Shane Madej Is Actually Insane Tho I Haven't Seen Someone Release Something That's Made Tumblr Creatively

Shane Madej is actually insane tho I haven't seen someone release something that's made tumblr creatively snap this quickly since Homestuck still updated, like the amount of art and memes and analysis posts?? this shit is rivaling Goncharov levels of quality creative works, he's a genuis who just set y'all off in the span of two episodes and I for one love to see it <3

🌞🌍 23.5 องศาที่โลกเอียง (2023) starring MILK PANSA as Ongsa and LOVE PATTRANITE as Sun

I never hold budget issues against a series that was made with love.

Sound engineering issues abound in most Thai BL series. I don’t have industry experience, but I think a lot of those issues stem from a very short postproduction window. Most series are filmed over a few months and then they’re put together in even less time—usually while the series is airing. Nuchy, director of Not Me, was editing some episodes the night before they aired. Not because she wanted to, but because she was under a strict, tight budget and didn’t have the time to do it any earlier. She’s gone into minute detail about the budgeting issues they faced, and it’s nowhere more obvious than in how the writing unspooled toward the end of the series—where they had episodes cut mid-production and didn’t have time to course-correct or edit or reshoot properly.

Meanwhile, shows on Netflix or Amazon or Disney take much longer to film, and postproduction takes even longer. Spending hours picking through each minute of footage for accidental clothing noises or unexpected sounds or muffled voices or echoing rooms takes budget. So does paying everyone to come back and reshoot a scene when you can’t remove those sounds.

Recently we found out that Prem wanted to add a pool-related scene to the end of Between Us because he thought it would enhance the story, but the production had already wrapped filming at the pool. So Prem offered to pay most of the cost of renting that location again because the production just didn’t have the money to do reshoots on a whim. Prem understands that and still wanted to shoot the scene because Between Us is a passion project about characters he loves. And New, the director, covered the rest of the cost as well as the cost to hire everyone back for that one scene.

Like most series, there have been sound issues in Between Us. But I’ve noticed more of them in the past few episodes than in the first five, likely because they had more time to work on those. During the homophobia scene in episode seven, Boun’s mic was under his shirt, so when he hugged Prem, his dialogue was muffled. The fact that they kept that take doesn’t mean they’re lazy or they don’t care—I have no idea how many other takes they had, or why they couldn’t use a boom mic instead, or what other technical issues they were having. I suspect they didn’t have the time or resources to correct it.

What I do know is that there has been a metric ton and a half of love put into this series by every person involved, and for me personally, that’s all I want from any series. A series can be as well-produced and dazzling as can be, but if there’s no heart in it, my interest in it plummets like a rock. I’ve dropped better funded series because they’re flashy and pretty but there’s no heart in them. They’re purely a vehicle to launch their actors into the larger marketing scheme.

So, y’know. Win’s changing roots, sound issues, etc., none of it makes a dent for me, and it’s why I never mention them even though I’ve noticed. That’s surface-level stuff that doesn’t make a significant difference to me. The acting, the story, and the character growth—that’s what I came for, and I think that’s what they’re excelling in. Boun and Prem have loved WinTeam for over three years, and it’s clear from their every scene together that they committed every iota of feeling to their performances.

They could have dropped Between Us at any point. Their popularity was skyrocketing before they even started filming, and the only reason they were only playing side characters in other series for so long was their commitment to Between Us. They love the story and the characters so much they both agreed to effectively put their careers on hold. They kept their popularity on a steady increase by doing promotional, sponsored work while they waited for their passion project.

It’s passion that I love. I’ll always love a story told with sincerity over a series that took thousands or millions more and lacks emotional depth. Everyone’s priority is different, of course, and some people value both production quality and emotional depth equally.

I’ll always look the other way with production shortcomings if the people telling the story are telling it with their whole heart.

despite all my dread i am still just a rat made of thread

I have never mistaken myself to be just. I’m just making a choice.

— Kang Yohan, The Devil Judge (2021)

Incredible.

I never expected to see these two stellar obsessions of mine overlap.