Chaiyo Productions

Background
Chaiyo Productions was a Thai film company formed by director Sompote Saengduenchai (commonly refered as Sompote Sands) in the 1960s. The company's most notable outings include two co-productions with Tsuburaya Productions: Jumborg Ace & Giant and Hanuman and the 7 Ultraman, the unauthorized Hanuman and the Five Riders and other original movies, such as Crocodile, Magic Lizard and Phra Rod Meree.

In 1996, coinscidently shortly after Noburu Tsuburaya's death in 1995, Sompote Sands presented to TsuPro a forged document said to be dated from 1973 which claimed that Chaiyo received ownership over the international rights of the first six Ultra Series shows (Ultra Q to Ultraman Taro) and Jumborg Ace. This triggered a 20-year long legal battle between Chaiyo and Tsuburaya over the legitmate ownership of Ultraman, halting for a long time official international releases related to the six original Ultraman shows, while Chaiyo produced various of Ultraman products, stage shows and a cancelled TV show (Project Ultraman), and licensed the Ultraman brand to some of its associated companies, such as UM Corporation, TIGA Entertainment and the Chinese conglomerate BlueArc Group (responsible for the animated movies Dragon Force: So Long, Ultraman and Dragon Force: Rise of Ultraman).

On September 23, 2020, after the 1973 Agreement was deemed invalid and prohibed UMC and its affiliated companies to license Ultraman-based products in the United States, the Thai Supreme Court ruled that Tsuburaya Productions were the legitimate copyright owners of the shows listed in the 1973 Agreement and and now also they also have ownership over both co-productions with Chaiyo: Jumborg Ace & Giant and Hanuman and the 7 Ultraman, as well the latter's unauthorized 1984 re-edit Hanuman and the 11 Ultraman.

Sompote Saegduenchai passed way on August 26, 2021 at the age 80, due to cancer.

1st Logo (March 9, 1973)
Logo: There's the logo of Chaiyo, an emblem consisting of a gold-bordered blue circle with the name of the company written on it ("ไชโย" in yellow and "Chaiyo" in red) with two lions between it (one is golden while the other seems to be more blue), on a black background. Shining lights are seen moving in front of the logo, with a multicolored style.

Technique: The shining lights.

Music/Sounds: A slow, psychedelic South East Asian theme.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Tah Tien, Sompote Sands' first movie.

2nd Logo (April 1974-1985)
Logo: We first see some light bursts and sparkles shooting to the center of the screen. A blue flash then happens at the center. Then, some balls starts zooming to us, as a psychedelic pattern then starts bursting through the screen. We then fade into the emblem logo of the company, described as before. This time, different-looking shining lights are seen behind the center of the circle of the emblem.

Trivia: The scenes in first half of the logo come from the opening titles of Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro, while the shining lights come from Ultraman Ace's rise sequence.

Technique: Pyrotechnic sparklers, miniature models and cel animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Availability: Uncommon in Thailand. Seen in various old movies made by the company, begining with Jumborg Ace & Giant (and other superhero films made by the company, which are some of the most known), Magic Lizard, and Phra Rot-Meri.

Legacy: The more psychedelic and quaint nature of the whole logo, especially the darkness of the visuals and the previous logo's music, will unnerve some people, especially for those not familiar with Thai culture or are seeing it for the first time. Some people may erroneously claim this is a rip-off of the Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro opening titles, even though it was made around the time of the two official co-productions with Tsuburaya and way before the legal battle that Sompote triggered in 1996.

3rd Logo (2000's)
Logo: On a black background the company name

Times new roman

forms up, with the first "i", dotless. The dot appears bouncing into the "i", and the corporate name "Chaiyo Productions Co., Ltd." fades in below the underline.

Technique: Simple 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Its only known appearence comes from a showreel probably from the mid-2000's, around the time of the production of Project Ultraman.