韩国广告后期制作公司SEOULVISION于今年二月落户上海。作为首家落户中国的韩国后期公司，他们带来的不仅是他们的老道的经验和丰富的资源，更有一份在中国市场大展手脚的雄心壮志。
When SEOULVISION opened for business in Shanghai in February of this year, it became the first Korean commercial postproduction house to establish a facility in China. They bring with them ambitious plans for the market.
SHP+来到了该公司位于宜山路轻轨站边的上海办公室，与营销经理Richard Kim和后期助理Min-Sung Kang深入了解有关SEOULVISION的详情。
SHP+ joined marketing manager Richard Kim and post assistant Min-Sung Kang at the company’s Shanghai studio, a whole floor in a block set beneath the raised railway lines at Yishan Road, to learn more.
SEOULVISION成立于1986年，后日渐成为韩国最大的广告后期制作公司，公司在首尔有一整幢办公楼，一共有200多个员工。公司声名远扬 ——它有着最顶级的广告制片人和剪辑技法，客户群体也让人羡慕，包括利润丰厚化妆品市场，其中有很多来自韩国和全球的大品牌。
SEOULVISION was founded in Seoul in 1986, subsequently growing to become the largest commercial postproduction company in Korea, with more than 200 staff occupying an eight-storey building in the capital.
The company is renowned for its quality commercial producers, editing expertise and an enviable client list that includes leaders from the lucrative cosmetics market, many of the biggest Korean brands and various global giants.
Seoul Vision与21世纪福克斯合作拍摄起亚KX5广告 | KX5. A collaboration between SEOULVISION and 21st Century Fox.
SEOULVISION上海的口号是“一站式后期制作”，也就是说，他们提供的是后期制作相关的所有必要资源。他们在上海的办公室拥有两间线下和六间线上工作室，一间3D工作室，两间色彩分级，一间录音室以及配套的顶级的制作设备和人力资源（后期合成，电脑特效，动画制作，2D和3D画师，调色师，剪辑师等）。他们相信，这样的服务在中国独一无二。
The offering is “total postproduction”, meaning every possible resource under one roof. The Shanghai studio boasts two offline and six online rooms, an art room, a 3D room, two grading suites and one audio studio with top of the line equipment and the full gamut of artists from compositors, CG, motion graphics, 2D and 3D animators, to editors, composers and colourists. If anything is still missing, the Seoul studio is on hand to pick up the slack. They believe such an all-encompassing service does not exist anywhere else in China.
SEOULVISION上海完全专注于电视广告和较长的广告视频的后期制作服务。集团公司也有自己的制作公司——Value Korea，但是现在尚没有在上海开设制作公司的计划。
The Shanghai studio is focused entirely on postproduction services for TVCs and longer commercial videos. The Seoul headquarters has its own production company, Value Korea, though there are currently no plans to extend that offering to Shanghai.
SEOULVISION位于首尔江南区的总部 | Headquarter of SEOULVISION, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
上海工作室目前只针对本地客户，这个巨大的名单中包括了广告公司：智威汤逊、盛世长城、奥美、包括智威汤逊、盛世长城、奥美等广告公司，还有品牌：麦当劳、荷氏、士力架，化妆品牌则包括玉兰油、植村秀等，凌海还有一些国际汽车品牌如大众、福特、本田、尼桑和韩国本土汽车品牌现代与起亚。有时候，工作室有5-10个项目同时进行，但是现在还没有中国客户。
The Shanghai studio is working exclusively for locally based clients. An already lengthy list includes agencies JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather and jobs for F&B brands McDonald’s, Halls and Snickers, cosmetics Estee Lauder, Olay and Shu Uemura and a range of car work from international names Volkswagon, Ford and Honda, Nissan to Korean brands Hyundai and Kia. At any one time they estimate they are working on five to ten projects, though there is no China reel as yet.
除了少数几个会说韩语的中国员工之外，50人规模的强悍团队都是根据项目阶段需要从首尔总部派来的韩国员工。
Barring a smattering of local Chinese Korean-speaking hires, the 50-strong team is comprised entirely of Koreans brought over in phases from the Seoul headquarters.
