Female Perspectives: DOP/DIRECTOR Yoko 洋子

SHP+ continues on the issue of minor representation of female filmmakers in China. Women’s Perspectives is a series of articles where we interview women filmmakers to give exposure to their name and their work, but also talk about their dreams, challenges and realities of being a woman in the industry.

SHP+持续关注国内女性影视创作者。在女性视角系列中，我们采访女性影视创作者，让更大的观众知道她们的名字，理解她们的工作，同时也谈论了她们的梦想、挑战和作为一名女性在这个行业中的现实。

Xiaomi Director’s version 小米导演版
Director: Yoko 洋子 | DoP: Fengbaiqin 冯百钦

This year’s Xiaomi anniversary commercial “生生不息” was in striking contrast to their typical brand film. Without a single line of voice over copy, the spot abandoned grandeur in favor of simplicity, showcasing only people running, scene after scene, evoking the audience’s interest and emotions. Just like the characters in her directorial debut, Yoko has been running towards her new career as a director, ready to take up the challenge. We talked to the director about her recent career shift, professionalism on set and the realities a female DoP has to come to terms with.

小米今年的品牌周年广告片《生生不息》与往年的风格完全不同。整部影片没有一句旁白，画面抛弃了宏大，回归简单，只展示了人们在一个接一个不同的场景下，不断奔跑的画面，让观众的兴趣被唤起的同时，情感上也产生了共鸣。而就像她第二部导演作品里的角色们一样，洋子也是一路向着自己的导演梦飞奔，如今她已经准备好迎接作为导演的新挑战了。我们近日采访到了导演洋子，聊了聊她最近的职业转变，在片场的专业性，以及一位女性摄影指导必须面对的现实。

Yoko is a new director, but she’s not new to the industry. She’s been working for a decade as a cinematographer, building not only a diverse portfolio of work in beauty, food and electronics, but also building long-lasting relationships in the process. Her continuous work with Xiaomi and their mutual established trust was one of big reasons for Yoko to finally try her hand at directing. The untapped potential of being a storyteller and the physical challenging realities of being a DoP was another reason. Right from the start of our conversation, in a very direct, but down-to-earth manner she shares: “At the beginning, I didn’t really know what a DoP does, so I was pretty naive at that time. For the first 5-6 years, while I was young, and full of energy and passion, I thought that as a woman I can do anything. Now I know, there’s a reason why there’s a so few of female DoPs in this industry. You’re not as strong as a man, physically. You get tired. Sometimes things are too heavy for you to carry, and the job conditions are challenging. Most importantly, you will have a family in the future. And when that happens, if you want to be a mother, you might have to stop your career”.

洋子虽然是一位新人导演，但对于行业她并不陌生。作为一名摄影师，她已经工作了十年。得益于在美容、食品和电子领域丰富的工作经验，她在行业中建立了良好持久的关系。她与小米的合作一直在继续，他们之间建立的双向信任，是洋子尝试执导的主要原因之一。而洋子讲故事的潜力以及作为摄影指导所面临的身体挑战则是另一个原因。我们谈话的一开始，洋子就开门见山接地气地说道：“一开始，我真的不知道摄影指导会面对什么样的挑战，所以当时我很天真。在入行最初的5-6年里，那时我还很年轻、充满活力和激情，我以为作为一名女性我可以做任何事情。现在我明白了，在这个行业里看不到很多女性摄影指导是有原因的。从身体方面来看，你没有男性强壮。你会感到疲劳。有时候东西太重了，确实也拿不动，同时有些拍摄面对的工作环境是很有挑战的。最重要的是，你将来会有一个家庭。到那个时候，如果你想当母亲，你可能得中止你的事业。”

Recounting these experiences, Yoko doesn’t regret choosing this line of work, and would not have done things differently. To her, filmmaking, telling a story through a lens has always been attractive. And of course, having an additional cinematographic insight to her work is always a benefit. She also credits her educational background as another competitive edge. A graduate of Shanghai Theater Academy, she learned a lot about acting, directing and further expanding her studies in New Zealand. Yoko shares that in her experience working as a DoP in China, most directors tended to prioritize a beautiful image, new ways to edit and post-production result over acting. She talks at length about wanting to show real people, full of life and personality, mentioning works of movie director Jia Zhangke and advertising director Zhang Dapeng as inspirations. “I think he’s (Jia Zhangke) very brave. He’s got a great sense how to get people in one room and deliver something authentic in a few shots, in a few simple dialogues”, Yoko shares.

