Clubbin

This morning Elisabeth wanted to check out the big malls in Bangkok, so we jumped on the sky train to go look around. It is pretty cool because there are five big malls all right next to each other, so you can go on an epic-shopping extravaganza if you so desire to. After about an hour of following Elisabeth around the mall, I went back to the hotel to do some club research.

I called up several clubs and got two nods of permission from club owners. Excited about filming the clubs, I suited up that night with all of my equipment and jumped on the metro. Once I got off of the metro, I paid 30 baht for a motorbike taxi to Q Bar Night Club.

Dennis (one of the managers at Q Bar) put me on the list so I got right into the club, no problem. There was a problem though, when I started shooting. I have a light that attaches to my camera with a 50-watt bulb in it. That is extremely bright in a dark dance club. And it was quite embarrassing when I walked out onto the dance floor, turned my bright light on, and nearly half the club stopped dancing immediately and stared at me like deer in headlights. I quickly shut the light off and scrambled to a corner of the club, hoping to blend back in.

After 15 minutes or so of blending, I cranked the iris all the way open on my camera and started shooting wide shots of the crowd, trying not to be seen. This being my first time shooting in a nightclub, I had a lot to get used to. I really hate bringing my shutter down so slow, but I really had no choice with the lighting situation. I gave up trying to get close ups of people, since it looked like crap in the dark. I managed to get several shots of the DJ with the camera light on, since he didn’t mind at all.

I decided to head out without interviews, figuring I could come back on another night when they aren’t so busy. I took a taxi to the second nightclub, CM2. This club was located in the basement of a hotel, and was significantly larger than Q Bar. The woman I had spoken with on the phone was at the front when I walked up, and she waved me over. Her name is Roxy, and she is an extremely nice and very petite Australian. She grabbed one of the Thai security guards and gave me a tour of the club. She suggested that I come back on another night to shoot, since it was already nearly 1:30 in the morning. (King’s orders that all clubs are closed by 1am, but few clubs follow this rule). I happily agreed and headed out to grab a taxi back to the hotel.