Singapore's First Reality-Based Content Portal Launches
3 December 2009 – Yellobus, is Singapore’s first reality-based content portal, officially launched on 1 December 2009. Yellobus is dedicated to producing original and quality content through its portal and is an avenue in which talents can showcase their works. Valuable advice from industrial experts as well as users will aid in helping these talents catapult their desired careers in entertainment and the arts.
“It’s quite exciting to announce this particular venture. Through Yellobus we open up an avenue to discover and nurture fresh, novel individuals via a platform that is as exciting and as innovative as the people who will be featured in it,” says Ian Fong, CEO and founder of Yellobus.
Mr. Fong adds, “We’ve seen how individuals gained fame through the Internet. Given that the entertainment industry is constantly in need of new blood, this is a great way to discover them”.
“We also hope to further the local talents scene and do our share to help complement private and government initiatives that help promote it. This online platform gives the audience a chance to find out about brilliant people who often prefer an alternative way of showcasing their abilities,” states Mr. Fong of Yellobus’ reason for being.
Yellobus devotes itself to developing these 5 main objectives to achieve its goal of finding fresh talents in the entertainment and arts arena.
· Enrichment & Education
Graduating students from arts school and institutions locally and internationally will benefit greatly from Yellobus. Guidance and directions from the relevant industrial experts will help these budding talents improve their skills and art before entering into their field full-time. Students can get real-time interaction in Yellobus unlike reality TV whereby interaction is delayed.
Yellobus offers a convenient and cost-efficient platform for student bodies to promote their works. These works can be in the form of musical recitals, musicals, plays, dance performances, etc. that the students utilize to showcase their individual and collective talents.
Yellobus provides instructional and educational content for a wide array of skills ranging from singing, dancing, magic, makeup application, hair styling, acting, script writing, music mixing, and other creative fields.
Yellobus will be an interactive platform whereby visitors and users of the portal can contribute their experience and knowledge on the topics that they are well versed in. More importantly, Yellobus gives final year students the chance to test the waters of their chosen field and gauge the commercial popularity of their work through votes from Internet users. Singapore Polytechnic, a renowned higher learning institution in Singapore, is on board as a supporting partner.
Yellobus continuously works to partner and collaborate with the theatre groups here in Singapore as well as those based regionally. This is done so that a mutually beneficial relationship can be developed and fostered towards the development of talents for the betterment of the arts.
Coming in as supporting partners—are the premier groups in Singapore’s multifaceted arts scene such as Singapore Lyric Opera, The Necessary Stage, Singapore Dance Theatre and The Theatre Practice—to lend their support to Yellobus.
Also rolling with Yellobus as supporting partners are companies from the equally creative entertainment field such as The Music Clinic, Cristofori Music Pte Ltd and FLY Entertainment.
Eventually, Yellobus hopes to set up a local foundation to benefit budding talents in need of the financial and expertise support to help them pursue and advance their interests. The target is to set aside 10% of Yellobus’ yearly operating profits towards the building of the fund.
Lastly, Yellobus aims to create as many opportunities as possible for internships with the organization so that graduating students and apprentices can have an effective environment to study and learn the ropes of the trade.
· Social Responsibility
Since Yellobus devotes itself to producing original content, it will support the ongoing fight against piracy. On top of that, users who post their contents need not worry that their works will be plagiarized, as Yellobus is a strong advocate for copyright laws. In addition to this, Yellobus is working in partnership with The Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) to ensure that all regulations regarding copyright of materials are being adhered to.
· Entertainment
Yellobus focuses on churning out fresh and original content that diverge from the usual shows made to be commercially viable to ones that are alternative and on the flipside through programs such as SpideRider, Pillow Fight, Chic Hotels of the World, Fashionistar, Budget 99, Pick Of The Week, Talking Yello, Blog Of Fame, Fab n Flash, Pilots of the Net, etc. in the coming months.
Of the portal’s entertainment aspect the CEO has this to say, “We are looking into working with industry players from various entertainment and creative fields to share their experience and expertise. This is in order to let these budding talents as well as the public get inside the heads of these key players in the arts and entertainment arena and learn what makes them tick,”
Yellobus provides reality-concept web content with interactive and community elements in its interface so that interaction with the arts and entertainment community will be at its optimum.
