6 Occupations You Might Not Know Existed: Media Edition

We often focus on the stars of our favourite shows, but it’s the crew working behind-the-scenes that make the shows possible. We highlight interesting roles in the media industry within our CapitaLand community.

Quick quiz: which of the following shows were shot and produced in Singapore?

1. Westworld

2. Hitman: Agent 47

3. Crazy Rich Asians

The answer? All of the above. You might not have known, but Singapore is home to many regional and international production studios that work on some of the world’s biggest shows. And it’s not just movies—theatrical plays, music concerts, and regional news broadcasts are other forms of entertainment and media that are produced right here. In fact, there are 2,200 organisations in the $2.4 billion media sector in Singapore alone, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority, and the ever-growing industry is made up of over 20,000 media professionals.

We may be familiar with roles like producers, directors, and on-air personalities, but behind the scenes, there are some lesser-known occupations that make each program possible. These talented professionals have highly-technical skills to manage equipment, create characters, and engineer sounds—all part of bringing entertainment to us. Below, we take a peek at what they do.

Audio Engineer

Music and sound effects immerse us in the worlds of the shows we watch. Our auditory experiences are enhanced by audio engineers who edit and mix sounds, both real and artificial. Whether it’s creating voices, manipulating instruments, or balancing the acoustics, they creatively design sounds that travel electronically through our speakers into our ears. One such example is Suite Sound, located in Infinite Studios located at one-north, who are the masters behind Game of Thrones teasers and Disney music videos. In their five suites, they use the latest technology alongside old school gears to produce unique sounds for each project, making use of sound mechanics to conceptualise and produce audio that keep our ears perked. An audio engineer’s work doesn’t end at mixing sounds—they’re also involved in creatively adding the element of sound to the story.

Concept Artist

Think about your favourite cartoons. What do the characters look like? Where do they live? That’s what concept artists create. They visualise and design characters, animals, and buildings in animations. With a drawing board—literally—concept artists sketch each element with inspiration from their visual library of shapes, textures, and movements. Infinite Studios, who are also producers of Crazy Rich Asians and Westworld, is also home to a creative team that brings ideas of lovable cartoon characters to life on screen. Specialising in visual effects and animation, the team is behind the characters and environments in the children’s show, Ollie and Friends, on OKTO. Concept artists don’t simply draw, but produce artworks which tell a visual narrative and contributes to the overall story arc.

Presentation Executive

TV channels broadcast 24/7—and while it seems like there’re endless hours to fill, there are a lot of shows and commercials to plan and fit into each day. At each TV channel is a presentation executive who schedules the programs for each day to deliver seamless entertainment to us. Aside from programming, they classify and edit content that complies with censorship requirements, ensuring that what goes on TV is safe for everyone. For instance, KC Global Media at Hansapoint is the company behind the network, AXN. Their presentation executives promote the network by creatively presenting and delivering programming to its audience.

Artiste Manager

You’d think that being a singer is just about writing songs, playing an instrument, and performing to sell-out crowds—but did you know that being an artiste comes with lots of paperwork and admin as well? Fortunately, in the entertainment industry, artistes are able to concentrate on their craft as all administrative matters are left to their managers. Artiste managers play a major role in their talents’ careers: they market the talents, book gigs, and manage media interactions. MODE Entertainment at Galaxis, for example, represents in-house Singaporean singers and promotes them regionally. Often, they forge a strong professional relationship that develop the artistes’ brands and enhance their reputations.

Stage Manager

Have you been to a play and wondered what happens when they dim the lights between scenes? Actors change costumes, props are arranged, and the stage is set for the next scene. So much goes on during a live theatre show, and that’s what a stage manager oversees. Behind the curtains, the stage manager ensures that the director, cast, and crew work in sync to give the audience a wonderful performance—just like at Pangdemonium, a theatre company, headquartered at 9 Changi South Street 3, that tells thought-provoking stories through their plays. From musicals to dramas, Pangdemonium productions are diverse and dynamic, but the one constant across the different plays are the stage managers whose job is to make sure that the audience is captivated from start to end.

Broadcast Technician

Imagine you’re watching your favourite Korean drama, and it’s the peak of the season. The lead male character is just about to confess his feelings for the lead female character, and then—the screen goes black. Has that ever happened to you? Probably not—thanks to broadcast technicians whose job is to make sure transmission is uninterrupted. Their jobs are even more important in live broadcasts such as for a news channel, like BBC News in Aperia. With their knowledge of specialised equipment, the broadcast technicians ensure that video and audio are transmitted clearly, making them the unsung heroes and the backbone of programming who often go unnoticed.

So the next time you watch a show, perhaps you could stick around a little longer for the credits at the end. It’s easy to miss the countless professions that go into making a show possible, and what we've covered here has barely scratched the surface. You might just discover more fascinating roles within the industry that help with the filming or production of your favourite shows—some of which were created right here in Singapore. If you’re interested in joining the media industry, we hope that these occupations inspired you.

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