We have more than 15 years of experience in video production industry, and over these years since most of our clients are from overseas. We have discovered there are a lot of differences between Chinese and foreign ones. I would like to share my point of view and you are more than welcome to let me know your thoughts in the comments.

To begin please allow me to share my version, since there might be a lot of information you might not know about China’s photo and video industry, I will talk about it in the following points:

• Cultural Differences
• Gear Rental
• Production Scale
• Working Hours
• Marketing Strategies

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1. Cultural Differences – Working for and with clients from other countries has helped me gain valuable knowledge, particularly about cultural differences, both Chinese and foreign. This is more than simply comments or lessons that they give me or that I tell them; learning their culture and customs helps to ease communication and fosters a deeper understanding between my clients and me. On the other side, assisting my clients in filming a video in China or for a Chinese audience gives me an advantage because I have the necessary skills and experience to make my clients ideas and visions to transform into an engaging video.

1. Gear Rental – When it comes to rentals, you must take into account a number of crucial factors, including the fact that China’s credibility system is different from other countries, making dry renting of equipment unpopular. When renting equipment in China, there are three options we use to work under:

1- The guarantee payment is the same as the cost of new equipment.
2- Utilize personal documents as collateral (for example, an ID card or a driver’s license).
3- Employ an assistant from the rental company to serve as a supervisor for the rented equipment.

Here’s a hint: that occurred to me once, but luckily I was prepared. So, when I went to Shanghai to shoot a movie, my client requested an Arri Alexa Mini and an Atlas Orion 2x anamorphic lense. Typically, to save money on transportation, sometimes we rent gear in the destination city or close. When I rent outside, I always try to make time and go the day before to test and try it, and guess what happened? …. Yes! The system hadn’t been updated, and the equipment wasn’t working properly! The good news was that I had enough time to ask the rental house to upgrade it to the latest firmware. Imagine what might have occurred if I hadn’t checked? Another time, I hired an assistant from the rental house, but on the game day, we couldn’t contact the guy, we lost a lot of time trying to get that guy but thankfully, we manage to pick up the gear without the guy.

So next time you rent gear try to make time o ask a person you trust to check for you, all the gear, as thoroughly as it could be, specially with lenses and cameras, I am not saying that it will happen 100%, but there could be a chance that might happen, and I bet you don’t want that chance to happen to you, because those little mistakes can cost you the whole project and its not just money, but credibility and reliability

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3. Production Scale – Here comes a huge difference, because Chinese clients have higher expectations and requirements when it comes to video production, they want it perfect. You may notice that abroad, for a corporate video, it is usually a crew of 4-5 guys or even a one-man-band, but here in China, one-man-band doesn’t work, we need at least 2 guys, a videographer and an assistant, depending on the project, we normally assign a crew of 10-15 members, we will have: the producer, DP, 1st AC, Sound Recordist, Gaffer, Production Manager, 2nd AC, Best Boy x 2, P.A., HSM, Set Designer, Prop, Driver and more.

Foreign clients may believe that having too many people on set is not necessary, but there are cultural and customs differences to consider. For example, Overseas clients prefer a more natural look, whereas Chinese clients prefer to have make-up, hair, and outfits short out ahead, which will increase their self-esteem in front of the camera. However, depending on the nature of the project, they may want to shoot as many images as possible on the same day, for example, product pictures, personnel shots, and to save time, they may want two sets of cameras for A-roll for interviews and B-roll for showcases, and so on. These are the main reasons why we have more individuals on our crew, but it all boils down to what the clients wants.

4. Working Hours – We do not have a specific film industry association or union in mainland China that can state a specific number of working hours, but most of our work hours are 16 from the moment they start loading the gear, not the call time, and we finish when they unload the gears, which is quite different from overseas. There are also cities where the working hours are 14, such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, and even 9 hours, such as Hong Kong and Macau, and overtime hours must be compensated according to the city, the position, the overtime amount, beside other terms. Thus in most cities in China, they use to have a review on salaries after Chinese New Year for better arrangements.

4. Marketing Strategies – For example, if a client wants to shoot a corporate video, due to cultural differences, western clients may want a more authentic ones, such as story telling, what their customers say, on thanking their audience, etc., whereas Chinese clients may want something more fancy, displaying what they can do, how they do it, and what they have achieved. I’m not saying there’s an issue with any of them; I just want to express my opinion that for marketing purposes, it’s critical that both the client and the filmmaker be on the same page and can turn the idea into a video.

Ultimately, I hope the information I mentioned about the Chinese film industry in this blog have given you a better understanding of how things works in China. Last but not least, ENGLISH is always helpful to have someone who speaks English and Chinese and is experienced in this industry on board, believe me! It will undoubtedly make your life easier, at least it will make your project more successful. If you are looking for a fixer, a director or a production company to film make a video for you, please visit my website, check some of my works and send me a mail for a quote http://www.pixelprocn.com/​
On my next blog, I’ll discuss why you should hire a local crew rather than flying yourself and/or your team all the way here to make a video, so leave your thoughts in the comments, and I’ll see you soon.