Night Owl Cinematics (NOC)

Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) is a Singaporean video production company that was founded by Ryan Tan and Sylvia Chan in 2013.[1][2] As of September 2020, NOC has over 50 employees including the personalities, Aiken Chia, Aurelia Ng and Joanna Lim. On YouTube, NOC oversees five channels - Ryan Sylvia, TEAM NOC, SugarMelon, NOC Plays and The Thirsty Sisters. As of 2020, they have over a million subscribers across their YouTube platforms.

Night Owl Cinematics is a video production company known for their localised YouTube content.

Background

Ryan and Sylvia started posting their scripted comedy videos on YouTube in 2012. Unexpectedly, one of their first few videos titled 'Shit Singaporean Girlfriends Say' went viral.[3] They then incorporated Night Owl Cinematics in 2013.[4][5][6] Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) is reportedly among the largest players in Singapore’s YouTube scene alongside Wah!Banana, Clicknetwork and Titan Digital Media.[7] NOC has worked with notable government and corporate clients such as the National Youth Council (NYC), the Media Development Authority Singapore and Disney.[8] Apart from producing content for YouTube, NOC also creates corporate videos and offers talent management services.[9]

Founders - Ryan Tan & Sylvia Chan

 
The founders of NOC. Photo from source.

Ryan Tan is the Chief Operating Officer of NOC while Sylvia Chan is the Chief Executive Officer.[10] While Ryan is more involved in the technical aspects of video production and editing, Sylvia manages client collaborations on top of her roles as a producer and occasionally, a director. In 2016, the married couple was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for their contributions in media, marketing and advertising.[11][12] Although they are divorced as of 2020, they remain as business partners.[13]

Growth

According to 2020 report by Channel News Asia, NOC's revenue increased by five to 10 times in 2018.[14] In the same article, it was also revealed that the company made a "seven-figure amount" annually.[15] In July 2020, NOC reached a million subscribers on YouTube.[16]

YouTube channels

On the Ryan Sylvia channel, NOC has developed signature series like Food King and Do It For The Money. The following is a timeline of NOC's growth on YouTube over the years.

 
Photo from source.
Year Channel Subscribers* Summary
2020 NOC Plays 18,800 Gaming content
The Thirsty Sisters 19,100 Podcasts hosted by Sylvia and Nina
2019 SugarMelon 衰哥霉人 26,300 Chinese-language variety-style videos
2016 TEAM NOC 132,000 Personality-based lifestyle and gaming videos
2012 Ryan Sylvia 1,000,000 Lifestyle series and comedy sketches

*The number of subscribers is correct as of September 2020.

 
The thumbnail for The Thirsty Sisters best-performing video as of 2020. Photo from source.

Mentorship & collaborations

Ryan and Sylvia are known for being mentors to Singaporean YouTubers such as JianHao Tan.[17] NOC has collaborated with many content creators on YouTube. This includes local YouTubers like Dee Kosh (Darryl Koshy) and TheSmartLocal (TSL) and international YouTubers like Ryan Higa, Dan Khoo Productions and The Ming Thing. In April 2020, NOC and TSL released their first-ever collaborative project, FilterSpell with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and National Youth Council (NYC).[18][19][20][21]

Awards & accolades

Year Award/Title Awarding organisation Refs.
2016 Influencer of the Year 2016 Gushcloud [22]
2015 Best YouTube Channel (Singapore) Gushcloud [23]
Influencer's Choice Award
Best Comedy Video of the Year Singapore Social Media Awards (SMA) [24]
Best YouTube Channel [25]
2013 Best Marketing Campaign The Global Recruiter Asia Pacific Recruitment Industry Awards

References / Citations

  1. "About Night Owl Cinematics". Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  2. "NIGHT OWL CINEMATICS". SGP Business. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  3. MonsterTV. “#09 Sylvia Chan (Content Creator) - Become A YouTuber”. YouTube. October 30, 2017. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  4. Tham, Raymond. “Q&A with Night Owl Cinematics’ Ryan and Sylvia”. TodayOnline. December 15, 2015. Accessed on 29 January 2019.
  5. "Singaporean YouTube stars make their mark online and offline". The Straits Times. April 13, 2014. Accessed on 20 November 2019.
  6. "NIGHT OWL CINEMATICS". SGP Business. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  7. Wong Pei Ting and Lauren Ong. "The Big Read: Power, fame and fortune - a glimpse into Singapore’s lucrative YouTube industry". Channel News Asia. January 13, 2020. Accessed on 17 August 2020.
  8. Our Clients”. Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 29 January 2019.
  9. MonsterTV. “#09 Sylvia Chan (Content Creator) - Become A YouTuber”. YouTube. October 30, 2017. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  10. "About Night Owl Cinematics". Night Owl Cinematics. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  11. "Meet The 30 Under 30: Media, Marketing & Advertising". Forbes. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  12. Cheow Sue-Ann. "Night Owl Cinematics co-founder turned to YouTube to make people laugh". The New Paper. December 23, 2019. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  13. Ryan Sylvia. "We Got A Divorce". YouTube. May 31, 2020. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  14. Wong Pei Ting and Lauren Ong. "The Big Read: Power, fame and fortune - a glimpse into Singapore’s lucrative YouTube industry". YouTube. January 13, 2020. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  15. Ibid.
  16. Ryan Sylvia. "WE SURPRISED OUR BOSSES?? | #NOC 1 Million Special 🎊🎉". YouTube. August 2, 2020. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  17. Ibid. Retrieved from: https://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/celebrity/how-night-owl-cinematics-ryan-and-sylvia-became-youtubes-power-couple
  18. "MCCY and NYC unveil interactive digital content to engage youths on SG Youth Action Plan". Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. April 29, 2020. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  19. Chin, Nigel. "Be in control of the characters' next steps in FilterSpell by Night Owl Cinematics and The Smart Local". Youth.sg. May 5, 2020. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  20. Ng, Lucia. "S’pore Short Film Lets You Choose & Decide Characters’ Fate, Just Like Netflix’s Bandersnatch". MustShare News. April 28, 2020. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  21. Farzanah Farveen. "MCCY unveils Netflix Bandersnatch style interactive YouTube film". Marketing Interactive. April 28, 2020. Accessed on 1 June 2020.
  22. Ryan Tan”. LinkedIn. Accessed on 29 January 2019.
  23. Ryan Tan”. LinkedIn. Accessed on 29 January 2019.
  24. Liang Hwei. "Singapore Social Media Awards Kicks Off With Wins For Night Owl Cinematics, MunahHirziOfficial, & Caracal". Vulcan Post. May 4, 2015. Accessed on 1 September 2020.
  25. Ryan Tan”. LinkedIn. Accessed on 29 January 2019.