How to Shoot a Commercial in Thailand: The Timeline from Brief to Wrap

You have the script, the boards and a client who wants Thailand. The good news: Thailand is one of the easiest countries in Asia to shoot a commercial in. Crews are experienced, equipment is local, and the paperwork runs through one office. The catch is the order things have to happen in. The film permit comes before the visas, and the locations come before the permit.

Here is how a foreign TV commercial shoot comes together, week by week.

What to send your fixer on day one

The more of this you can send with the first email, the faster we can quote and the earlier the permit work starts.

The timeline, week by week

For a commercial with a foreign crew, plan on about four weeks from green light to the first shoot day. It can go faster when the script, locations and crew list are final early. It goes slower when any of them keep changing.

1. Week 1Quote, schedule and green light

   We send a budget and a production schedule built around your dates. Once you confirm, we start booking crew and holding locations.

2. Weeks 1 to 2Location scouting and casting

   Our location team sends options, often from places we already know. Casting runs at the same time, with Thai talent and Bangkok's pool of foreign talent.

3. Week 2Film permit application

   Script, storyboard, a scene-by-scene description, wardrobe, the locations and the list of everyone flying in go to the Thailand Film Office. Read how the film permit works.

4. Weeks 2 to 3Visas and work permits

   This can only start once the permit is issued. We apply, then send each person an application number for the visa at the Thai embassy, which is online in most countries. See film visas and work permits.

5. Weeks 3 to 4Location permits, tech scout and PPM

   Location contracts, district office and police permits for streets, the equipment list and the art department build. Then the pre-production meeting with the agency and client.

6. Shoot daysOn set

   A Thai crew around your heads of department. A monitoring officer from the Film Office may visit to check that the shoot matches the approved script.

7. After the wrapWrap-out

   Gear returns, locations are handed back, invoices are settled, and we close the production with the Film Office.

Five things that slow a shoot down

• Changing the script after the permit is filed. What you shoot has to match the approved script. Changes mean an amendment.
• Late crew lists. Every foreign person needs a visa and work permit, and that starts only after the permit. Since 2024, a short shoot on a tourist visa is no longer an option.
• Weapons, smoke and stunts left off the list. Prop guns, smoke and pyrotechnics have to be on the application. Bring in the art department early.
• Street scenes without police time. Closing a road or moving through traffic needs the police, and they need notice.
• Holidays. Government offices close on public holidays, so a permit filed the week before Songkran can lose a week. See when to film in Thailand.

Fly in a small team, hire the rest here

Most productions bring the director, the DOP and a few heads of department, and hire everyone else in Thailand. That keeps the visa list short and the budget down. Bangkok has full camera, lighting and grip packages, from mirrorless cameras to ALEXA and RED, so the gear rarely needs to fly either.

For larger productions, read fixer, line producer or service company to see which kind of local partner fits. Big budgets can also look at Thailand's cash rebate. Most commercials spend too little in Thailand to qualify, but large campaigns sometimes do.

See it in practice

Recent shoots we set up for international clients: the DJI Avata launch campaign and H&M's 360° helipad shoot on a Bangkok skyscraper.

Have a commercial coming up? Send us your project with the dates and locations, and we will come back with a quote and a schedule.