THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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A peep at behind-the-screen magic | The Nation

During the Bangkok Film Festival, held last weekend at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, film buffs were given a chance to learn about the art of post-production in the seminar “Decode the Post Production: Art and Heart of Film”.

In the world of film and television soaps, the most overlooked yet most important part is the post-production process. It may take just 30 days to shoot a film, but it can take twice the time to edit the picture and sounds.

During the Bangkok Film Festival, held last weekend at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, film buffs were given a chance to learn about the art of post-production in the seminar “Decode the Post Production: Art and Heart of Film”. Sharing their experiences were film director and editor Lee Chatametikool, sound designer Nopawat Likitwong, film director Supharat Boonmayam and film and TV script writer Arm Issara.

Bangkok Film Festival, Bangkok, Thailand

"I think the most difficult thing people don’t understand about post production is because post production is invisible, it’s something that you’re not aware of that happens so with good editing, you shouldn’t be aware that there’s good editing and sound and all that stuff. So there’s all this work that goes in and people don’t actually know it’s there, so that’s the hardest thing, but it’s the fun part."

Lee Chatametikool, Film director and editor, Bangkok Film Festival  

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when we could not leave our homes due to lockdowns, streaming platforms began taking over as the prime source of entertainment. Has this affected or changed the quality of post-production work?

"Yes and no, so I think we used to have movies for the cinema and now there are streaming on smaller screens. The gaps in terms of technical, has kind of narrowed between the 2. So actually now your cell phone and TV screens have quality that’s almost the same as the cinema, it’s just different size and the sound quality you get at home is high as well. So there’s the same opportunity to tell good stories, whether it’s on a big screen or at home. And for streaming platforms they are always streaming at a high quality, the quality that’s doing surround sound like in the cinema or high definition or high dynamic ranges. So in the end, the technical side of both is pretty much the same now."

Lee Chatametikool, Film director and editor, Bangkok Film Festival, Thailand  

Sound designer Nopawat Likitwong has pointed out that streaming platforms give a longer timeline for post-production crew to complete their work and also offer more opportunities for those interested in working in the film industry.

"For my job, I think that I have more advantages for having more channels because the big screen is still there but I have more channels to service. It is not that much different to me and I think it’s a great opportunity for people who want to jump into this business as well."

Viewers may not notice the magic and the hard work that goes into post-production, but both Lee and Nopawat say that watching viewers get completely immersed in a film is what truly makes their job a success.

Nopawat Likitwong, Sound designer, Bangkok Film Festival, Thailand

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