The School of Creative Media (SCM) at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held an Industry Night Forum on 5 May for Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Creative Media students. Under the theme “The fusion of creativity, media and enterprise in coming future”, five honorable guests were invited to share their experience and discuss with participants the future of creative industries. They were Dr Lewis Chong Chi-hung, Mr Cuson Law Kai-sun, Mr John Chong Ching, Mr Sze Yan-ngai, and Mr Joseph T S Ma. All of them have extensive experience in creative and media industries.

The Industry Night Forum provides a platform for students and experts to interact and incorporate insights from both the academic and industry sectors. Mr Eddie Leung Hiu-ming and Mr Yim Chun-pang, Senior Teaching Fellow and Teaching Fellow of SCM respectively, were the forum conveners. They said the programmes SCM provided were appropriate to the ever-evolving developments within the Asia creative industries.

In his welcoming remarks, Professor Liu Zhiqiang, Programme Leader of the Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Creative Media, said creativity within industry was best realised by those familiar with technology and its applications.

As forum facilitator, Mr Mark Siu Wai-hung, Chief Strategy Officer of Transmedia Communications, discussed how different media were increasingly integrating with the emergence of so-called new media. Dr Lewis Chong, Head of the Research Team of Hong Kong Economic Journal, said creativity often flowered during difficult times. Citing the example of an overseas tabloid that doubled its circulation through creative reform, he encouraged students not to be discouraged by failure. Courage to make mistakes would lead to results, he stressed.

Mr Cuson Law, Chief Presenter of Morning Suite on Radio 2, Radio Television Hong Kong, discussed the nuances of hosting a radio programme. The convenience of radio was the reason it continued to thrive in a society saturated with new media formats, he said. Despite radio’s apparent constraint of being limited to the delivery of its message through sound alone, it is that very limitation that frees the listener to do other things while enjoying programmes. Focusing solely on creativity at the expense of paying attention to listeners’ habits could prove reckless, he said.

Mr John Chong, Director and Deputy Chairman of the Media Asia Entertainment Group, shared his experience as a filmmaker and producer in Hong Kong. He has produced many famous movies, including Infernal Affairs, Initial D and The Banquet. He discussed his dealings with mainland and overseas companies to illustrate that creativity is essential in any production process. Citing his own successful example of buying the copyright to Initial D from the Japanese author, he explained that creativity could amount to discovering something others miss and possessing confidence in the face of difficulties.

Mr Sze, Founder and CEO of Gameone Interactive.com, said the emergence of new media might not necessarily mean the disappearance of older mediums. Collaboration within all kinds of media could amplify creativity, such as between film and electronic games. Mr Sze regarded competition with overseas companies as an opportunity. He encouraged students interested in producing creative works to take action. They could jot down their ideas and share them with others through various channels. Through repeated effort and by adopting feedback, success could follow.

Mr Joseph Ma, Director of Easson Telecom, said that to become successful corporations should not just pursue unilateral development, but should combine the strengths of different media. It should also treat each consumer as an individual entity and try to meet the needs of each member of the target audience in a range of ways.

The inspiring forum evoked an enthusiastic closing discussion, with the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, film and gaming collaboration, copyright and Chinese network attracting particular interest.