Meet Adam Tun-Aung - The Creative Artist from Singapore

Dear languages - I was brought up with quite a lot of Western movies and music (thanks to my dad). I took a liking to the English language and devoured as much as I could in our third world country until I left for London when I was 19. There, I discovered a whole lot more about writing, storytelling, etc. 

I wanted to be making up stories but I guess the closest thing to a job was being a journalist right after I graduated, where I can write about stuff I love. And that’s how I got into media.

I was never professionally trained to do any of these skills that I’m using now to earn a living. I just like writing and was writing stuff (poems, lyrics, short stories) on my own to get decent at it.

Same with photography (and to an extent, videography) where I just got myself a camera and learned via online material. For voice work, that took a bit. I’ve wanted to get into it like a decade ago, but it was a long and learning journey, which I’m still on and would like to do way more of.

Through the media - I started with writing. I was writing cringy poems and lyrics during my teens in the motherland but started writing short stories while working part-time in London after discovering graphic novels and British writers like Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, etc. Co-founded and ran a magazine in Republic Polytechnic when I got here, which led to getting my foot into media and my first full-time job due to that.

The rest followed organically, like I started writing video scripts, ended up directing some, and photography has always been a passion since I was around 15-16 so once I got myself a proper camera (the Fuji X100), that began another journey. Voice work, since I was already in production by then, I asked around for any opportunity to get started. Managed to convince some of my friends to help them out in their projects (or get referred to proper studios) and it grew from there (shoutout to NOC for helping me gain a slight presence in the younger demographic via YouTube).

As with the rest of my supposed arsenal, I was not professionally trained so I had to work hard and learn, failing here and there, to get to where I am today - a position where I’m half decent and got a body of work worth showing off.

Inspirations, the first - My first inspiration when I was a kid was music, the lyrics especially. Tupac, Pearl Jam, Marilyn Manson, etc. inspired me through their music and lyrics. Then I discovered writers like Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Chuck Palahniuk, etc. and off I went. Films and TV series have a big influence on me as well, especially writers like Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Kaufman, Quentin Tarantino, Nic Pizzolatto, etc. Also, video games, because some of the stories being told there in that medium are awe-inspiring.

Visual inspirations come mostly from cinematography and masters like Roger Deakins, Emmanuel Lubezki, Hoyte van Hoytema, etc. Gig photography and portraitures, especially in greyscale, inspire me too. Voice work, it started with American sports commentators in the ‘90s but nowadays I’m more inspired by voice actors, especially those doing video game voice work like Troy Baker, Nolan North, etc. Lenne Hardt is a big, all-time-favourite inspiration as well.

How do I blend all these into what I do? I try to create my own thing for every medium I get my hands on. All my influences showed me what I like but I try to create work based on what the project requires, adding my own take, which itself is inspired by my influences. In a nutshell, you could say my overall style is grungy, cinematic, kind of dark, and f**ked up. Ha, ha. But hey, for voice work, I can be bright and chirpy and sell you some sunshine, if need be.

I mean, we’re all whores, we do things for money. As a mercenary, I take on projects where some of them come with a direction and client requirements already, so all we have to do is to just help with the technical side and execute them. For some of the better ones, especially with like-minded creatives, we can have a ball coming up with ideas and executing them. Same for passion projects and collaborations.

Capture, captured - As mentioned, I really dig gig photography and get inspired by it, mostly due to my love for music and the subjects being captured. I’m not that experienced with gig photography but I love shooting gigs and try to sneak in at least a small camera when I go for gigs.

This first pic is of Andrew McMahon (Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin) whom I’m a huge fan of. My buddy Pio knew the organisers of the gig and got me a slot to shoot the gig. Managed to snap a few memorable shots during the gig but this one is for the last song when Andrew went into the crowd. I ran to the front of the stage, and making use of my height, managed to capture this shot.

This second pic is of Tabula on their last night at China One. For those who were there during that era, China One was the only place where you can have that full-on rock gig vibes every weekend. The place is sleazy as f**k but hey, we know the band and we get to rock out. This shot was taken after their last set and they took a moment to have that group hug. It was dark as heck and I was trying to focus on them, then I saw the camera focusing on the band name on the wall. Managed to snap it and turned out it worked!

I am a mercenary - I’ve been doing my own thing (freelance/mercenary) for a while now and the thing I appreciate about this is that I’m not stuck to a strict routine, which is something I prefer. Of course, family comes first, but we have enough wiggle room to be able to manage all of it without any major disruptions (or arguments). Have to give my wife and son a shoutout for being so understanding, especially in those days when I’m out at the bar until beyond decent sleeping hours. I do need music, films, geek pop culture stuff in my life to make it through though. 

Be realistic and do it because either you’re good (or want to get good) at it, or you love doing it. If you go in looking for just fame and fortune, it’s not gonna be pretty.
Heck, I’m still trying to find my way through and I’ve been at it for like 15 years. Your goals and inspirations change over time, remember. But as long as you can still find a reason to keep doing it (apart from purely monetary reasons), keep at it.

When I met Neil Gaiman at his American Gods book signing in London, I asked what advice he would give to an aspiring writer. He told me to “Write. Believe. And finish things.” Perhaps we can tweak it a bit and try to follow this, perhaps we can keep at it for the long haul.

“Create. Believe. And finish things.”

Find out more about Adam:
Soundcloud
Instagram
Vimeo