) Backdrop
h) Invitation Card

It is without a doubt that as we have our in-house copywriter, designers, photographer and account servicing personnel, are we then able to complete the work. Of course, having an understanding and good client like NTUC U Sports is a must as well. They had worked with us through the weekends, rushing the designs for approval and coming back to us with precise changes. This resulted in a win-win situation for both parties.

The idea behind the collaterals was to create a formally casual impression. This sets the tone to a closure for U Games 2009 as well as the new beginning which U Games 2010 will experience. A celebratory pose against the beautiful landscape of Singapore to let everyone know that with the correct attributes, they will be able to achieve. Everyone’s achievements are measured differently.

You are successful, not necessarily due to the fact that you came in first, but it could be that you dared to try in the first place. You have excelled, not necessarily due to the fact that you are a star player, but it could be that you had put the team as top priority in the first place. They have all done it because they had all believed, in the first place, that they can do it.

“Wow! Pretty damn impressive! The folks at NTUC Club are all very impressed with the design concept of the U Sports Awards Night Collaterals!”
Terence Koh
Executive
NTUC Club, U Sports Department

Below are the series of collaterals which were created.
Master Creative

Series of 5 Giant Pole Banners

Series of 4 Curved Wall Banners

Series of 12 Pillar-wrap Banners

Let’s Play iPhone!

With the release of Apple’s Q4 financial figures, market dominance of iPhone is made clear. The report produced shows record setting quarter for iPhone sales. Apple has increased Iphone sales by 7% to 7.4 million in Q4 surpassing analysts’ estimates which was much below the achieved figures.

In fact, at TILT, at last count, there are 75% users in TILT who uses iPhone. With such an increasing popularity and market dominance of the iPhone, it is no wonder that Singapore Sports Council has now developed an application for anyone to be up to date on Singapore Sports. Interested in the app? All you need to do is to go to App Store and search under Singapore Sports or Let’s Play! Happy reading!

Be Inspired by Sports Photography

The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) has launched the Inspiring Sporting Singapore Photography Exhibition in support of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Declared open at the Sengkang Sports and Recreation Centre, one of the venues of the exhibition this morning by Mr Charles Chong, Chairman, Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development and Environment and Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, the exhibition aims to reach out to members of the public who visit the SSC’s Sports and Recreation Centres (SRCs) and the Public Libraries, and will culminate in a showcase of Singapore’s young athletes who will be participating in the YOG.

For more information, please click here.

Your Spirit, Our Inspiration

For the 3rd year running, TILT has been covering the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) as the Official Photographers. With our largest team to date (comprising of 8 photographers and 4 photographer assistants), we had a combined 73 hours of photography coverage on 6 December 2009.

After taking a total of 25.6GB of photographs which amounts to 9379 photos, we sat back and reflected on why we had always enjoyed taking SCSM. The tagline of “Your Spirit, Our Inspiration” definitely is definitely apt in explaining the reason.

In all 3 years of coverage, we witnessed the grit of tens of thousands of people enduring a punishing 42.195km route running their own race. There are the elite runners who come in at a breath-taking 2hr 10mins timing and there are the everyday people who push their way through and come in at also a breath-taking 9hrs. Their spirit and endurance is what we should applaud.

Your spirit was shown through friendships formed on the road.
You cheered each other on!
You helped each other as you struggled on!
You continued on the even though you were in a cast!
Your hands raised in unison as you crossed the finishing gantry!
Spiderman, the Witch, a Bride, Santa Claus, Super Woman! These were how some of you had assisted in making the marquee event of the year a more colourful event!

This year, we witnessed how one man raced to the finishing line armed with a bouquet of flowers, a ring and a banner professing his love to his girlfriend.

Your spirit is our source of inspiration. Your marathon makes our race for you worthwhile. We thank the 50,000 people who took part in this year’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon for being a part of TILT’s memories.

We look forward to SCSM 2010 and may your spirit be our inspiration again!

To view some of the photographs taken, you may visit our Facebook page.

Follow the Rhythm, Be Part of the Action!

In less than 48 hours, there will be 50,000 runners lining up at the Padang for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) 2009. For the very first time, SCSM has released a viral video. Aptly titled, “Follow the Rhythm, Be Part of the Action!”, it comprises of a catchy tune (music is produced by Koko & Syaheed from Bedsty Music) with vocals from Kevin Lester (Sixx) and very simple moves by Bill Calhoun, the entire video was produced by m:idea from Ngee Ann Polytechnic!

SCSM 2009 is attempting to do this at the starting line. Will you join in? We certainly hope you do. With our largest team to date (comprising of 5 photography assistants and 8 photographers), we certainly will be present to follow the rhythm and capture YOU being part of the action!

Remember, if you see us that day, wave to us! Pose for us! We will not disappoint! See you there on 6 December 2009 in Singapore’s largest scale running event and we hope you enjoy the run!

Float to the 8th Anniversary Special

We are excited!

In a mere 32 days time, the 8th Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 will be here again. This will be the third time where TILT will be the Official Photographers for Singapore’s marquee running event.

In 2007, we saw a team of 3 photographers covering the entire route to capture the essence of the event.
In 2008, we saw a team of 6 photographers and 2 assistants working non-stop for 12 hours on race day for the 50,000 runners who were present.
In 2009, plans are in place for a team of 7 photographers and 3 assistants to be on-site to ensure the smooth delivery of photographs for the 50,000 runners! This again sets the record for TILT.

Similarly, in this 8th anniversary, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon have experienced a sign-up of 50,000 runners in a record time. To further commemorate this special event, they will also be organising a special Race Entry Pack Collection for 8,000 runners to be among the first to collect their race packs.

This special REPC will be held at the Floating Platform at the Marina Bay on the 28 – 29 November 2009, between 10am – 7pm.

Interested runners will need to ballot online to stand a chance to collect their packs earlier. Each runner can only submit their name and five others.

Details of the e-ballot exercise are as follow:
Start Date: Monday, 2 November 2009 at 10 am
End Date : Monday, 9 November 2009 at 11.59 pm

Successful runners will be notified via email and SMS between 18 to 22 November 2009.

We will be there on the floating platform and we hope to see you there!

H-TWO-O Ultimate Photography Challenge Merit Winner

H-TWO-O Ultimate Photography Challenge 2009 was organised to celebrate the essence of Sports and to harness the unity, camaraderie, strength, endurance and feeling of achievement.

TILT, with our speciality in Sports Photography, took part in the competition and won a Merit Award (Open Category). Due to the sensitive nature of most of the sporting events, where we were the official photographers, such as

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 – 2009

WaterFest 2007 – 2008

Aviva 70.3 Ironman 2007 – 2008

Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games 2008 / 2009 Season 2

Photographs taken during these events were not submitted. As such, we submitted a photograph taken during the Singapore Paintball Novice Series 2009. Below is our entry.

To read more about our previous post, click here.

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