Thailand - More Than Just A Location

We all know Thailand is gorgeous. With its vibrant cities, lush forests and mountainous vistas and better-than-Bob-Ross-could-paint beaches, the region has been well-represented on screen for years. However, one aspect of the country’s industry that is vastly overlooked is studio production, something that doesn’t sit well with Living Films’ Founder and Exec Producer Fred Turchetti.

“Most foreign clients,” he explains, “simply do not know, or think of, Thailand’s exceptional film infrastructure. This infrastructure, primarily based on studios, construction, SFX and rigging & movie engineering, is of a scale to compete with LA, London or Prague. There are 48 purpose built sound stages in Bangkok, and a full water studio facility to rival Malta due to be inaugurated in 2017.”

We were thrilled when Fred offered to talk us through some of their latest productions and, in the process, explain how Thailand has much more to offer than a glorious backdrop.

How did you get involved in the Mercedes production?

In this case, other than deep green jungle which was intrinsically part of the script, there was also an intrinsic need for a high speed, stabilised tracking vehicle.

As an indication of our infrastructure : I believe that Thailand is the only country where you can simultaneously have serious jungle and a stabilised camera system on a Porsche.

When it comes to finding the locations, do you have set areas you know will work or do you have to adapt to places the visiting production has found?

We regularly shoot A-list commercials and feature films all over the country. Thailand has the great advantage of having airports and tourist infrastructure near most of the places that interest filmmakers. For example, over 40 feature films (including Star Wars, Rambo and The Beach) have been shot in Krabi province alone, probably due to its logistic ease.

At what stage do you get involved in the production to make those decisions?

We consider ourselves partners with our clients, and we help them win their pitches by suggesting and researching locations, as well as all other key aspects, well before the job is awarded.

Do companies tend to provide filmic references for you to emulate? Do the productions tend to provide their own art departments, or do you source local talent for that?

Certainly all projects arrive with references these days. Sometimes a visiting company will bring a foreign production designer, but many of our repeat clients have learned the value of Thai art directors. The collaboration between foreign production designers and Thai art departments have always yielded fantastic results because unaffordable ideas in the West can often be achieved here.

How did the Euromillions project come to you?

This project started off as a location request for a single film, but as the pitch progressed and Outsider learnt of our fabulous and affordable infrastructure opportunities. In the end, we shot 5 films involving construction, special effects, luxury locations, aircraft, air to air shooting etc.

This studio-based production is something you’re keen to encourage – what was the benefit on this shoot?

The benefit is primarily financial. In a country with highly skilled labour and modest labour costs it makes a lot of sense to engage in what are considered the “expensive” parts of filmmaking. Ultimately, the same reasons that lead so many car brands to manufacture their vehicles in Thailand.

How do you encourage visiting productions like this?

By telling them ;-)

You also work in feature films, such as Gold. How do you tend to take on this work? 

Getting an independent feature film off the ground can take many years and we were involved with Gold for five years before it became a reality. We even saw the film through several famous directors, Michael Mann and Spike Lee before it was finally green-lit with Stephen Gaghan at the helm.

What are the expectations of these kinds of productions?

For feature films, we are often involved with the creative process well before the film begins official production. For Gold we were co-producers. Just the location scouting for GOLD took over 3 months before we even brought the director on. Then once the production begins in earnest, as with all of Living Films productions, we were in charge of securing all aspects of the shooting in Thailand… crew, equipment, logistics, services, permits, etc.

How long would an average feature shoot be with you? And commercial?

Most feature films will shoot for 6 to 10 weeks. Most commercials will shoot from 2 to 6 days.  Prep for a feature often takes 2 months, whereas a TV commercial will take 2 weeks.

What proportion of the film was shot with you guys, and how much in LA studios?

For GOLD, about half the story takes place in Asia and half takes place in America. So, in the end, 6 weeks were shot in Thailand and 6 weeks in New Mexico and New York.

What other features have you shot?

Living Films has shot over 35 feature films in our time in Thailand from around the world. Besides some of the big name Hollywood films we have helped produce, like “The Hangover Part II” and “No Escape” (with Owen Wilson and Pierce Brosnan), Living Films has also been involved with many award winning films. In 2009 we built the largest back-lot set ever constructed in South-East-Asia for the Weinstein Co. period drama “Shanghai” starring John Cusack, Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li. In 2010 we shot Bangkok as period Taiwan for the independent US feature “Formosa Betrayed,” which then won Best Feature at the San Diego Film Festival. and In 2010 we shot “Teddy Bear”, a tiny Danish drama that went on to win 6 international awards, including Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival.

Tell us about the Fitbit work?

Fitbit is a type of commercial which has a, nowadays, common requirement: that of making a spot look as if it was shot in many different countries.

Are visiting productions often surprised by the diversity of locations on offer?

Yes, totally surprised. We have shot very convincing Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Moscow, Borneo and African exteriors in the past few years.

How do you source the local crew? How would you say their skillset compares to UK/US equivalents?

Having trained many, having done long feature films, and having grown together over the years, we have a very close and continuous relationship with all the Thai A-crews.

The Vita Coco work feels like a smaller-scale production. How did it come about?

This one was meant to be set in a Cambodian fishing village.

When talking about location shoots, especially in places as glorious as Thailand, the mind naturally goes to sweeping vistas and landscape photography. However, how many smaller-scale productions like this one do you get?

This production may have been small on a production/financial level, however we never say no to a great idea and a great director.

What does shooting on location rather than using technology add to the production?

Shooting on location can cost less and has intrinsic production value.

As mentioned before, would productions like this shoot the entire thing with you, or just the shots that required the eye-catching exteriors? Is there a fundamental mindset that needs to change?

Once we win a pitch, we normally shoot the whole thing. Even in those cases where a multi-country shoot is planned, foreign producers tend to shoot “as much as possible” in Thailand.

How did the Sainsbury's work come to you?

We have a good relationship with MJZ (having done Axe) and they needed somewhere to combine a jungle script and an “African” script. On the shoot day, we had so many African extras on the beach that the local island Thais were wondering what had hit them.

When you shoot all of these commercials that basically paint your homeland as paradise, do you start to think you actually live in paradise?

Of course we live in paradise!

The location shoots always look so beautiful – is that just the case of choosing the right time/location to shoot in or does the climate offer choices?

Like all tropical countries Thailand has rainy and dry seasons. Depending on the time of the year we always guide our producer clients to shoot in the location that is “right” for their film.

Is it mostly western productions you assist on, or do you work with Asian productions too?

Our main clients are the US and UK production companies, however we do service jobs coming from Hong Kong, India and Australia. However we do not compete for local Thai advertising, there being plenty of excellent Thai production companies.

How do you feel the industry has changed since you first opened doors? What have you had to do to adapt?

We opened our doors 20 years ago, when the film industry in Thailand was pretty much in its infancy. More than “adapt” I think it can be said that we have been instrumental in creating a modern, first class film industry here.

In all of your time in production, what’s been the oddest request you’ve had?

If it was necessary to bring bars of soap to Thailand!

Where’s your favourite place to shoot?

With its phenomenal infrastructure and hyper-modern architecture, the answer must be Bangkok.

What aspects of Thailand production gets underused, in your opinion?

Art department, wardrobe, rigging, special effects, studios.

What would you say your primary responsibility is as a service company?

We undertake, and I’m told are often successful, to make our clients’ filming experience in Thailand the best they have ever had outside of their country.

What’s on the horizon for Living Films?

We regularly shoot for the US, UK, German and Italian markets. On our horizon there is a move to expand to markets that have never really thought of shooting here.