Music Video Shoot in Phuket, Thailand for International Music Artist Stephane Legar

Updated: May 2

In January 2023, we traveled to Phuket to shoot an exciting project with ‘Stephane Legar,’ a Togolese-Israeli Afro-Pop music artist. We planned to shoot all the scenes outdoor and as a result, there were multiple challenges we faced that we would like to share with our fellow creatives.

Stephane Legar perfoming for Lucie music video during his shoot in Phuket, Thailand.

Location Scouting

Since we were shooting in natural environments, we needed to make sure that we understood the natural lighting and position of the sun during each time of the day to be able to capture the most beautiful shots which was crutual for achieving a cinematic scene.

We therefore depicted the natural light with the help of a mobile application called, ‘Sun Seeker’ which very clearly told us where the sun would be at which time of day.

Secondly, we need to make sure to check what the weather will be like throughout all days of the shoot and also have second locations and routes prepared, to which we could move or ‘flee’ in case we needed to. We made sure that every backup location was also as visually beautiful as the first so that moving to a different location would not sacrifice the shot. Since we could not control the weather, making sure we had backup locations we could move to was one way we dealt with this challenge.

Our Experience

For example, on the first day that we arrived in Phuket, Thailand, we scouted several locations and planned to shoot at a secret beach. On the morning of the actual shooting day, as we were driving towards the secret beach, we noticed that the sun was moving faster than our ETA on the beach that we plan to shoot. We were definitely going to miss that sweet morning light if we don't improvise to shoot in a nearby location as soon as possible.

Our director, Manit Monsur, therefore decided to adjust our initial plan and shoot at a nearby location called ‘Ao Sane Beach’ right next to the famous ‘Nai Harn Beach’ in Phuket which was only 10 minutes away from our current location. This is to make sure that we would get there on time for the sunrise shots. His quick thinking and decision-making, and all our preparations for alternative locations, allowed us to save 40 minutes that could be used for the shoot.

It is important to remain flexible and be ready to adapt to any sudden changes that may occur in the movement of the sun or the weather, as these are natural phenomena that we cannot control nor always accurately foresee. Being able to adapt your schedule and production and have an alternative Plan B in place is therefore immensely important when you are shooting outdoors, especially in rural locations or on islands. Finally, we’d like to share a quote from our director, Manit Monsur:

“Don’t be afraid to improvise during your shoot, because it could literally save your day and prevent the crew from spending more budget, time wasting, and bad repuration with the client.”

afro pop artist, phuket, thailand, music video, radiate studio — Lucie music video shoot by Radiate Studios

After the 3-day shoot was finished, the client was very happy and even had the time to catch up with a few drinks at a nightclub in Phuket with the whole crew and cast, including Stephane Legar and Kasama Suetrong (TK). It ended up being a blast and a trip full of worthy memories and lessons to be learned. We hope that these lessons will also be of value to you, whether you are a videographer, photographer, or content creator looking to shoot outdoors.

Here is the released music video we have shot for Stephane Legar:

Our team at Radiate Studios is grateful to have been part of this inspirational project and humbled to have worked with Stephane Legar and Kasama Suetrong (TK) on the Music Video we created for his song, ‘Lucie’.

More behind the scenes from our "Lucie" music video production in Phuket.