Published on November 14, 2006

The K ingdom's leading DVD designer is out to beat the pirates with creative packages

Home entertainment is no longer simply about catching that flick you missed at the local theatre. Today, those laying out big baht for a DVD package expect the full range of special features, including a rundown on the filmmaking, interviews with director and stars, games and a whole lot more.

For the past couple of years, those options have been mainly limited to Hollywood flicks. Now Thai movies, once relegated to videotape or the cheap VCD, are also receiving the red-carpet treatment.

Dodisc Company, which has given viewers "Ong Bak" and "Puen Sanit" ("Dear Dakanda"), among other films, is the only real player on the scene, with 28 upcoming projects from Saha Mongkol Films Company confirmed.

GTH also names Dodisc as its DVD producer in a contract with the company that handles its home entertainment rights.

Dodisc already has a good name with local collectors, with managing director Pongsuk Hirunpruek receiving praise from Netizens in the Thaidvd.net chat room for his willingness to fix mistakes.

An avid collector of DVDs from around the globe - "all legal copies", he stresses - Pongsuk knows that his potential is being seriously undermined by copyright violations.

"Pirated discs are cheap but they are never perfect. The quality is not as good in terms of durability and special features," he says.

"And even if they don't buy pirates, Thais see nothing wrong in making or asking for a copy of an original."

Pongsuk and his partners, Click Radio's Yutthana Boon-orm and director Prachya Pinkaew, launched the company with "Balloon in Secret Adventure", an adult movie starring sexy actress Phinsuda "Balloon" Thunpiror, made by "Fan Chan" directors Witthaya Thong-yooyong and Songyos Sukmakanan, but the digipak (book-style) set failed to make waves.

"It was a stupid mistake. We had no experience in making adult movies and we were too ashamed to ask her to do more nude scenes," he explains with a shy grin.

Pongsuk put the business on the back burner, where it stayed until he saw "Ong Bak" on the big screen.

He called Prachya and asked for his permission to transfer it to DVD. The director agreed and Pongsuk got to work, even including an "Easter Egg" hidden menu in the movie that allowed viewers clicking on the icon to see the secret message sent by the director to Luc Besson.

"Ong Bak" was the first Thai DVD to include a director's commentary and a behind-the-scenes segment.

Pongsuk has also been praised for his design of the "Maha'lai Muang Rae" ("The Tin Mine"), "Fan Chan" and "Puen Sanit" packages.

"We try to create features and menus that relate to the story," he says.

His favourite product is "Tom Yum Goong" which comes with special features and crystal-clear pictures. It's also the top-grossing Thai DVD, selling more than 90,000 copies.

Je-ngor Sor Bai, the razor-tongued DVD reviewer of Pulp magazine is full of praise for Dodisc's cutting-edge designs.

But she feels that Thai DVDs should come with English subtitles. Film companies have avoided this option, arguing that subtitles would decrease sale prices on the international market.

"We all know it's just a trick they use to keep prices as low as possible. I think we are losing an amazing chance to introduce Thai films to a much wider audience," she says.

The critic points out that only a few Thai movies are released in foreign cinemas. Even those that travel on the festival circuit rarely receive the kind of exposure they deserve. Adding English subtitles would benefit the entire Thai film industry.

As a producer, Pongsuk has to follow the rules, but he is trying to fix other cinematic stumbling blocks. In a new move, Thai movies on DVD will soon have Thai subtitles for the hearing impaired and camera-angle selection is being added to overcome censorship problems.

"Even with prices at between Bt100 and Bt500, depending on the special features and options, I think we could be losing up to 80 per cent of customers to pirates," he says.

"We are doing our best to increase the value of our films and I hope that will encourage people to start paying for legal DVDs. I think it's possible, as the prices are reasonable and for the money, you get so much more."

Parinyaporn Pajee
The Nation