Production Services in Samui

Film Production in Koh Samui: Crew, Equipment and Logistics

It is not every day that you see a serious production shooting in Koh Samui. Samui is, first of all, a tourist destination. White-sand beaches, coconut palms, waterfalls, mountains and that permanent tropical holiday atmosphere bring thousands of tourists to the island every day. But once you bring a professional film production here, paradise starts asking some very practical questions. Where is the crew? Where is the lighting truck? Where do you get a proper camera package? And, more importantly, how do you get everything here from Bangkok? This is where production in Samui becomes a logistics exercise.Shooting on the island is generally more expensive than shooting in Bangkok because there is no large local film crew base. You cannot simply open a crew list and expect to find a complete local production department with PAs, Set Admin, Wardrobe, Unit and Catering, professional camera crew, lighting technicians, grips and all the other people required for a larger production. For smaller jobs, of course, things are much easier. But when you are shooting a commercial, feature, TV production or anything that needs a proper department structure, professional crew often has to come from Bangkok.There are several ways to do it: For key crew, we can put people on a plane. Bangkok Airways is normally the practical option, with a one-way ticket costing around 5,000 THB, depending on the date and availability. For the rest of the crew, we normally combine crew transportation with equipment transportation. A camera van is a good example. We remove two rows of seats, which gives us enough space for the camera package while still allowing four camera crew members 1st AC or Focus Puller, 2nd AC / Camera Assist, Videoman, DIT or Data Loader to travel together with the equipment.
If the production requires a Ronin 2 or Steadicam in Samui, we normally send another van with the equipment and the relevant crew. Lighting works in a similar way, the lighting and grip equipment travels by truck, while the lighting crew normally travels separately in a crew van. Depending on the truck configuration, there is generally space for two or three people in the equipment truck. It is not glamorous, it is simply how you get a proper production department onto an island, then comes the ferry — approximately another two hours — from Don Sak to Lipa Noi Pier in Koh Samui. So your lighting truck, grip truck, camera van and unit equipment are not exactly popping over for lunch. Lighting and grip equipment normally travel by truck. Unit department equipment also needs space: tables, chairs, stools, tents, umbrellas and all the other seemingly small things that become surprisingly important when you are shooting all day in the tropical sun.
For larger productions, this equipment can be transported from our Bangkok operation together with the crew. There is also another option for crew travel: the overnight bus. The bus normally leaves Mochit Bus Station in Bangkok at around 5–6 PM and reaches the Don Sak area at approximately 6 AM. From there, the crew continues by ferry and can normally be on the production location in Samui at around 9 AM, depending on the exact location and ferry schedule. And one important production detail: Travel days are charged at the full crew daily rate. Current crew and equipment rates are always available in our latest rental price list:

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