Animated by animation

Kompin Kemgumnird needs more than one life to live. The animated-film director says three would be great.

"There are always things to learn in the animated world," says the director of "Khan Kluay", Thailand's first computer-animated feature.

"There is no limit in the making of animation. The only limitation is oneself."

Kompin, an interior-design graduate from Silapakorn University, has lived 16 years in the world of animation. Today he still enjoys learning more about it.

"Life is learning how to die beautifully," says the Disney and Blue Sky director.

"You've got to care about and put your whole heart into your job, no matter what it is. You have to keep learning, learn from your mistakes and others and find ways to make it better, not worse.

"What you're doing today may inspire others to want to be better and do better."

Kompin landed his first job at an advertising agency, but after five years he felt burned out, struggling to push himself beyond his limits. So he decided to further his education at the California Institute of the Arts, where he was granted a full scholarship from Disney Studios.

Upon graduation he worked at Disney on "Tarzan" and "Atlantis", and two years later he joined Blue Sky for its first animated feature, "Ice Age I".

The 42-year-old is now vice president at Kantana Animation Studio, where he started working upon his return from the US in 2002.

"I wanted to make a film never seen before in Thailand," Kompin explains.

"Children surrounded by their own culture establish a pride, a sense of belonging and love for the nation. It's very necessary to instill this in people from an early age, and animation is an effective medium for doing so."

Since "The Adventure of Sudsakorn" in 1979 by Payute Ngaokrachang, there have been no such attempts.

No studio was willing to invest in animation because it is a cheaper way to make action films, but four years ago Kantana agreed to spend up to Bt150 million for the country's first computer-animated film. At the time no one imagined it could be accomplished.

"Khan Kluay" tells the story of a baby elephant that goes into battle carrying none other than King Naresuan the Great. It raked in more than Bt100 million at the box office last year. The project was started more than 10 years ago.

"I met a parent, and he said to me his kid watched "Khan Kluay" every day ... more than 200 times now. It's such a thrill. Today's children will carry on and preserve the national culture. And one day one of those kids may want to make a film, and off course a better one," he says.

Kompin compares animation in Thailand with a bamboo shoot.

"The industry grows slowly and inconsistently, and if you don't take care of it, it'll die. Animation personnel need to keep developing. The second film must be better than the first, the third better than the second.

"You need to fight for quality. When anyone does a good job, you should pat him on the back and give him encouragement.

"Hopefully one day Thai animated films will be on the world map."

"Khan Kluay" has been shown in Japan, Korea, Canada, Brazil and France. It was nominated with eight other animation films from Japan, France and England for a prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France.

"The success of "Khan Kluay" has drawn a lot of attention and people to the field. It's more like a fashion, but to think positively is good. It'll make the industry grow and make it competitive."

Only one in 10 graduates lands a job in the industry, says Kompin. "It's similar to other careers. One per cent of art graduates will become artists, 80 per cent will be art teachers, and the others will just change fields."

Kompin suggests young graduates "buff themselves to a high sheen. You've got to draw out what's unique in you and present it in a universal way that others can easily understand."

The monthly pay is Bt10,000 to Bt50,000. In the US animators can make between US$4,000 (Bt132,000) and $8,000 a month.

Animation is tough, he says, and it will cast out those who are not truly in love with the work.

"It's complicated and time-consuming and requires great concentration. Imagine drawing 12 to 24 pictures for just a one-second-scene."

Animated film is similar to live action film in that it starts from generating ideas, writing scripts and making storyboards. But animation needs to be edited on storyboards before filming.

This involves character design, location research, voice casting, filming, music composing, dubbing, voice editing, animation movement, texturing, lighting, rendering, sound mixing and special effects.

It can take as few as one person or as many as 200 to make an animated feature film. "Khan Kluay" took 100 designers and animators to bring the two-dimensional drawings life.

"People working in animation may like the career because they don't have to associate with many people in the outside world, but to become better at the job you need to go out and greet and meet the world."

Kompin is researching his next film. He refused to speak in detail but says he wants to make a film about a Thai family.

"Thai people usually don't express love among family members. I want to have the film that makes people think about that."

By Rojana Manowalailao

The Nation