Thailand and Imagimax

As part of the yearlong digital animation training scheme, my fellow trainees and I were given the opportunity to work with Imagimax Animation Studio’s in Bangkok. Its purpose was to allow us to experience working in a different creative culture, and to enrich our understanding of the global animation Industry.

The first day in Bangkok was an assault on the senses. As we left the airport we were greeted with a wall of heat and sound. As we drove into Bangkok from the airport the sheer scale of the city was breathtaking. For the next month I would be living and working amongst a population of six million people in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.
The weekend in Bangkok was spent acclimatizing to our new surroundings. I found it difficult to get to sleep for the first few nights because of the heat. However I adjusted pretty quickly and slept pretty well throughout my stay.

The first day in Imagimax

I was pretty apprehensive as we approached the gate to Imagimax Studio, I didn’t know what to expect. After waiting in reception for a while, we were met by Saksiri Koshpasharin the managing director of the studio. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He took us on a tour of Imagimax’s facilities and introduced us to the entire workforce. It was informal and lots of fun. Any nervousness I had disappeared very quickly. After our tour we were invited to join a Buddhist blessing ceremony, which was being performed that morning. It was to bless a new year and to bring good fortune to the studio. It was a great introduction to Bangkok and to our time with Imagimax.

The next day we were introduced to our workstations and to the work that we would be doing over the next month. Since joining the training scheme with Cyfle my interest in 3D animation has grown. I had the opportunity with Imagimax to develop my Maya skills. Over the course of our work placement with Imagimax we were supplied with Maya training programmes. They covered the entire modelling, rigging, texturing and rendering systems. By the end of the first week my modelling skills had dramatically improved. Toward the end of my stay at Imagimax I was creating some pretty detailed pieces of work.

Imagimax’s working environment was brilliant. There was a family atmosphere to the place. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful towards us. Despite having huge amounts of work to do and very long working hours Imgimax’s team were very laid back and calm. It was great. I would love to work in a studio where everyone is pretty relaxed and gets on with their work without becoming too stressed. It was a fantastic atmosphere to work in.

During our stay we were invited to a movie premiere. Imagimax had provided some CG work for a Thai movie called First Flight. The movie told the story of Thai pilots who flew for the French during the First World War. The movie was a big deal in Thailand. It had been in production for 5 years. It had a number of producers, assistant directors, script rewrites and a tiny budget compared to western made movies. The movie was pretty good. It was extremely nice of the Imagimax staff to invite us along. It was another great experience with the Imagimax team.

My experiences outside of Imagimax were also very good. Bangkok is an incredible city. There’s so much to see. It’s hard to describe the entire experience, because you need to be there yourself to experience, the sights, sounds, smells, the food and the people. I was very fortunate to experience Bangkok as one of its workers and not as a tourist. With the help of my new friends at Imagimax I got to see the city from the perspective of a regular Thai person. I don’t think many westerners get to experience Bangkok the way we did. We were very fortunate.

My final day at Imagimax was quite emotional. I had a good time in Thailand and a great time in Imagimax, I was extremely sad. I could of easily stayed another month. The people in Imagimax really made us feel like a part of the family. They did everything to make us feel welcome and comfortable during our stay. We made some good friends. A month didn’t seem long enough, it flew by. I hope to go back there sometime soon.