News and Media

Article By: Piper Hale
Published: Nov 15, 2011

Parin Sarasin is working toward his B.A. in the television producing program, but his creative interests are not limited to digital media. Parin also creates paintings and sculptures, is currently in a printmaking class, and recently displayed some of his photographs and illustrations in fine arts exhibitions. He says there's not as much of a difference as some might think between editing a video clip for television and creating fine art. "I like to use media as a tool to express my ideas," says Parin, "so I don't really care about the medium as much as I do the idea. I think that's why I'm not afraid to touch any medium and I just go for it and create art, express a concept, express an idea."

His diverse range of interests was a key reason why Parin initially chose SCAD. Although he originally intended to major in industrial design, he wanted to learn as many other art forms as he could. While sampling course offerings from different departments in Savannah, he discovered that digital media lined up more with his interests than his current program of study. He switched to SCAD's Atlanta location and eventually settled on television producing as a major.

Parin says this major was his final choice because it reflects his variety of interests perfectly. "I like to understand the whole process of producing," says Parin, "from writing the script to developing the concept and then doing the actual production work and the post-production. So that's why I loved TV producing, because it gives you the opportunity to learn all the aspects of production as a whole."

While learning about production, Parin put his knowledge into practice at every step of the way. "We have a lot of great equipment and it's great that we are able to see and play with all this equipment, instead of just learning from the book," says Parin. "We have the fully functional TV studio with a control room and we have the sound recording booth. We also have the server and the editing suite, so pretty much everything we need to produce a show, we have it and then we learn from it as we work. It's great."

Parin believes starting out in Savannah was a good choice for him because it gave him the opportunity to study his foundations in the context of a completely art-driven community. He also feels that switching to the Atlanta campus when he did worked out well by providing him with the ideal location to study digital media. "Atlanta is one of the biggest production hubs, with Turner, CNN and a lot of movie production sets right around that area," says Parin. "They always request help from SCAD students, and it's great to be able to go in and shadow them."

These kinds of opportunities have been abundant for Parin. In his time at SCAD, he has interned with Cartoon Network, worked as a sound designer for Sticky Pictures, and shot and edited video for Modern Luxury Media. "It helps us so much to learn outside the classroom," he says. Parin has also returned to his home in Thailand twice to complete internships for Muffin Animation and Broadcast Thai Television.

Parin enjoyed his homecoming to Bangkok as a time to reconnect with his family, but says that homesickness has not been an issue for him since moving to the U.S. This easy transition stems partly from his time at a Connecticut boarding school, but also from SCAD's multicultural atmosphere, which he says has not only made him feel more at home since coming here, but has enabled him to meet new people. "There's a great community already for international students," says Parin, adding that the language barriers that exist between some students are irrelevant when they're working on creative projects that transcend language. "The teamwork in the classroom helps international students be able to integrate their ideas with the class, to exchange ideas. Creative projects make people work together."

This past spring, Parin finished his classwork for the B.A. program and completed another internship at Magick Lantern Studios. Recently, he moved to New York City, where he is finishing the last of his four internship requirements at Concept Farm, a production and advertising company. He will receive his B.A. after the internship is complete, and plans on returning to Thailand to work in production afterward.

 

Visit Parin's professional website.