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image unit Presents Its 3InFocus
image unit作品三部曲

中国市场广告片的视觉品质让人印象越来越深刻，这在一定程度上要归功于制作流程中合作的加强和创意的提升。为了庆祝这一积极的变化，SHP+将为大家呈现一系列文章，几家位于中国的后期制作公司带来了他们近期引以为傲的项目。

The visual quality of commercial work made for the China market is increasingly impressive, due in part to more collaborative and creative relationships in the production process.  To celebrate the positive evolution, SHP+ presents 3InFocus a series in which China-based postproduction companies showcase three recent projects of which they are particularly proud.

image unit

Marcus Roth来中国已有十多年了，他现在是image unit公司联合创始人兼总经理，他对自己给公司的精细定位很满意。“最初我们只是想做一家小而精的工作室，不想每个项目都接，只想做那些真在不错的项目。”

After more than a decade in China, image unit co-founder and general manger Marcus Roth is comfortable in the niche he has carved for his company. “From the beginning our plan was to stay as a small, boutique-like shop. We don’t want to do every project.  I’d rather just make the really nice ones.”  

Image Unit联合创始人兼总经理Marcus Roth | Marcus Roth, Co-founder and General Manager of Image Unit

积累了十年的经验之后，2013年Roth在上海成立了image unit公司，致力于为现场活动打造高端视频内容，专注于复杂的CGI，为中国市场的国际客户提供服务。公司70%的项目都是汽车和贸易展会的视频，而且也越来越注重大型建筑项目的展厅展示。此外，公司还涉猎产品可视化和3D效果呈现，其中就包括手机、电脑、咖啡机广告和印刷品等等。

A ten-year China veteran, Roth founded image unit in Shanghai in 2013 to create high-end video content for live events, with a focus on complex CGI, working with international clients for the China market.  About 70% of the work is video content for car events and trade fairs, with an increasingly important focus on showrooms of major architectural projects.  The third area is visualizations and 3D builds for products like mobile phones, laptops and coffee machines for TVCs and print.

但image unit也不是什么都做 –他们没有制作，不做调色，不做剪辑，也不做线上。Roth对虚拟现实没什么兴趣，对主题公园的也只是三分钟热度。但是一旦做起什么，他们就会努力做到无懈可击。

image unit don’t do everything – no production, nor color grading, editing or online.  Roth is not fussed about VR, and theme parks present only a passing interest.  But what they do, they strive to do to an impeccable standard.

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Roth来自德国斯图加特，1994年，他跟人合作创立了MACKEVISION公司，专做CGI和后期，此后12年，他一直在德国担任公司CEO，2005年，上海工作室成立。后来他又短暂回到德国，加入Realtime Technology （RTT）公司，2009年，他再次返回中国，担任Pixomondo上海新公司总经理。这家公司专注活动视频内容、电视广告CGI制作和电影特效。虽然参与了这么多高端项目（其中还包括奥斯卡获奖影片《雨果》），但公司还是陷入了财政危机，不得不关掉柏林、多伦多、伦敦和上海工作室。“我看到到（电影制作）其实很难赚到钱”，Roth如是说。

Stuttgart native Roth co-founded CGI and postproduction company MACKEVISION in 1994, acting as CEO in Germany for 12 years and launching the company’s Shanghai’s branch in 2005.  After a stint back in Germany with Realtime Technology (RTT), in 2009 he returned to China as general manager of Pixomondo’s new Shanghai branch.  The studio offered video content for events, CGI for TVCs and visual effects for movies but, despite working on high profile projects including Academy Award-winning film Hugo, the company ran into financial difficulties and was forced to close its offices in Berlin, Toronto, London and Shanghai. “I’ve learnt [movies work] is a very difficult business to earn money with”, says Roth.

Image Unit上海办公室 | Image Unit Shanghai Office

于是，Roth决定整合核心团队的八名成员，成立了image unit公司。现在上海团队已经有12名全职员工，如项目需要，他们还可以从中国本地或者欧洲找一些自由职业者，团队人数会壮大一倍，远程加入项目。

Roth’s response was to rally eight of the core team and, with Daniel Rajcic, form image unit.  The full time Shanghai team has since grown to 12, and is able to double in size with freelancers coming in from China or Europe, or working remotely around the world, as projects dictate.

2015年末，公司的首家分公司在德国斯图加特成立，一方面承接德国本土客户的高端项目，一方面项目需要时，还可以弥补中国市场的人才空缺。

In late 2015, the company opened a second studio in Stuttgart, Germany, both to handle high-end briefs from local clients and to fill talent gaps when they arise in projects for the China market.

但是，现在局势已经改变，德国不会再把制作外包给中国。Roth解释说，以往的模式已经不复存在，因为中国的工资越来越高，而且人民币不断升值，上海的制作成本不比欧洲低。另外，中国市场本身就很大，上海团队做这些工作就已经应接不暇，本土市场机会巨大，预算“十分充足。虽然起步时市场很小，但是现在情况一片乐观。”

Work isn’t, however, outsourced from Germany to China.  Roth explains that that model is dead, with rising wages in China and the strength of the Yuan against other currencies making production in Shanghai at least as expensive as Europe.  Besides, there is more than enough work for the Shanghai team from the enormous domestic market, where opportunities abound and budgets are, he says, “very sufficient.  They started too small but now they are in a very good situation.”

