Li Feng
Fujian, China
Rigger, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore
Been in Singapore since November 2009
2Currently an Employment Pass holder
Landing a job with international production company Lucasfilm in Singapore was an opportunity Li Feng just couldn’t pass up. “I have lived in ten cities in China; I moved so many times just following job opportunities,” the 29-year-old looks back. Now employed with one of the best computer graphics companies in the world, Li Feng is thriving on the challenge of working on big-budget television productions. He is a Rigger, which entails making objects and characters move.
Describing himself as an artist, Li Feng is passionate about creating art. “I’m getting paid for doing the things I love to do!” he laughs.
Indeed, his own time is spent as creatively as in his work. He has been around Singapore taking photographs as references for his personal projects - short films and home animation. He hones his artistic ability further at Figure Drawing classes offered by Lucasfilm, something he looks very much forward to every week.
Li Feng is appreciative of the opportunities he’s found here. “I’m learning a lot of new technology tools and processes, and the artists and programmers I work with are amazing problem solvers,” he says. He’s more than competent himself - during one of the regular reviews with their US counterparts, a colleague called one of his rigs “awesome”.
Relaxing at the movies, Li Feng especially enjoys those which ILM Singapore has worked on, and will definitely be watching the credits. He comments, “It’s an amazing experience, seeing your name on the big screen.”
Adjusting to life in Singapore has not been hard, apart from the initial acclimatisation shock (“When I left Beijing it was snowing heavily, and it was so sunny when I arrived in Singapore”). It was even surprisingly easy given that he’s still trying to improve his English language skills. Li Feng puts it down to people here being exceptionally friendly. He is very amused when he recalls how his new Singaporean friends would smoothly insert English and even Malay phrases into their speech, even though they were trying to speak to him in Mandarin; a very typical local habit which still trips him up. In the same manner, his Chinese colloquialisms also often confuse his friends. Still, communication has not hampered his getting along with the 44 different nationalities working in the studio. “It’s a very interesting environment, and you get to see how different cultures work together,” he says.
The bachelor, who is about to get married, lives by himself, a convenient distance from work. Getting to the office means a 15-minute bus ride and a 20-minute walk, which he dismisses as nothing compared to the three-hour commute he used to make in his previous jobs back home.
While he misses his family and fiancée, he’s happy here and keeps in touch via telephone, webcam and email. Otherwise, his projects, and late-night jogs with friends keep him occupied in his new home away from home.