SolidLine Production in China: The Chinese Fixer
By Greg Vass, Executive Producer
SolidLine Media
This is the first in a series of 4 blogs I will be writing about our recent travels to China. Over the years we have had the chance to work on a great deal of amazing video production projects all across the US and the world, but producing videos in China by far required the most planning and coordination when compared to any of our previous production experiences. But we were up for and loved the challenge!
Once we began the logistics planning for this project, which were a series of global promo videos for QN Power in Shandong Province, China, we soon knew we would be needing to enlist the services of a local expert. China has a great deal of different rules and regulations, especially for the production media. And you have to go through a lot more red tape than when traveling to other countries, specifically when it comes to entering and exiting the country with production gear and traveling through the country as journalists. Figuring there had to be someone who could assist out there we went to work researching. And sure enough, we discovered a production position we had never before heard of…the type of person who would soon become our Chinese production savior…The Fixer.
Fixer? Yes that’s what I said. A Fixer. That’s what they call this all encompassing producer/guide/translator/assistant/therapist. The Chinese Fixer does exactly what the title sounds like…fixes production issues, mainly for International crews, and makes sure everything moves along smoothly during the crews visit to China. To us, this was exactly what we needed. So, after some more research we learned about the top Fixer in China, a guy named Dillon Xiang of Bladedge Film & Event Solutions. Dillon is the owner of the company and is on the top of the list when it comes to Fixers in China. And we knew we had to have him on our crew for this video production job in China.
Dillon was great to work with from the very start. In fact I knew from our first conversations on the phone that this would be the beginning of a long relationship, which has since become a great friendship. In our first series of calls and emails Dillon outlined every essential detail we needed to know to get our gear into China and through customs, assisted us with various traveling requirements, worked with us on our video production schedule, sought out and hired a local lighting crew and a local jib crew, and even taught us quite a bit about Chinese culture and business etiquette. He was truly our savior on this trip. Dillon even handled all the details and paperwork with the government, including our J-2 Journalist visas, which are not easy or cheap to acquire.
Dillon and Michael have the first production meeting in China in a van from Zibo to Qingzhou City.
A Fixer who is certainly not camera shy...
When we finally arrived to Beijing after months of preparation we were still a bit ‘weary’ of how everything was going to work out. Our schedule was so tight that we had no room for error or mishap for our 8 day stay, and so much of our production relied on the planning and logistics that Dillon and his team had worked through. But, sure enough, when we walked out to the baggage claim we saw a man with a sign, “SolidLine Media”. Michael and I looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, our trusted Fixer, Dillon, was there and ready to get the shoot underway, which is exactly what we did…after we got our gear through customs of course. And, thanks to Dillon, the piles of paperwork had in fact been submitted to the government, approved, and we cruised through customs as Journalists with our 300 pounds of gear…free to roam China and produce our video. Believe me, from what we have read, without someone like Dillon to handle the paperwork in advance, our production gear would surely have been held at the airport until our departure…and that would not have helped out the production one bit!
Dillon was on standby during each shot, here filming a drilling rig.
Dillon always wanted to make sure the shot was up to his standards as well...
He was even there to help move gear, definitely a well rounded crew member!
The rest of the week went by with the precision clockwork of The Palace Guard. Dillon acted as both a translator and Producer for us and was a liaison between the SolidLine crew and our client as well as the SolidLine crew and our hired local Chinese lighting and jib crews. He was proactive, quick, and on-the-ball every second, never missing a detail on a shot and always translating to the necessary parties our comments and direction quickly and accurately. Time is money on every video production set and Dillon made sure things stayed moving along. It was a great back and forth and we were lucky to have Dillon on board to make sure everything was ‘fixed’ just the way we liked it.
Dillon translates our direction to the client while filming factory scenes in Qingzhou City.
There are some things that are better suited for guys like Dillon...like eating feet.
A well traveled crew.
All in all, if you are producing a production in China, you need to talk to Dillon, or find your own Dillon…it really is the difference between a successful shoot and, well, a lot of mass confusion and certain delays. And if you ever have any questions about filming in China don’t hesitate to call one of us at SolidLine at 312-939-8600. Wed love to hear from you!
Getting a little dirty is a requirement of every SolidLine crew member, and Dillon had no problem fitting in...
Hey, even hard working Fixers have to find time to sleep.
GsV
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