Thursday, December 06, 2007 Sunny LAX, indoors The shoot went well, although I wouldn't call it glamorous. Despite that mild, sunny weather outside, we were cooped up in a dusty cold warehouse building in south central downtown. The commercials were directed by a famous Thai named Suthon Petchsuwan and his entourage from the motherland. We later learned that his art director used to be a famous Thai musician, the equivalent in fame of Jennifer Aniston (Note: This is someone else's analogy). I told the A.D. that he look like my father, and he laughed. If was an affable group, despite the language barrier.

It must not have been the most ideal conditions for the director. The spots had to be :30s, fulfill all manner of nervous legal requirements, and be conscious of all the cooks in the kitchen. Apparently, a lot of this flies out the window in Thailand and the director becomes more or less a god during the shoot. But according to Suthon, it's actually more stressful to shoot in Thailand because the schedules are so tight, there aren't lunch breaks, and the production company rules with an iron fist because all of the equipment is so expensive.

A few photos:

The warehouse building as seen from the craft services parking lot across the street. The building was still being used for some kind of shady Chinese shoe business. Beyond being mostly deserted, there were random displays of cheap looking shoes, concrete lawn art, and random boxes. At one point I walked by the main "showroom" and saw a Chinese woman sitting at a desk with laptop, talking to two large Russian men in suits. Shady. For obvious reasons, I didn't take a picture.

I'm not sure if these were there already or set dressing.

Good luck piggy bank and random figurines.

Stairs to the locked second floor.

A few of the shoes on display in our makeshift waiting room.

Everyone on their laptops trying to look productive during the shoot.

Watch out! Buddha is going to throw that boat at you Donkey Kong style!

The set for the second spot was built outside the space used for the first spot.

The director.

Lady and hole.

Man and lobster. We went through 12 lobsters over the course of the day. Huge lobsters, too.

Man and window.

Alternate angle.


Doorway to the dusty outside world as the sun sets.

Goodbye to the open sea.