Singapore's latest Emmy winner Amanda Koh hopes award opens doors to more diverse storytelling

Singapore's latest Emmy winner Amanda Koh hopes award opens doors to more diverse storytelling The creative director won Outstanding Sports Graphic Design at the 47th Sports Emmy Awards last month for her work on the documentary mini-series Believers: Boston Red Sox. SINGAPORE: Winning an international accolade is more than a career milestone for creative director Amanda Koh – it is motivation to keep championing diverse voices and meaningful storytelling. Last month, the 37-year-old picked up an Emmy at the 47th Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Graphic Design: Specialty, for her work on the documentary mini-series Believers: Boston Red Sox. She is now the third known Singaporean to receive the prestigious television honour. “It's just amazing being able to move forward with a storytelling lens through everything and just having the opportunity to keep showcasing what diverse voices are like, and representing our culture in this field,” she told CNA’s Singapore Tonight on Thursday (Jun 25). Ms Koh led the art direction for motion graphics and title design for the three-part mini-series, which chronicles the baseball team's historic 2004 World Series victory. She joined the project during the scripting phase, helping shape its visual language from the outset. Ms Koh said her team recreated Boston's Fenway Park in 3D format with “painterly clouds” projected behind interviewees, including A-list Hollywood actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who are Boston natives and lifelong Red Sox fans. Mr Affleck was also an executive producer on the show. "They came onto set and they were like, ‘Whoa, this is really cool’,” Ms Koh recalled. “We tried to build an immersive environment for the cast as well as for the viewers … because part of the series was about how the fans were reacting to basically being heartbroken year after year, cheering on these underdogs.” To capture the fans’ emotional journey, Ms Koh and her team blended religious iconography with graffiti-inspired artwork to create a distinctive visual style. “We merged these two elements together, and it just became this really amazing visual language to work with,” she added. “JUST START MAKING MAGIC” Before Ms Koh, only two Singaporeans had received Emmy honours. Last year, animation artist Samantha Suyi Lee won the Children's & Family Emmy for Outstanding Directing for the animated series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – a Disney Television Animation production. In 2000, Nora Fong won Best Music Video at the College Television Awards, which is often referred to as the College Emmys. Ms Koh – who began her journey in Nanyang Polytechnic’s digital media design programme – has spent more than a decade working in Hollywood, contributing to documentaries on sports icons including gymnast Simone Biles and tennis player Serena Williams. Her work on the Williams documentary earned her a nomination for the same award last year. She is also the founder of Los Angeles-based motion design studio Morph & Muse, which specialises in title design, show graphics packages, and campaign visuals for film, television and branding. Reflecting on her journey, Ms Koh encouraged aspiring creatives to embrace what makes them different. “If you look within yourself, especially from a different culture and a different perspective, you're adding just another tool to your Swiss Army knife,” she said. “You can offer a different perspective to the graphics, or even have new (ways of) storytelling and how different people react to the graphics themselves.” Looking ahead, she said she hopes to continue working across fiction and documentaries while telling stories that resonate with audiences. She recently worked on the title and end title sequences for By Any Means, directed by Elegance Bratton and starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The historical crime film is scheduled for release in September. Ms Koh also urged young Singaporeans to make the most of social media to showcase their work and not “wait for permission to create”. "Just start making. Use social media to your advantage, because the boundaries between worlds are a lot smaller now,” she added. "In order for people to know what you're able to create, you have to put it out there. Just start making magic, and the universe will find you."