Although it isn’t one of the more glamorous parts of the film industry, the production of commercial advertisements requires a great deal of skill and creativity and helps to train professionals who can eventually bolster other aspects of the industry in the Kingdom, according to one of the leading producers of commercials in Cambodia, Chum Sothea.
Sothea is known as a leading producer of commercials who has been recognized for his efforts by those in the industry here.
He said he began his involvement in the industry in 2004, when it was much narrower than today and with fewer opportunities.
Back then he was just a video editor and he had no deep understanding of the industry, but that changed in 2013 when he went abroad and learned how to produce films at Dongseo University in South Korea, which he graduated from in 2016.
Since then, his work producing commercials in the Kingdom has received the attention and praise of those in the industry and now he feels that his more than 10 years of hard work have begun to pay off after having to overcome many obstacles.
“Originally, our people didn’t value those behind commercial work and the support of domestic work remained limited,” he said.
He added that human resources presented a big problem because if film production crew members are lacking in supply, it is difficult to enhance the quality of the films being made.
“In the past we always had commercials produced by foreigners, but now we are able to produce them on our own and the quality has improved year after year,” he continued.
Sothea is now a leading independent producer of commercials in the Kingdom and there has been an explosion of interest in his work on the part of audiences and those in the industry.
His recent work for Vital Premium Water surprised them with the quality of his production and the creative ideas his team brought to the process.
Now commercials like that one and other prominent advertisements have drawn the attention of those abroad to his work.
During the course of his career in the industry in Cambodia, Sothea said he has observed many changes, including the attitudes of people and the technology being used in production and he feels that within five years or so Cambodia will be up to any international standard.
He said he has seen many opportunities in the film industry in Cambodia due to the embracing of the change in the attitude of media users as people today like to watch videos rather than view pictures or reading text, so enhancing the quality of video is an important consideration now.