虽然中国活很多，但Roth觉得并没有太多来自本土的竞争。“外界看中国觉得很简单，但是其实中国市场很难搞，客户要求很高。我觉得有的公司可能觉得在中国很难赚到钱。”他说。

Despite the abundant work, Roth still doesn’t feel much local competition.  “China looks easy from outside”, he says, “but it’s a very difficult market with very demanding clients.  I guess some companies feel it’s too difficult to make profit here.”

面对诸多挑战，Roth心态一如既往地乐观。他也坦言，跟中国客户打交道确实有难度，客户一般对自己要什么都含糊不清，有时候往往就是一个人说了算，但他身经百战，这些都难不倒他，没有什么是一蹴而就的，“并不是说西方更优越，只不过是东西方文化和做事方法不同罢了。”

Roth’s response to the challenges is typically sanguine.  He concedes the difficulty in dealing with clients that often avoid clearly identifying the goals, and in finding the single person able to make decisions, but he is too experienced to let that frustrate him, noting simply, “It doesn’t mean western is better, it’s just a different culture and approach.”

而他之所以能够泰然处之，一定程度上是因为活动都是固定的日期，这就避免了客户“想当然的反复修改，又不愿意付费”的情况，而这恰恰又是中国后期制作市场的现状。

The German’s serenity can be partly attributed to the fact that, working for events with fixed dates, his company is protected from the “uncontrolled, ongoing revisions, without additional payments” that blight the schedules of other post houses in China.

他强调市场也是越来越好，经验不断提升，沟通越来越全面。“十年前人们真没时间观念，但是现在，如果客户提出的完全不切实际的日程，你就可以告诉他们，他们也可以接受。”他说。（客户）比以前要更变通，起码在项目的初期是这样的。

He prefers to highlight the fact that things are improving, with growing experience in the market, including better all round communication. “10 years ago people really didn’t know how long things took.” he says, “But now, if they make a schedule that’s totally unrealistic, you can tell them and they accept it.  [Clients] are more flexible, at least in the early stages.”

这里，Roth也特别提到了他们一直面临的人才紧缺的挑战。“这么多年以来，我们还是需要很多外国人员，”他说，“因为还是找不到本地人才。”而且，国内做自由职业的人相对比较少，部分原因是因为自由职业在中国并没有广泛认可，没那么受尊重，另一方面自由职业也没有合理的法律保护。所以，要想找这些自由职业者，其实公司就相当于走入了“法律的灰色地带”，让大家都很难受。

Roth does point to the enduring challenge of scarcity of talent. “We still have a lot of international artists after all these years,” he says, “because we still just can’t find the local people with the skills to replace them”.  The situation is exacerbated by a relatively tiny pool of domestic freelance artists, partly because it is not a widely understood or respected status in China, and partly because there are no legal constructs for artists to work independently.  Companies are forced to handle freelancers in what Roth calls a “half-legal” grey area that he says is uncomfortable for everyone involved.

从国外引入人才，弥补这种空缺，情况也很复杂，签证越来越难申请，长期签证更是难上加难。所以，后期公司一般不得不在找一些本地人才做全职，但同时也不得不面临挖人、人员流动这样的现实问题。

Bringing in talent from overseas to plug gaps is complicated, with visas becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, especially on a long-term basis.   As a result, post houses are generally obliged to employ local artists full time and accept the inconvenient reality of poaching and a high staff turnover.

这样的不灵活也给项目带来了一些问题，尤其是在中国，项目日程很紧，接到项目就要立刻开始。Roth的解决办法就是在斯图加特设立工作室，这样就不必临时找人，能快速有效搭建团队，也不涉及到国际出差和签证问题了。而就中国来说，Roth表示，“最佳解决办法就是招一些年轻有才，又对知识如饥似渴的人，自己培养他们。”

Inflexibility is problematic in the project business, especially in China where typically short project timelines necessitate jobs to start immediately.  Roth’s answer has been to establish the facility in Stuttgart to enable him to quickly and efficiently bring a team together without any visa or inter-continental flight issues.  On the ground in China, he says, “The best solution is to hire young, talented people hungry for education, then raise them up yourself.”  

Roth一直以来都是一个乐观的人，他认为一年又一年让人头疼的问题越来越少。他说，其中关键的一点就是沟通，正因如此，他会定期组织周五晚上的上海创意人群聚会。“我们可以一起成长，”他说，“这需要时间，但是我们有耐心。”

Ever the optimist, Roth believes the pain points are easing year on year.  One of the keys, he says is communication, which is why he regularly holds Friday night meetups for the Shanghai creative community.  “We can grow together”, he smiles, “It will take time, but we are patient.”