然而在回顾了这些经历后，洋子并不后悔选择这一行，也不会改变自己的做事方式。对她来说，拍摄电影、通过镜头讲述故事一直非常有吸引力。当然，能用摄影师的眼光来审视作品，对洋子来说绝对是有益的，此外洋子认为自己的另一个竞争优势是她的教育背景。作为上海戏剧学院的一名毕业生，她学到了很多关于表演和导演的知识，并在新西兰继续深造。洋子分享了她在中国作为摄影指导的经验：大多数导演喜欢把重点放在美丽画面，最新的剪辑方法和后期制作的效果，而非表演本身。洋子用了很长的篇幅告诉我们她想要展示真实的、充满生命与个性的人，而电影导演贾樟柯和广告导演张大鹏的作品给了她很多灵感。“我认为他(贾樟柯)很勇敢。”洋子分享道：“他很擅长让人们聚在一个房间里，只用几个镜头、几句简单的对话，就能传达最真实的人的样子。”

McDonalds 麦当劳
Director: David&Greg | DoP: Yoko洋子

As a filmmaker, who puts a lot of attention to acting, it’s no surprise, Yoko names McDonald’s commercials as the most challenging projects. “Shooting food demo is very different from shooting anything else. You only got a lens, and a burger. Burger cannot act at all. But you need to deliver the message, to make people hungry through the lens. If you know how to achieve what the client wants and how to move the audience, I don’t think food demo is boring”, she says. Moving forward Yoko won’t abandon cinematography, but she’s focusing more on directing projects now. Contrary to the opinion that commercials are inferior to film or theater, she believes ads have the power to resonate with wider audience. Yoko’s really into telling simple, touching stories, especially about women and kids. “The true, authentic story is always touching”. She says with so much conviction, it’s hard to disagree.

作为一位把重心放在表演上的电影人，洋子认为麦当劳的广告是最具挑战性的项目也就不足为奇了。“拍摄食物与拍摄其他东西非常不同。你只有一个镜头和一只汉堡。而汉堡没有任何表演能力。你却需要传递信息，通过镜头去抓住观众的胃。要知道如何实现客户的需求，突出产品的特点，如何去打动观众。我认为拍食品广告并不无聊，”洋子说到。关于未来，洋子说她不会放弃摄影，但她现在更专注于导演方面的工作。与主流的广告不如电影与剧场的观点相反，洋子认为广告有能力与更广泛的观众产生共鸣。洋子非常喜欢讲一些剧情简单但感人的故事，尤其是关于妇女与儿童的故事。“真情实感往往是最动人的。”她说得如此坚定又充满力量，让人不由得点头。

HomeFacial Pro
Director: Tao Wright | DoP: Yoko洋子

When we ask her about any prejudices, she’s felt towards female DPs and any challenges she experienced, Yoko’s list is long. On one hand, she acknowledges her young appearance and petite figure doesn’t make it easier to convince people she can handle the job. On the other, even despite her “can do” attitude, she admits having to turn down some cars or sports commercial shoots in remote locations because she knew she wasn’t the best candidate. Like any thought-provoking topic, the question about why there aren’t more women commercial filmmakers in China doesn’t have a simple, black-and-white answer. But for her, working hard, taking the time and effort to always write DoP treatments, spend time to go through scripts with a fine-tooth comb and come to the set extra prepared are some of the many efforts she makes to show her professionalism and ability, regardless of her gender. While this might be a common symptom that women still have to put twice as much effort to prove they earned their place, Yoko chooses optimism over a negative view on the subject, Yoko concludes: “The most non-judgmental way to approach it, is to forget about the gender. No-one will say male director, or male DoP. When you take gender out of the equation, that’s how change will come. The best way to shut down the prejudices that women are weak or are not as clear about what they are doing, or are too emotional— is to just prove them wrong. You show them: no, I’m just a professional. I have my personality, I’m emotional, but not with my work.”

当我们问及作为女性摄影指导，她是否感受到偏见和她所经历过的挑战时，洋子一下就打开了话匣子。一方面，她承认自己年轻的外表和娇小的身材有时让人们怀疑她是否能胜任这份工作。另一方面，尽管她有“吃苦耐劳”的态度，但她承认有时不得不拒绝一些在偏远地区拍摄的汽车或体育广告，因为她知道自己不是最佳人选。和很多发人深省的话题一样，关于为什么中国没有更多的女性广告导演这一话题，我们并没有一个非黑即白的直接答案。但对洋子来说，努力工作，花时间和精力去制作摄影计划, 花时间去仔仔细细地审查通过脚本, 充分地做好准备再去片场等等，不论男女，这些许多的努力，都展示了她的专业与能力。虽然普遍来说，女性目前仍然要付出双倍的努力来证明她们配得上自己的职位，但洋子在这个问题上选择了保持乐观，而非消极对待，洋子总结说：“最不带偏见的办法就是忘记性别。没人会强调说一位男导演或男摄影指导。当你把性别从这个等式中去掉，变化就会发生。要消除女性软弱、不清楚自己在做什么或太情绪化的偏见，最好的办法就是证明他们是错的。你用行动告诉他们：不，我只是个专业人士。我有自己的性格，也有自己的情绪，但我工作的时候并不会带着个人情绪。”

If you are a female commercial director/cinematographer/production designer/ editor, or you know someone who’s suitable for the series. Feel free to share with us the name.

如果你是一位女性广告影片导演、摄影指导、制作设计师、剪辑师，或者你认识适合这个系列的人，请随时联系我们。

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