Much more than words

Switch on the television any evening of the week and, no matter the Thai TV channel you have selected, the eye candy will be more or less the same – glamorous actresses, handsome actors and gorgeous settings. Soaps here make for peak primetime viewing and with the demand for drama so high, sponsors and advertisers fight for pride of place.

  

Some 20 years ago, primetime in Thailand started after the evening news at around 9pm and run through to 10.30pm. These days, it kicks off at 7pm, with every TV station trying to air three soap operas simultaneously to attract viewers. And therein lies the problem: such high demand for TV drama has led to a low supply of scriptwriters.

“The extended primetime means TV channels need more drama to fill their time slots. Scriptwriters are being asked to double or triple their efforts and to ensure that their scripts bring in high ratings. Thailand has maybe 100 scriptwriters but only 10 can meet these two requirements,” says Assistant Professor Nalinee Sitasuwan, the award winning scribe of “Peak Thong” (“Gold Wing”, 1982) and “Si Phandin” (“Four Eras”, 1991).

“This bottleneck is very harmful to the scriptwriters and if it continues, it will pose a major problem for the TV drama circle. The limited number of capable scriptwriters are being forced to produce more work. On one level, that makes them happy as they don’t receive a fixed salary but are paid by the piece, but sooner or later, they will burn out and the ideas will run dry.”

Recruiting a new scriptwriter is not an option either, given the high investment and fierce competition involved.

“Nobody’s going to risk Bt15 to Bt20 million on someone they don’t know. Producers and TV stations need well-known scriptwriters to do the job. They want to eliminate the risks and unnecessary problems that could occur were they to hire a brand new scriptwriter,” says Krit Mongkolkasem, who wrote “Tawan Chai Nai Man Mek” (“Sunshine in the Cloud”).

“It’s important to understand the pressure in this highly competitive business. TV dramas are the highest rating programmes and the investment is very high. That’s why every channel and every production house fights tooth and nail to retain its share of the business,” Nalinee adds.

“The way TV production companies and channels in Thailand work is different from other countries. There, newcomers are given a chance and producers may well select a script by an unknown writer if they judge it good enough. Here in Thailand, there’s no respect for new scriptwriters; they are rejected out of hand. The system relies on trust and close relationships.”

Piyamas Waiyawat, who wrote the popular TV drama “Phaen Rai Phai Rak” (“Cunning Love”) acknowledges that the chemistry between scriptwriter and producer is important but points out that skill and performance also play a role.

“Producers who know my writing style and my gags will always call me when they need a certain kind of script. My writing style may match producer A but not producer B. That’s normal. Producers always want a script that can be used right away to save time and money. They prefer to work with someone who is flexible, punctual, open-minded and ready to fix the script if the team encounters any problems.” 

Scriptwriters need time to study the story, build the characters, develop conflicts and find the smoothest way to dissolve all tensions but time is the only thing this business doesn’t have to offer.

Krit agrees that more work is good in terms of income but worries that the quality of the work may drop because of a lack of time for research and background. 

“When we write a script we have to ‘be’ every character in the story. It’s not just about putting words into mouths but reflecting what’s in the character’s mind through dialogue and action. That’s very time consuming. If we fail in this part, it’s tantamount to lying to our viewers,” says Pajaree Deeyuadying, acting coach, director and scriptwriter. 

“I do tons of research when writing script, especially when I’m adapting a novel. I’m lucky that I have a team helping me but even then I can only write one or two scripts a year,” adds Pensiri Sawaitviharee, who scripted “Boon Phong”, the award winning “Mae Ai Sa Eun” (“Mourning Mae Ai”) and the soon-to-air “Saab Pra Peng” (“Curse of The Moon”).

Honorary professor Nirattisai Kaljaruek, who advises Pa Sang Ya Son production house, doubts that the scriptwriter shortage will be resolved in the foreseeable future. “Competition is very high and TV drama is moving at break neck speed, as both terrestrial and satellite channels race to show soaps even out of primetime. This problem may cause a domino effect in the industry because the script is the heart of the drama and without a script we can do nothing,” he says.

“Because scriptwriters now have too many projects in hand, they don’t always finish by the promised date. This leads to delays in the production schedule and the postponement of bookings for cast, crew and equipment. Sometimes the script has been delayed for two to four months. Some production houses have almost gone bankrupt because of this problem.

“Now some writers are hiring other writers to ghost for them and they just edit the work and pocket the cash. I don’t think this is fair to the producers as it inevitably impacts on quality,” he says.

“A delayed sloppy script means a sloppy production. Everybody has to rush to shoot the scenes and edit the work for broadcast. The actors have no time to study their roles or interpret their lines. In this situation, it’s impossible to produce a high quality drama.”

Piyamas, Pensiri, Pajaree and Krit all agree that additional capable scriptwriters are needed and stress that the TV companies must be open to newcomers.

“None of us getting any younger. Gone are the days of working all night,” says Piyamas.

“If there are more scriptwriters, the producers and the viewers will benefit. The producers will not have to wait for the writers and they will have more choices. Some writers, myself included, cannot write comedy so the producers will get what they really want,” adds Pensiri.

Krit thinks that one way to fix this problem in the long run is for TV stations to hire and train their own scriptwriters. Such a system would allow new graduates to learn the craft on the job while gaining experience. Scriptwriters, he points out, require not just excellent language skills, but must also know “TV grammar” and have a deep understanding of human natures and society. 

“New scriptwriters have to be patient. All of us went through rejections from producers and TV stations and had to practise for years before achieving success,” Pensiri concludes.