FOCUS: TV Commercial Production - Mainland slowly catching up on production skills

<p>Only recently, 4As agencies in China were complaining about poor </p><p>personnel skills and lack of high-end post facilities as reasons for not </p><p>producing more TVCs in China. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But now, the trend towards localisation, the arrival of foreign-backed </p><p>production houses and lower mainland production costs are conspiring to </p><p>help them reconsider, said agency executives. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Saatchi & Saatchi Beijing managing director James Keller, </p><p>"Production facilities have improved greatly along with the quality of </p><p>local talent and crews", a view shared by Mr Tomaz Mok, MD/ECD of </p><p>McCann-Erickson Guangming Beijing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"If we had the choice, we should shoot and produce in China," said Mr </p><p>Mok. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The change of mood is partly due to foreign invested production houses, </p><p>which are now starting to offer the high-end services previously </p><p>missing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Ian Maycock, managing director of Australian-backed Creative </p><p>Interface in Beijing, said that his company "delivers the same quality </p><p>as Hong Kong". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The difference is that clients in China can oversee the production </p><p>process here without having to fly overseas all the time," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Pacesetter Pictures International, also a foreign-invested production </p><p>house, has been filling the high-end production niche since 1992. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Last year, it was the first to introduce motion control to China and </p><p>flew in talent from Los Angeles to complete a TVC for Sony. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We don't just import the hardware itself, we make sure that the correct </p><p>artists are part of the package," said PPI director Dan Mintz. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Exposure to international talent is vital for further development of the </p><p>industry, as Frankie Chan, general manager of Grey Beijing pointed </p><p>out. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Post production in China is still bad; however, exposure to working </p><p>with different people, especially outside talent will make a big </p><p>difference," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Client demands or the preferences of the director might also rule out </p><p>the option of producing in China. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"You need to negotiate with the director, but in the end you do what he </p><p>wants to do," said Euro RCSG Great Ocean Partnership Beijing general </p><p>manager Mason Lin. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For a recent TVC for Lintas client Unilever, PPI secured permission to </p><p>shoot in the Forbidden City, recruited 400 extras and built an indoor </p><p>set at Beijing Film Studio. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, once the shoot had been completed, Hong Kong director Gera </p><p>preferred to take the post work back to Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While most agencies are positive about the changes, they still produce </p><p>more than 50 per cent of their TVCs for the mainland outside China. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It still very much depends on the needs of the commercial," said </p><p>Saatchis' Mr Keller. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"While commercials shot in China become more relevant for the Chinese </p><p>consumer and more cost effective, for technical reasons we might go to </p><p>Hong Kong." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to Euro's Mr Lin, post-production involving complicated </p><p>computer graphics and animation are still best done in Hong Kong, Taiwan </p><p>or Australia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Often creative directors don't want to risk producing in China," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, he noted, there are also more down-to-earth reasons for the </p><p>prevailing China-phobia: "(Agencies and film crews) might just want to </p><p>have a good time going abroad." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Source: CMM Intelligence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>