Behind the Scenes of ISB’s New Film: Panther Spirit

Unveiling the Magic - The Reason Behind the Film

Although the Marketing team at International School Bangkok (ISB) produces many short films to help tell the story of the school, it has been a long time since a ‘proper’ school film was made. With the ‘COVID years’ making it difficult to showcase the best bits of ISB behind us properly, the time came this year to create a short film that would sum up what makes the DNA of ISB - and of course, it had to be ‘Panther Spirit.’ Panther Spirit flows through the veins of each and every student, teacher, staff member, parent, and alumni - it is the silent and not-so-silent force that transforms an incredibly diverse community into one big, supportive, and united family, all working together to support our students to become their best selves and succeed in the world.

School promotional films tend to be all rather similar. A good showcase of the school’s facilities, some happy students and parents, a close-knit community, maybe a science lab explosion or two - that’s all very nice, but, being ISB, we don’t just stick to the status quo. We wanted to be different - to show what being an ISB Panther really means. The marketing team met with several excellent Bangkok-based film agencies to bring our concept of Panther Spirit to life and ultimately decided to work with a young agency called ‘Ulti-Solution’. Although Ulti had never worked with a school before, their vision, creativity, and energy matched ours perfectly, and it wasn’t too long before our ideas became reality. Could we have a panther coming to life? Of course we could! (was the Marketing Director a huge A-ha fan as a child?) Could we have a bit of magic? Of course we could!

All magic moments aside, the film needed to have a story - and it is imperative to tell the truth. A student’s educational journey is rarely straightforward. There will be challenges and tough moments along the way - and isn’t that how it should be? Nothing exciting happens in your comfort zone, after all. But, with every moment of struggle, when things don’t always go your way, comes support, friendship, and encouragement, from teachers, from friends, from parents and from every member of the ISB community. This is the true magic of ISB. Where belief in each student and commitment to each student manifests itself in ultimate success.

The Script: The Profound Message Powering Panther Spirit

Do you believe that sometimes things just seem to work out in your favor?

Or that sometimes they just don't?

Do you believe that the power to make the difference lies in you?

And that all the successes and victories you’ve earned are not the end of the road, but just the beginning of your next challenge? 

Because, you’ve already got everything you need to succeed within you.

That’s Panther Spirit.

Once A Panther, Always A Panther

Capturing Creativity in Action - The Making of 'Panther Spirit'

The schedule, of course, was always going to be a challenge. We are one of the largest single-campus schools in Southeast Asia, and we have so many amazing facilities to showcase. However, with only three minutes to tell a story, some decisions were made and a shot list was created. Then casting! Many students volunteered to take part and we tried to include as many students as possible. Our ‘hero’ students, Esin, Alex, Gustav, and Mia were simply wonderful to work with and took to their roles with style and enthusiasm.

A two-day shoot took place on campus and a further two days were spent at the Environmental Wilderness Campus following a Grade 7 trip. A more memorable moment from filming was when the fantastic student Alex, who had just been filmed climbing an 18m rock face, patiently waited at the top of the climb as Director/ Cameraman Khun Boss, armed with his camera, dangled from a (well tied and well supervised!) rope, capturing that magic moment as our Middle Schooler succeeded in his challenge to climb. 

Hours of editing later, we released our final cut, holding a ‘Premiere’ on campus followed by a whole school assembly on the last day before the Songkran break. We truly hope that our school community identifies with, and celebrates, their ‘Panther Spirit’ - taking that little bit of magic and a whole lot of love and support with them wherever they go in life. 

If you would like to experience the ‘Panther Spirit’ for yourself as a prospective family, please get in touch by clicking the link below.