Having taken over the reins as Executive Director of So Drama! Entertainment last year, Melvin Kuek is especially excited to continue its legacy of immersive storytelling by uplifting the National Service chronicles with a digital flair.
He is no stranger to interactive creativity, having spent over 25 years in the integrated marketing and advertising space, and is unafraid to utilise the capabilities of modern technological breakthroughs to engage, socialise and entertain our local audiences.
We speak to Melvin to gain insight into how So Drama! plans to carve out a space in an already saturated digital world by capitalising on production augmentations and artificial intelligence.
A digital landscape that never sleeps
The impacts of widescale digitisation have prevailed on such a massive scale that its influence is apparent in the smallest details of our lives. Just the mobile phone alone has transformed into a social powerhouse – a virtual oasis brimming with an abundance of content-sharing and community-building platforms.
“It is clear that media habits have changed significantly over the last 10 to 15 years,” shares Melvin, “In fact, it has been reported by Statista just last year that Singapore’s smartphone penetration share is close to 97%.”
This unprecedented shift in our social behavior has fuelled an increased demand for content that matters, according to Melvin. “Like all other creators and platforms, we are in pursuit of content that sticks and most importantly, engages,” he emphasises, reinforcing a need to “remain agile and on the pulse of new trends and interest waves as they happen.” Readers’ and viewers’ attention is now a limited commodity that creators have to fight tooth and nail for.
Tapping into the metaverse
To satisfy public demand for transformative content, So Drama! has in its arsenal cutting-edge videography tools such as Motion Capture, Drones and Virtual Set systems to radically reinvent conventional approaches to content ideation, creation and execution. These digital augmentations are the metaphorical keys they need to gain access to a trove of experiential possibilities.
In fact, a great illustration of its potential happened during the National Day Observance Ceremony (NDOC) in 2024, when So Drama! incorporated motion capture technologies to bring to life a multimedia production featuring SODA, So Drama! ’s virtual girl-band, performing alongside their artists. “With easy access to these very modern production capabilities, my team can optimise typical production processes such as lead times, cost efficiency as well as narrative flexibility,” he stresses, “we can even recreate ultra-realistic settings in post treatment as opposed to filming them physically.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI), as an operational enhancement, is also another avenue that So Drama! is currently learning and exploring. Already, the team has begun integrating software applications such as Midjourney, Figma, Magic Studio, Runway and many others to further reinforce their creative offerings.
“I definitely think that AI is the future. While I disagree with the popular narrative that it will “take over our jobs”, there is no doubt that many roles that we know today will be intertwined with an increasing reliance on AI,” Melvin contemplates, making known that So Drama! is also experimenting with AI agents to improve employee experience and streamline day-to-day functions.
Regardless, beyond today’s over-reaching discourse that is centred around these novel computational additions, Melvin understands that the heart that drives engaging content stems from a sincere commitment to organic audience interactions. Crediting his predecessor, Philip Koh, who served as So Drama! ’s executive director since 2017, for his openness and dedication to technological experimentation, Melvin is determined to continue the “very strong blueprint” that Philip has set out to drive social engagement in a manner that is authentic, relatable and most importantly, interactive.
A storyteller inspired by National Service
It is Melvin’s vision for So Drama! to deliver fun, bite-sized narratives reflecting our National Servicemen’s more light-hearted moments, incorporating themes like their comradery and unity and their shared love for our Lion City. In time, he hopes that So Drama! ’s various platforms can become communal melting pots that National Servicemen of all ages and backgrounds can rely on as support systems and virtual social hubs.
“Our primary intent is to showcase National Service as not an obligatory process, but a coming-of-age journey that can be potentially life-changing. People who perhaps, have a defensive or negative view of it do so because they just don’t have that clarity,” he says.
Ironically, Melvin can relate to this cynicism better than most, having spent most of his time in National Service chasing the carrot on the stick. A signaler at HQ2SIB, he recalls an overwhelming desire to return to civilian life and school, being “more focused on counting down the time to ORD”.
His appreciation for his military journey came later. “Beyond combat skills and vocation training, the discipline instilled during NS definitely helped me cope better with stress and pressure in my studies and career.” Some of his closest friends today were from the very brigade that he served alongside with. “It’s true when they say that the friends and connections you make in NS shape your life,” he muses, “One of my former mates that I met during my reservist duties actually became my business partner!”
Already, So Drama! is full steam ahead with its pipeline for this year. Just recently, Melvin and his team delivered HOMEGROWN, a musical spectacle featuring a collaboration between MDC talents and local artistes like lullaboy and Jean Seizure. And So Drama! shows no sign of slowing down, with similar events planned for the rest of the year.
Its digital lifestyle magazine, Pioneer, has been further curated to better appeal to today’s servicemen while the Music and Drama Company (MDC) continues to explore new frontiers to enliven its Basic Military Training (BMT) performances for recruits. The CAMOKAKIS app, which currently houses the digital streams for POWER 98 and 88.3JIA, is undergoing a significant UX/UI revamp with gamification and audience engagement at its heart.
Melvin concludes, “The NS journey is undeniably a cornerstone of the Singapore success story, and we hope to continue in our mission to convey its significance to everyone.”
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