01
FROM THE BOOK
TO THE FILM
Blood Song: A Silent Ballad is an authorized film adaptation of the graphic novel by Eric Drooker, the acclaimed American artist and author whose graphic novel Flood! received the American Book Award. Blood Song is among Drooker’s most distinctive visual narratives, told entirely through powerful black-and-white imagery without dialogue.
Phanuthep Sutthithepthamrong acquired the film adaptation rights in 2016 while living in the United States. During that time, he had the opportunity to meet and discuss the project directly with Drooker, exchanging ideas about the film’s artistic direction and visual approach. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in animation, Phanuthep developed a cinematic language that would remain as faithful as possible to the visual identity and emotional atmosphere of the original graphic novel.
The film preserves the book’s defining characteristic: a story told without spoken dialogue. Primarily presented as a black-and-white silent film, Blood Song: A Silent Ballad uses dance, physical expression, and the performers’ movements to convey emotion and advance the narrative.
Live-action performances are combined with digitally created environments and animation through compositing techniques, bringing the film’s imagery closer to the surreal, graphic quality of Drooker’s original artwork. Light, shadow, movement, and an instrumental score work together to create a cinematic work of visual art.
By communicating through imagery, music, and the universal language of the human body, the film seeks to transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries and connect with audiences of all nationalities and backgrounds.
02
THE PRODUCTION
PRE-PRODUCTION
Blood Song: A Silent Ballad received its first production grant from the Thai Media Fund in late 2018. Due to the limited budget, Zati Studio, the company responsible for the project, formed creative partnerships with Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, the Moradok Mai Theatre Community, and Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi to collaborate on the production.
With only a few months available for pre-production, we had to prepare the screenplay, props, costumes, cast, and production crew within a highly constrained timeframe and budget. Despite these limitations, the project was driven by great ambition, determination, and a strong commitment to bringing this vision to life. We continually sought creative solutions to overcome the challenges and move the production forward.
To support the pre-production process, the core team was joined by student interns from several universities, who contributed significantly to the preparation and development of the film.
PRODUCTION
Principal photography took place over approximately 20 days in June 2019. The production used only two main locations: a green-screen studio and the swimming pool at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi.
The film marked a significant creative collaboration between Zati Studio, Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, the Moradok Mai Theatre Community, and the Faculty of Mass Communication Technology at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, with support from the Thai Media Fund.
Together, the team brought the story to life as an unconventional black-and-white silent film that departs boldly from traditional cinematic forms. The production seamlessly blends live action with animation, while physical dance and expressive body movement play an essential role in driving the narrative.
03
THE POST-PRODUCTION
Creating the World of Blood Song: A Silent Ballad with Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine, originally developed for the gaming industry, represents an innovative approach to film production. After several months of experimentation, testing, and refinement, the results proved highly successful. The technology enabled us to create highly detailed cinematic environments within a relatively short period of time, while offering significantly faster rendering and processing than conventional production methods.
This approach also helped reduce costs associated with equipment, technical resources, and personnel. It was therefore particularly well suited to Blood Song: A Silent Ballad, allowing the production to overcome its limitations in budget, workforce, and available equipment.
Unreal Engine gave the project greater freedom in both its production process and creative expression. It enabled us to continue developing the film without allowing technical or financial constraints to diminish our artistic ambition.
Through this process, Blood Song: A Silent Ballad aims to open up new possibilities in filmmaking and demonstrate an alternative production pathway for a new generation of filmmakers and visual storytellers.
WHO WE ARE
ZāTi Studios is a comprehensive multimedia company based in Bangkok, Thailand. By bridging traditional cinematic methods and innovative technology, we create thought provoking and entertaining visual experiences for animations, films, television and documentaries. We approach every project with the ardent belief that it has the potential to positively impact society. As part of our commitment to excellent works of art, we strive to inspire, empower and entertain.