Partnership will turn world's eyes to China
National Geographic Digital Motion (NGDM), the archive footage and clip sales division of National Geographic Digital Media, is to represent 6,000-plus hours of footage and television programs of the China International Communication Center (CICC).
The two have signed a three-year contract, according to which the CICC will provide its footage and programs to NGDM, who will represent the content worldwide.
According to Jocelyn Shearer, NGDM's vice-president, the contract is non-exclusive to both, which means that the CICC can still cooperate with other representatives, while NGDM is free to represent other organizations, too.
Shearer and Yuan Lili, director of the CICC, agreed that the cooperation between the two organizations over the past two years has helped secure this new contract.
Since 2002, the CICC, a top producer of Chinese historical, nature and cultural documentaries, has been shifting its focus to co-productions with international broadcasters including the National Geographic Channel, PBS and Discovery.
Since 2005, the CICC and the National Geographic Channel have co-produced several documentaries about China, such as Great China Circus about Chinese acrobatics, and Water Cube about the National Aquatics Center, one of the Beijing Olympic stadiums.
"Our shared interests in nature, history, adventure and culture made the cooperation a smooth one and the representation possible," Yuan said.
National Geographic had been eager to find a partner in China that was able to provide rich and reliable visual content, while the CICC sought an authoritative and influential platform to promote its materials.
"Visual imagery about China is not widely seen worldwide, especially material with an objective standpoint on a variety of genres," said Jing Shuiqing, deputy director of the CICC.
Before the project is launched, NGDM had only about 300 hours of China-related material. Much of this, Shearer said, is low quality footage that only covers a small range of subjects.
The footage and programs the CICC provides focuses on traditional Chinese culture and up-to-date stories like the construction of the Olympic stadiums and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the preservation of giant panda and Tibetan antelopes.
Shearer said that the footage, which could be used in feature films, documentaries, TV programs and commercials, should sell well in several markets.
"China is the focus of the world, especially when the Olympic is coming," she said. "The project is just a baby step; we hope for further cooperation with China's visual imagery makers."
(China Daily 12/12/2007 page18)
