Brendan Davis 10/31/18 Brendan Davis 10/31/18

ALADIN FARRÉ | Filmmaking & Podcasting in Beijing

Aladin Farré is a Parisian documentary filmmaker and editor based in Beijing. He is also the host of "Middle Earth: China's Cultural Industry Podcast", a monthly show that I happen to like a lot. In this episode we discuss all of the above as well as Aladin's experiences navigating his way into the Chinese film industry and the absolute necessity of finding a good local partner.

#075 Filmmaking & Podcasting in Beijing | ALADIN FARRÉ

Aladin Farré is a Parisian documentary filmmaker and editor based in Beijing. He is also the host of “Middle Earth: China’s Cultural Industry Podcast”, a monthly show that I happen to like a lot. In this episode we discuss all of the above as well as Aladin’s experiences navigating his way into the Chinese film industry and the absolute necessity of finding a good local partner. Plus, I share some news about Migration Media, my new show with Yingying Li called “How China Works”, and more. Enjoy!

Please SUBSCRIBE to “Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” and rate / leave a nice REVIEW at Apple Podcasts / iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 or search and subscribe wherever YOU get your podcasts!

SPONSOR:
“The Complete Podcasting Course” - https://www.udemy.com/complete-podcasting-course/learn/v4/overview

Aladin Farré online:
https://twitter.com/Aladin_F
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aladin-farr%C3%A9/
https://www.instagram.com/aladin__f/

"Middle Earth - China's cultural industry podcast”:
https://middle-earth-chinas-cultural-industry-podcast.simplecast.fm
WeChat official account: middleearthpodcast

Other GUEST links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Townsend_Ward (one the first "foreign experts" to China in the 1860's)
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Farr%C3%A9 (Aladin's dad)

Auphonic (audio enhancement services):
https://auphonic.com/landing

“HOW CHINA WORKS”:
https://www.migrationmedia.net/how-china-works

“BFMK" HOST / SHOW:
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom” on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
Brendan Davis on WeChat: BrendanDavis
Brendan Davis on Twitter: @VeritasInLux
Other links to LISTEN: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-link

Brendan Davis 10/5/17 Brendan Davis 10/5/17

MARTIN BARNES: Mountains of Imagination

“I used to introduce myself in the wrong way, and I used to talk about the mechanics, because I felt like that’s what people needed to know, and that that’d make me appear to be an expert. But I don’t need to know how my 4G works for me to buy a smartphone. I want to know: what are the results I get? And so I realized by my mistakes, I need to show the audience in my message. So my message went from WHAT I do, to WHY I do it.”

- Martin Barnes

Today’s guest is Martin Barnes. Martin is from South London and came to China 14 years ago. He has a very eclectic background and has worn a lot of hats professionally, mostly centered around art and design. He’s created logos, t-shirts - including a run back in the day with past show guest Dominic of Plastered8 - and done loads of work for advertising agencies, major car companies, etc.

His current company though, Mountains of Imagination, is based on designing presentations - you know, the need to stand up in front of a person or a group and drive a PowerPoint as you talk - in a way that you not only most effectively tell your story, but that you ENJOY yourself while doing it, too. The genius of this approach, as I saw for myself firsthand when I heard Martin speak at a event a few weeks ago, is that if you can prepare properly and relax enough to enjoy yourself while speaking, then your audience can relax enough to enjoy listening to you, and the story you’re sharing will stick in a way that isn’t possible otherwise.

This simple insight has proven to be a very successful one for Martin to build a company and a career around, but it’s the life lessons he learned leading up to this moment in his life that he shares in the interview that I think hit home the strongest with me. There’s a relevance in Martin’s methods to communicating that can positively impact ALL endeavors and transactions, both in business and in life. I think this is a very special one, and I hope you enjoy it.

On a personal level, I had a few takeaways that I’d like to share, too...

The first is about WeChat. I’m going to do a totally unpaid plug for WeChat - not that they need it here in Asia, but those of you listening from places where it hasn’t become the norm yet: my advice it to get it - it’s free - and learn it, live it, love it. I have friends & family back home that I’m basically their only WeChat friend, and we use it ALL THE TIME. Get it. Then add me! My WeChat ID is just my name, BrendanDavis, with no space between Brendan and Davis. Easy.