Exploring the channels of the film medium Yellobus also plans to invite film enthusiasts, film practitioners and students taking up filmmaking to submit their works in the form of 5-minute pilots presented in the various film formats. Tentatively dubbed as “Pilots of the Net”, in this section, these initial uploads will be considered for development into multi-parts series should the plot and content be deemed noteworthy.
· Community-building
Yellobus is open to all artists, whether professional, amateur, new or experienced. Yellobus provides ample opportunities for keen industry employers to discover fresh talents who are not signed by any companies yet.
Yellobus provides fresh talents with an easy platform to showcase themselves, to shine and with the opportunity to kick start their career in their field of interest in the entertainment and arts.
Forums, blogs and other emerging new media tools will be used in Yellobus to build a dynamic community that supports the ongoing growth and improvement of the Arts
· Talent Management
Yellobus is at the forefront of supporting the growth and progress of the performing arts and its soul. Therefore, Yellobus is dedicated to the process of attracting new and existing talents, nurturing and promoting their skills to potential and fitting partners and employers and integrating them into the industry.
Yellobus plays an active role in engaging the services of the talents and the talents themselves and at the same time, negotiating with potential and fitting partners to secure the best terms for these talents.
As Yellobus’ originator, Mr. Fong cites Singapore’s modern and state-of-the-art performance venues and arts infrastructure but refers to the dearth number of local performers to fill the stages. “Our local talents are of world-class calibre, with Yellobus we hope to be able to assist the government in realising the vision of a regional arts hub in the near future, by discovering more performers both local and international” he says.
Showing his own gift of the gab as Yellobus’ host and spieler is Abel Koh. Web followers who want the latest scoop on the reality-based portal, exclusive happenings in the arts and entertainment scene, and the skinny on rising talents can go to Yellobus and let Abel clue them in with style.
Providing added glam is Creative Hairworkz as Yellobus’ Official Hair & Makeup partner. Incontro is Yellobus’ Official Launch Venue and F&B Sponsor. Yellobus is part of the Bvleon Investment Group (B.I.G).
Media Contacts:
Revathi
PR Executive
Sirius Art Pte Ltd
T: 6324 8722
Tim De Guzman
Asst. PR Manager
Sirius Art Pte Ltd
T: 6324 8723
Aryanti Kamar Clarke
PR Manager
Sirius Art Pte Ltd
T: 6324 8721
IAN FONG
CEO- Yellobus
An Honors Degree graduate from the National University of Singapore, Ian’s first love and passion is singing. A child protégé discovered at age 10, his voice has been described to display an impressive range, with an ability to inject emphatic feeling and pathos to any song he graces. The icing on the cake of Ian’s music career came when he played the romantic lead in “Bugis Street”, the musical produced by Pacific Theatrical in Singapore. He further proved himself as a serious entertainer in “Some Enchanted Evening” where he held his own against the highly-acclaimed international cast. More than 13 years experience in the industry focusing on media and lifestyle, business development, marketing and strategic planning including 3 years in web based publishing and 5 years in print publishing.
ABEL KOH
Programme Journalist- Yellobus
Abel is the latest passenger onboard as the Face, Voice and Personality of Yellobus. Abel is a fun-loving passionate individual who enjoys meeting and talking to people. He had the honour of being in the music and drama company while carrying out his national service which allowed him to pick up hosting skills as well as become a better entertainer. Abel wishes that human beings will become nocturnal one day and prays that he will wake up one day becoming the richest most eligible bachelor under 25.
ABOUT BVLEON INVESTMENT GROUP
Bvleon Investment Group (B.I.G.) was incorporated in the year 2009, and is the holding company of two subsidiary enterprises, Sirius Art Pte Ltd and Yellobus Pte Ltd. Collectively, the group's vision is to be one of Asia's forefront enterprise, providing quality turnkey solutions pertaining to content and lifestyle services and products.
B.I.G.'s foremost plan is to create a platform that taps into the new economy that embraces the new century. It plans to be an international player that showcases Singapore as a key player in the global market. The group aims to advance into the next Generation Interactive Multimedia technologies so as to empower public life and business.
B.I.G.'s vision and business objective is to:
• tap into the desire quotion of individuals and organisations
• enrich and educate
• be socially responsible
• entertain providing quality content
• work towards community-building
Holding these objectives, the group will embark on its agenda by growing organically and reinvesting all profits into existing projects. The group aims to actively seek partnerships with potential and viable investors to enhance its corporate portfolio, with the ultimate goal of listing on the Singapore Exchange.
