Producers need to send me a picture, ASAP. Maximum size is 7 Mb.

I know you are busy with other things but slow and steady wins the race. OK? Don't forget to respond. It's part of your grade.

If you can't get this to work, send the pictures by email.
A. Sam

Producers

I must have a picture that perfectly represents your group's project. And I need it by midnight Friday.

Remember stay out of the editing room. Love and trust your director. Give him or her what they need to do their job. The editor will be having a lot of problems with the technology so just communicate your needs to the director and leave that pitifull person alone. The day before the deadline you can get them to output the project no matter if it is finished or not.

See me at Thammasat on the 18th of May and put a DVD and an MP4 in my hand. Contact me by email for help or if it is very important you may call me.

Blurbs for the brochure

I have received finished blurbs for every project except:

A Fisherman's Life - Num
Ngiew - Koko
Ruins in Ruins - Tara
Thai Traditional Tattoos - Pom
Transportation Infrastructure - Leela

Subtitles – Writers

If you send me your subtitles I will correct the English grammar for you. Do not send me a word file! Copy and paste the text into an email.

Putting good subtitles on a bilingual documentary is one of the most difficult things you will ever do. Here are some pointers:

Not every detail is important. It will not be possible to put all of the information conveyed in Thai into English. What you must do is pick what is the most important thing and only put that down. By adjusting the position of your title on the timeline, the meaning will slowly start to synchronize with the Thai language.

Subtitles must be very easy to read so that the audience can get back to looking at the film instead of reading. It is a good idea to write in short simple sentences. It is a bad idea to use a lot of punctuation. No colons, no semi-colons, no exclamation points, dashes or smileys. Just use periods and commas and write in complete sentence that use the simple present and past tense.

This group has finished their assembly. It's quite an impressive cuts only piece. I recommend everyone watch their rough cut on their chat page:     here.

Below is a list of each title and a short blurb about it. This is what will appear on the brochures and posters for the film festival. It's your job to approve, or not, of what I have written. You may expand on what I have done or change it entirely, but I must have your blurb before April 24. Write your description of the piece and paste it into the chat room for your group. There is a maximum 120 word limit.

We went out on a boat with a local family to see just what a fisherman's life is really like.

Go with us backstage at one of the premiere venues in Pattaya to interview performers and fans.

There is an amazing variety of crafts on this popular island.

People don't think much about living in a large city, but what about the animals?

Join this group of students as they follow the Sai Yong Hong Teochew Chinese opera troupe.

In the heart of Songkhlaburi lies a hidden culture.

One of the worst hit areas of the recent flooding was Ayutthaya. What will happen to the ancient ruins there? What will happen to the temples and the people? These are a few of the problems explored.

Evolutionarily unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, these fierce beasts have gone from being predator to prey.

The sword and it's ceremony represent the nation in a unique way.

See a detailed and artistic analysis of what make massage magical.

Everyone loves chocolate. Come with us to explore more about it.

The Thai amulets represent a particularly secretive part of one of the world's major religions.

Watch as we follow the training and progress of a particularly challenged boxer.

Mental illness is a problem that affects all of society in many intricate and also abstract ways.

This strange belief system is documented in a way that neither judges if these powers are real nor tries to expose these members as a rarity.

The State Railway of Thailand maintains a quaint and lovely way to travel, relatively unchanged for over a hundred years.

Everybody has to travel somewhere. And we all have to do it at the same time.

Students from the south of Thailand give us an audio-visual tour of the rituals surrounding this festival.

It's always a good idea to have a strong cuts-only piece before you add graphics and effects. This is what we call an assembly. (That's an exam question if you missed in in class Tuesday, นะครับ).

If you sit with your editor and help him or her choose the best cuts from your footage — based on content — then your ideas will start coming out strong.

This is what we call a rough cut and it's just the first step after the assembling phase. We can look at rough cuts and talk about their effectiveness, i.e. what is working well vs. what isn't working at all. This process may stress the editor so be patient. And be nice!

After that, we can start adding effects, polishing the soundtrack, adding voice overs and more, which is what we call a fine cut. This is where your dreams start getting realized. Every group member will be happy with the work and proud of it too.

There's another step or two after that so just keep working on the assembly and rough cuts for now. I'll help out. We still have time.

A. Sam

It should be obvious to some of you by now that a letter from the University and a couple of phone calls is not going to be enough to get what you want from a big guy who is stoping you from getting that perfect shot for your documentary. The true job of a producer requires more than just an attention to detail and the ability to print a letter. To be a producer means that you understand what important people want because you are an important person too. You have something important to give back to them because you have the ability to make a film. And that big guy wants it, trust me. A producer cultivates a relationship with an investor because there is a good chance that in the future there will be a great return for both parties. That's the way to get permission, by convincing them you have something that they need.

Write your nickname, your ID, and what you're doing with your group and I'll give you +5 points on your grade! But hurry, you only have 24 hours to do so.

A. Sam

I have noticed that "The End of the Line" and "Transportation Infrastructure" have been unable to comment on their pages. This was my fault and it has been fixed.

Project pages

So far only a few groups have posted the information I requested on the 20th of March. Please post the information on you expanded teams.

The title of "Tiffany's at Pattaya" has been changed to "Pattaya Nightlife". If this group (or any other group) wishes to change their title, just let me know. It is perfectly okay to update your title to reflect the developments in your documentary. That's why each group has a writer.

I need to know the nicknames, positions, and ID numbers (last four only please) of everyone that is working on a particular project. Please post the information in the links to your project below. Remember to check the website often. It is a big part of your grade.