But the conversation also got me thinking about opportunity. As we talk about in the episode, opportunities are everywhere, but the ones in China are particularly significant. And interestingly, it’s the very things that often drive people from more Western cultures a bit crazy here that are the same things that CREATE massive opportunity for innovation.

For my industry, it’s the awareness that China will never be Hollywood. And I don't think for a second that it wants to be. It just wants to be...itself. But it's still discovering what that means. Luckily, I think I can help. Which is why I’M here. :D

On a more universal note, my take on things it that as an outsider, we need for our contributions to bring enough value that we are worth the extra effort it takes for locals to deal with and take care of us (between language issues, cultural difficulties, the higher pay we expect and the higher expectations that go along with that) and vice versa.

Anyway, speaking of opportunity and in the spirit of asking for what you want and need, and since you never know who's listening who might need exactly what I have to offer, I'm going to be super candid here and share that the personal benefit of hearing Martin’s lessons was that it gave me extra fuel to help me work out the business plan for the new company I want to build here - and the show is one small part of that.

I’m proud of the growth in both quality and audience that we’ve had so far, and with support, I can continue to make it better and better and also expose it to a much wider audience, which is essential to make this what I see that it can be.

So if you're a potential sponsor or partner for the show, please reach out and let's discuss what that could look like. And in the meantime: if you feel that you receive value from the show, you can help support it with a share, a like, a comment, or a donation to the cause. Support links to Paypal and WeChat Pay are in the show notes and on the website, crazyinagoodway.com. It's fast, it’s easy, and it would really make a difference. Thanks!

Okay, now on with the show. This one is long and in-depth, and highly practical but fun and philosophical, too. Enjoy it!

Martin Barnes & Mountains of Imagination:
http://www.mountainsofimagination.com

Start With Why by Simon Sinek:
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
https://startwithwhy.com/

Brendan Davis on WeChat:
BrendanDavis

Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux

BFMK website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com

BFMK Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/

Other links to LISTEN:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-links/

SUPPORT BFMK via PayPal or WeChat:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/donate/

BFMK PayPal direct DONATION link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=K5W6EANCYSQHU

Brendan Davis 9/28/17 Brendan Davis 9/28/17

JESSE WEINER: Entertainment Law in China

#019 - Entertainment Law in China | Jesse Weiner

This week’s episode features Jesse Weiner. Jesse is an entertainment lawyer with 10 years experience living and working in China. And although he is based back in Los Angeles now, Jesse expects to spend much more time coming back to China now that the entertainment business here is reaching a new stage of maturation.

First, a few housekeeping notes:

As long time listeners are aware, the release day of the show each week has shifted around a bit since I first launched. This has been due to a variety of reasons, but the last two weeks have drifted to Thursday and I think that will become the new home for now. A practical benefit of this has to do with the time difference between the US and China, and how that affects information flow back and forth, which is often a factor.

For instance, in the unedited raw interview for this episode, Jesse spent about five minutes discussing a particular business deal he had been in the middle of, now closed, that is unprecedented and very interesting. If I released this episode with that chunk of information, it would've been a Big Fish exclusive! But of course, the clients have their own timetable for when they are going to put out their press release, which is “not yet”...and the back-and-forth between the US and China to nail that down pushed us an extra day this week. So I pulled that little chunk out of the final interview. Once the news is announceable, though, I will release it as a very short bonus feature for this episode.

There is a great deal of information in this one, with something for everyone, but lots that is especially of interest to my friends working in the film and TV business internationally or those who follow it. We talk about the current state of evolution of the industry, and do a deep dive into the mechanics of what works and what doesn't work between these two business cultures.

Also, it turns out that Jesse actually had a pretty cool story before ever deciding to enter law school. He has a graduate education in music, and initially came to China as a composer and conductor as well as being a professor at the Central Conservatory, which is the most preeminent music school in China. In the episode he draws a parallel between conducting music and the practice of law that I think probably only he could make, so check it out.

My last note is that while many of the recent few shows lately have had a heavy entertainment business focus, the next few episodes will shift things up a bit. If you’d like to give me feedback about the show in any way, please contact me at the links below. Thanks!

Jesse Weiner:
http://www.yingkeinternational.com/office/united-states
jesseweiner@yingkelawyer.com