Written by: Han Liang, Xinhua
Posted on: August 09, 2018 | 
| 中文
Chinese and British workers collaborate for a documentary
A “Chinese girl” named “Luo BaoBei” became popular on international TV screens. During the 2018 Chinese Lunar New Year, the animated series “Luo BaoBei” appeared on Australian television. Several countries, including the United States, France and Canada, bought the copyright of the cartoon girl image. As a result of the cooperation between Chinese and British creative industries, the story of the 7-year-old girl will also be aired in the UK.
The popularity of the cartoon character depicts that in the golden age of China-UK relations, Chinese and British TV workers join hands towards the journey of “the spring of creative industry”.
“Chinese Story” in Joint Production
Dave Ingham, a famous children’s animation playwright, was deeply attracted when he first saw the image design of "Luo BaoBei". The British writer, who has also worked on other shows, such as “Shaun the Sheep” and “The Octonauts,” rejoiced in the originality of Chinese animation and joined the co-production team with delight.
Scene designs with Chinese aesthetics and the use of Chinese elements, such as kites and Taijiquan, make "Luo BaoBei" full of "Chinese style", while the developed animation industry of the UK provides a production guarantee for it. Since the animation serial was launched in China last year, it soon attracted interest from the international market.
In recent years, China and the UK have collaborated on a series of documentaries about "Chinese stories", including "Confucius," "Chinese New Year,""We Are Born in China,"and "Beautiful China." By integrating Chinese perspective and aesthetics, these shows enable the world viewers to see a more pluralistic China. At the Sino-British creative industry exchange meeting held in London recently, Jason Emelton, capital and business director of BBC, said that joint production helps both sides share resources, complement their advantages and develop international markets, thus representing "the general trend in the future."
“Chinese Core” in Copyright Introduction
Mike Bill, managing director of ITV, said that China is becoming the fastest growing overseas market for British TV programs.
TV director Yao Xiaoying has participated in the creative planning of “The Dream Cube,” the Chinese version of the British game show "The Cube". In her view, the introduction model has quickly brought the Chinese TV industry, which was used as a "workshop,” in line with the international practice and helped Chinese TV workers master the industrial production process. However, in addition to fine production, the key to the success of the localization is to have a "Chinese core." The original British program director once said, “If the British version is a picture, the Chinese version is a three-dimensional oil painting.”
Yao's visit to Britain allowed her to get the "good experience": industrialized production is the guarantee of quality, whereas "originality is the core competitiveness.”
“Created by China” Goes Global
Now the UK ZigZag Productions and China’s 3C Media are jointly making a sports reality show “Ancient Sports.” In the words of Matt Graff, director of ZigZag, it is a process of "turning small inspiration into a grand reality.”
In June 2017, ZigZag Productions was invited to attend the Shanghai TV Festival and won the best model award with its proposal of "Ancient Sports." Soon afterwards, the British company reached an agreement with its Chinese partner to jointly develop this model. After a few months of brainstorming and joint research, the two sides found a fit to meet the needs of China and the international market. They reformed the original model structure, and highlighted the display of ancient Chinese sports such as cuju, an ancient football game.
In October 2017, at the Cannes TV Festival in France, Chinese program models such as "Ancient Sports" made a dazzling appearance and attracted overseas attention.
“Chinese Opportunities” in Global Narrative
From Belfast to Cardiff, from Manchester to Bristol, many British television production companies have taken the opening up of Chinese markets as a strategic opportunity.
Headquartered in London, Wilson Global Company is stepping up its efforts to create a suspense TV series "Wrong Impression" for Chinese audience. Joshua Wilson, head of the company, said the drama is full of Chinese elements.
At the Sino-British creative industry exchange meeting, Denman Luke, chairman of the executive board of October Production Company in Britain, used a name-card that printed his Chinese Name: ???(Lu Demin). Decades of experience and macroscopic grasp of the industry’s development have convinced him that targeting China is the right choice.
Dawn McCarthy-Simpson who has a Chinese name: ???(Shen Haili), the Director of International Strategy for the British Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, said that as a growth engine, the British creative industry takes lead in the world, while China's creative industry is booming and the advancement from "Made in China" to "Created by China" is taking place. Complementary and in-depth cooperation between the two sides is promising, and the future is full of expectations.
Translated by Xu Donglin
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