A. Sam

Anyone using a PC laptop to make their final project can present during classtime. If we can see your timeline on the screen and edit in realtime, your group will get +5 too.

People using Apple laptops or Macintosh computers are going to need the white adaptor to connect to the projector in the class room. Any one who has it, and brings it to class will get 5 points for each time they bring it to class. If no one has it, then the group should get together and purchase it and I will reward the entire group of Mac users.

Fifteen teams have submitted their final preproduction work and received credit for correctly following the Midterm assignment. Please pay attention to the way I have spelled your title. As you edit your pieces, the title may change again.

These groups are listed in the order they were recieved:

1. The Mysterious Faith of Buddhism
2. The Anatomy of a Massage
3. Transportation Infrastructure
4. The Journey of Chocolate
5. Tiffany's at Pattaya
6. The Heart of Sangkhlaburi
7. The Toll of Mental Illness
8. Ngiew
9. A Fisherman's Life
10. Survivors to Souvenirs
11. Arts and Crafts at Koh Kret
12. The One Handed Fighter
13. Traditional Thai Trains
14. Ruins in Ruins
15. Concrete Jungle

Groups that did not submit any preproduction by email are:

• Sword as a Nation's Soul -- No problem
• The End of the Line -- Changed topic
• Art of Weave -- No information

Anyone who brings me a ticket stub from "The Artist," which is playing at Scala will recieve an extra 5 points added to their final score. Just write your nickname and the last four numbers of your ID on it.

If you've already seen it and you threw the ticket stub away, then you can bring me a ticket stub from "The Descendents", "The Iron Lady", or any other movie which has been nominated for an Acadamey Award. But hurry, these movies will soon be gone.

Post freely. Your information will be kept secret.

Today's motion pictures are almost all pixel based. Video has a long history of changing technology which itself was originally based on film. This means that editing platforms, such as Premiere and Final Cut Pro, have hundreds of codecs to choose from.

When you begin editing, you will need to choose the correct technical specs for your job. So how do you know? First, remember your pixel aspect ratio. Then choose the correct frame rate.

1. Check the menus in your camera for information.
2. Put a clip of your video in VLC player and go to the menu:
               Window>Media Information.
3. Start a new project with your editing software and choose the settings that match this information. (You may need to go to Preferences if you are having trouble.)
4. Import that clip and see if it plays properly.

If you are working on a film with multiple formats, choose the specs for the highest quality. Frame rate will be an issue! Converting video to different types will not solve problems with different frame rates. Try to maintain the same frame rate through (such as 24, 25, 30).

It's always better to do a short, quick test on 5 seconds of video. Think about the alternative. If you edit an entire piece with the wrong specs, and you have to start over, you will waste a lot more time.

Anyone who fills out this form before 12:00 am Monday gets extra credit! Your information will be kept confidential.

• Find a way to prove your worth, anytime, any situation.
• Rules must be learned before they are effectively broken.
• Master the craft before attending to the details.
• No matter how disappointed you are, be patient.

Thank you. These students have recieved an A grade for this week. It's not too late. Please help me remind the rest of the class that the deadline is fast approaching. And remember, anyone can work with anyone else at anytime because

This is going to be a really fun term and I look forward to working with you all.

Sincerely,

A. Sam

Here's the master list from class. Use it well. Students who complete this assignment on time will recieve an A for this assignment which is equal to one paper grade.

Thanks for turning in your project treatments. I will read them all before next week. On February 7 we will talk about how to make your film a reality. Students need to bring laptop computers, external hard-drives, footage, cameras (both still and video), and any research materials regarding the project. The more you have, the quicker I can approve your content and get you started.

If you don't have all of these materials then just bring what you can. This is not a requirement just a good way to advance your work to the professional level.

Before you can make an award winning documentary, you will have to travel to an amazing place and take some fantastic pictures. Afterwards you will need to write about your experience in a way that makes others interested in your project's development. Finally, you will have to make an amazing video.

Requirements for a documentary production team

1. You will need a computer with Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro 7 (not X).
2. At least 500 MB of free space for video footage, which could be an external hard-drive.
3. The appropriate file structure in a folder on your hard-drive.

Bring all of this to class.

Your Team

When choosing your team, make sure that you have the following people:

1. Someone who can manage the files, software and a computer to edit a finished piece.
2. Someone who can manage the time and permission to work with important people.
3. Someone who can write all the ideas down and compile them for your team to read and discuss. This is the most important job of all, and it should be done by the smartest person in the group. This person can have an assistant producer as long as that person is willing to follow the advice of the producer and expand it.
4. Someone who has a strong motivation to make their ideas seen by the entire world.

Start in the Production or Post-production Phase

Use Professor Sam's Footage

Here are some possible topics for you to choose from. The advantage in choosing one of these is that you can use my footage for your piece. You can skip preproduction and production and get started with the editing right away!

Start with Production

Great Thai Stories

These stories are good because they appeal to both an international audience and a Thai audience too. You can sell the rights to your story twice — once to Discovery© and once to Thai PBS™. Unfortunately, I don't have any footage for these stories. But I will help you in other ways.

More Stories

These stories have a lot of research that has already been done for you. I choose these topics because they would be a lot of fun to shoot. And the people who make these works of art would love to have you stop by.

Even More Stories

If none of that interests you, then there are still plenty of other great stories to make.

17. Kumanthong
18. Chuchok
19. Saiduksub
20. Nangkwak
21. Chatukamramathep
22. Mahayan
23. Phaya Tao Ruean
24. many, many, many more

So there you have it. If any of these numbers interest you, then remember that number and make sure you turn in your treatment next week. If you weren't in class, shame on you, baby.