Chinatown, Bangkok

Today is a triple celebration; it's Valentines Day, Chinese New Year... and my birthday!

What better excuse for a night out and some drunken revelery in Bangkok... Well, it would be except I've decided to stay in Baan Gerda while Cindy escapes for a few days well-earned rest.

It gives me a chance to have a look at the assembly edit which is now complete. Although  it's not very polished at this stage, it allows us to see if our ideas for the story structure are working or not. Cindy will then make whatever changes we feel are necessary before the rough cut is ready in about 3 weeks.

First impressions? I'm excited! Over the last 3 years I've managed to amass more than 160 hours of footage and I'd forgotten about some of the shots. The stories of our main characters, Bla and Oy come across very strongly while the opera helps to give the film a clear direction.

The main problem is that it currently stands at 2 hours 45 mins. I have no idea how we are going to get that down to less than 80 mins. Some painful decisions ahead. On the bright side, at least there will be plenty of footage for the DVD extras!

Not this time thank you

It makes sense to use music in a film that blends seamlessly with the environment and location. Most foreign documentaries and films follow this approach and use musical styles connected to the region.

So, why are we not going to use Thai influenced music? One of the most important considerations with the film is that people don't think the issues raised are a Thai problem. HIV knows no boundaries. Stigma is encountered everywhere you find the virus.

We want the music to reflect the global perspective and to resonate with viewers in both the East and West. The 'musical tourism' that you find in many low budget documentaries can best be described as kitsch if not done properly. We also want it to be relevant to the children as they are the main characters. As Tukta said "I don't like old Thai style. I don't get it" Enough said.

What I thought might take a couple of days to edit has stretched into a couple of weeks. The subtitles were making it very difficult to achieve the fast cuts that we wanted. I think it's so important that we avoid the sad and pitiful feel that other films have about this subject matter.

We have something that is uplifting and hopeful so the trailer has got to 'skip' along. Anyway, Ryan is now on to version 7 and I think we are just about there. He has managed to mix up the Thai soundbytes with a few English ones which has helped considerably with the pacing. It's a world away from version 1....

Spot the foreigner

When I mentioned that we were editing in rural Thailand, I really did mean rural.

Baan Gerda is a 3 hour drive north-east of Bangkok, set amongst the sugar cane fields of a traditional farming region. The nearest 7-11 store (always a good judge of population density in Thailand) is a 25 minute car ride away. In fact, you can't even walk to the nearest village as it's about 7 kilometres from here.

The highlight of our week is a trip to the local market at Din Daeng village. The presence of 3 foreigners constantly turns heads. I'm convinced that some of them have never seen white skin before!