fah-thai-magazine-march-april-2017-in-flight-magazine-of-bangkok-airways

Traithep Wongpaiboon
A
s the closing
credits rolled,
the realisation
occurred that
this film experience
feels different. Scenes of
walking, movement, falling
leaves or even breathing
became more distinct and
the precise timing of the
musical score enhanced
my enjoyment. Yes, there’s
narrative, acting and visuals
– but this time, sound
effects really registered,
unlike before when I paid
less attention. Because Fah
Thai had a chance to talk
with a renowned sound
master recently, every
auditory facet in the movie
became important.
Top
A recent sound
design work
included See You
Tomorrow, a
romantic comedy.
Bottom
‘The Grandmaster’
featured rapid kung
fu movements that
required sound
syncronicity.
Traithep “U” Wongpaiboon,
a sound and music lover, avid
vinyl collector and the managing
director at Kantana Sound
Studio, points out that except for
dialogue, the rest of the sounds in
a movie have to be created in the
studio. With more than 20 years
of sound and music experience
and as a band member of the
Kidnappers, a Thai 90’s indie
electronic pop band – he is no
rookie in the sound industry.
His job as a re-recording mixer
deals with post audio production.
Once the movie is shot, sound
effects, foley sounds and music
get integrated according to
a director’s specifications.
Consequently, Traithep is
responsible for the whole soundmixing
process. It’s a technical
process but results in a film with
an artistic soundscape and the
viewer absorbs the narrative
without noticing the sounds as a
storytelling companion.
While his client roster
includes mostly Asian film
studios, his portfolio includes
Thai and foreign films ranging
from mainstream to independent
ones. One of his masterpieces is
“The Grandmaster,” the action
drama directed by filmmaker
Wong Kar Wai, which won
Traithep a Hong Kong Film Award
for best sound design and a
Golden Reel Award for best sound
editing in 2014. It took him six
months to finish Wong’s project
and while the work was not easy,
it paid off.
His working relationship with
the Hong Kong director spans 10
years. “Working with him was
tough and exhausting because he
is quite a perfectionist. Everything
has to be perfect. And he loves
experimenting,” Traithep explains.
“For The Grandmaster, I did several
versions and it was so tiring then,”
Traithep reminisced with a laugh.
Recently, he worked with Wong Kar
Wai again in “See You Tomorrow,”
a romantic comedy film produced
by Wong and released in Hong Kong
last December.
Traithep recognised his
audiophile leanings early in life and
chose to study sound engineering in
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