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Anyone considering moving to China?


Tim M

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I could at least imagine living in Beijing. A great place, as long as there's not too much smog...

 

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Feb 28, 2013 compared to a clear day.

Best,

Larry F

Lectro

 

p.s. Wife just got back from Beijing. For two days, she thought she had caught a cold on the long flight over; then the air cleared up and so did she.

post-125-0-53726100-1380051141_thumb.jpg

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Yes the article says the Chinowood would be based in Qingdao, which is considered the most livable city, might be able to deal with that...I am also appreciative that Bill Gates is NOT doing this type of stuff I would much rather him develop a waterless toilet and save millions of lives, that said I won't say no to taking work in China if this guys vision comes to fruition. :)

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I would be worried about the long term .

Do you want to retire there after working there for decades?

Are you going to risk your long term future on the wims of a billionaires play thing?

I'll stick with the long term established industry here in LA. Along with the long term union benefits.

If they flew me over for a couple of weeks to mix something, I'd do that. But I wouldn't move there.

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I don't think most of us will be sent over there to work. How can we compete with their lack of labor laws, human rights, etc. After all, isn't that why business's move out of the U.S.... To save money?

 

They sometimes bring keys. Same goes when a studio film shoots in Boston. Some of the crew is probably flown in from LA or NYC, and at some point it is filled out with locals. If it's a film primarily for the American audience, then I would guess a bunch of Americans would be there. That is depending on the film. Say it's a drama set today. There are some things that somebody has to be fluent, and fully understand the culture, to get. I would think a scriptie from China, even if technically fluent in English, might miss something. I would think the production designer might be American, or very very familiar with American lifestyle. Same goes the other way. A bunch of Americans making a movie set in China, for a Chinese audience, would probably be a disaster on many levels. 

 

Maybe I'm just imagining it will go as smoothly as this. (I know Tokyo isn't in China, but you get my point) 

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A producing buddy of mine moved to Beijing about a year ago. Except for the five hundred dollar air purifier for his apartment, he seems to be having fun (he's spoken mandarin for several years) and working continually.

I don't see myself being brought over, plenty of great sound folks there already, and as noted, all-purpose PAs are probably literally a dime a dozen.

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I was over there in the 90's working on a docu. Outside the major cities, the roads were a white line nightmare.. extremely dangerous, and I don't think there way any kind of licensing requirements or road rules..  aside from who had the largest vehicle..  balls and/or stupidity.

They eat a lot of wield stuff too; snakes, bugs and other unappetizing stuff.. I found unappetizing. Rice is normally served at the end of a meal. for Breakfast too.. if you want to call it that.

In addition we had gov. agents with us 24/7 telling us where/what we could and could not shoot. If was fun drinking with them though.

Interesting to say the least, but I wouldn't want to live there.

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To me, it's very very interesting that China is investing so heavily in keeping the masses entertained.

I recently heard a story on NPR stating that they are putting up cinema screens / theaters at an insane rate,

like 100 per DAY, all over that very large country.

 

As the Chinese people become more and more aware of the gross inequities that have evolved in what is supposedly a "classless society", what better way to placate them and keep their eyes off the ball......

 

It's been going on HERE for decades ...

 

MF

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To me, it's very very interesting that China is investing so heavily in keeping the masses entertained.

I recently heard a story on NPR stating that they are putting up cinema screens / theaters at an insane rate,

like 100 per DAY, all over that very large country.

As the Chinese people become more and more aware of the gross inequities that have evolved in what is supposedly a "classless society", what better way to placate them and keep their eyes off the ball......

It's been going on HERE for decades ...

MF

Love your cynicism, I mean realism, I mean, whatever it is...it's on the money.
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  • 2 months later...

I'm a mixer living and working in Shanghai.  I'm from GA originally.  Been here for over 6 years now.  Work seems to be picking up these last few years.  Lots of US films shooting sequences here to try to be one of the 34 that screen in mainland.  Air quality is a downer and it's a totally different standard when I compare working with UK/US crews compared to local Chinese.  We're making it work though.   :)

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An interesting comment from a guy who contacted me:

 

"Briefly:

The key to gaining an invitation to work in the industry is to bring your industry connective power with you.  We are a Chinese unit, seeking to enhance cooperation with international partners.

A person such as yourself --- particularly camera operators, and more so editors, can lend a suitable feel to our productions to make them more accessible to our (widely various) international target audiences.

Networking is always the way in our industry.  Once the team is assembled and ready, per project, then funding may be released.  Wages on projects is standard.  I am not paid directly for my current work which is to help to create the same projects that may directly employ me --- earn as a performer, an agent, interpreter and so on.  Also other rewards, depending on the project.

There's a steady background tick-over of work regardless.  But the future lies in expansion.

A great team to work for.  I'm the first foreigner of the current era to gain the cooperative support of the Studio.  They have been restructured from what was Changchun Film Studio to Changchun Film Group Corporation in the time I have known them.  The last Russian (a huge red headed man, a great guy, who lived in a Studio supplied apartment) left about 5 years ago.  I have now an Invitation Letter for Changchun City, but one through Beijing is being arranged for me to further enhance my work potential.

A joy to be there, a burden I endure to be here in NZ where most everyone is Hobbit."

 

mike
 

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