SEOULVISION上海作品：吉利博瑞 | Geely, by SEOULVISION Shanghai
SEOULVISION首席执行官Sang-Jin Lee其实过去的15年来一直对中国市场跃跃欲试，只不过之前一直觉得公司规模还不够大，不足以迎接中国市场的挑战。2011年，公司也只有100个员工。直到今年，公司规模扩大了一倍，他才觉得有了足够的人手，可以派到上海启动项目。
SEOULVISION CEO Sang-Jin Lee had planned to explore the China market for more than 15 years, but paused until he felt the company was large enough, and the artists sufficiently skilled, to take on the challenge. That moment arrived earlier this year, following a five-year period of growth in which the company doubled in size to 200 people.
公司之所以要从首尔调动人员，搭建上海整个团队，而不是在雇佣中国人，是因为他们想要保持公司久经考验的文化。Kim和Kang常常将之称为同一种语言和既成工作方法所带来的“协同”。
The rationale behind transplanting an entirely Korean workforce from Seoul to Shanghai, rather than employ local Chinese artists, was maintaining a tried and tested company culture. Kim and Kang frequently reference the “synergy” created by a shared language and established working methods.
SEOULVISION上海作品：驴妈妈 | Lvmama, by SEOULVISION Shanghai
“这样的协同，大家一起工作，正是我们相比其他后期公司的独特优势所在，”他们如是说道，而且强调在这里并不是不同民族之间的差异，“关键在于沟通无障碍，可以适应到我们带到中国来的体系。并不是我们只要韩国人。”
“Our synergy, how we work together, is what gives us our unique benefit compared to other post production companies,” they explain, stressing that it’s not about nationality, “What matters is that you have no problems with communication, that you can fit in with the system that we’ve brought over to China. It’s not about Korean identity.”
Kang给Kim做翻译，他说，“80年代，韩国是世界上最贫穷的国家之一。我们的毅力和积极态度让我们有了现在的经济地位。我们成长的文化让我们紧密联系在一起。我们喜欢中国员工，他们也很有天赋，但是我觉得韩国人跟韩国人一起长时间工作收效更高，最后也能得到不错的结果。”
Kang translates for Kim, who elaborates, “Back in the 80s, Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Our perseverance and our energetic attitude have gotten us to [our current] economic standing. This culture that we’ve been brought up with helps us to stick together. It’s not that we don’t like Chinese, or that Chinese don’t have talent, it’s that Koreans working together with other Koreans gives us the benefit of working long hours and getting that great end product.”
味全优酸乳广告：片中生动的3D背景由SEOULVISION 3D团队一手打造 | Weiquan Yoghurt. The make believe scenes were created entirely by SEOULVISION’s 3D team
所以，上海工作室跟首尔总部看起来没什么两样，只不过小一点罢了。日常办公都是讲韩语，不论是工作中还是工作之余，大家一起努力营造家庭氛围。
The Shanghai studio is thus pretty much indistinguishable from the Seoul HQ, only smaller. The day-to-day language in the office is Korean and efforts are made to foster a family dynamic, inside and outside of work.
跟中国客户打交道也能感受到这样的协同效果吗？就紧张的项目时间安排来说，我们可以达成共识。实际上，Kim解释说，“韩国其实日程更为紧张。先拍摄，第二天就开始剪辑，第三天就开始调色，一般线上是两周的时间，之后就是音效，然后就是交付成果 – 一共就三周左右。而在中国，一般都有一个月左右的后期制作。”
Do they find the same synergy when engaging with Chinese clients? There is certainly a shared understanding over grueling project timelines. In fact, Kim explains, “It’s even tighter in Korea. Shooting first, next day editing, next day colour, two weeks online usually, then sound, then delivery – around three weeks total. Here it’s more around a one month postproduction period.”
Seoul Vision上海作品：起亚KX3 | Kia KX3, by Seoul Vision Shanghai
时间周期可能差不多，但是Kang却表示中国和韩国的文化大相径庭，“虽然差异没有西方国家之间那么大，但是就像西班牙文化和意大利文化一样，人们可能觉得二者很相似，但是其实深究起来并不然。”
Timelines may be relatable, but Kang dispels any notion that Korean and Chinese cultures are the same, “It’s closer than the west, but it’s like the Spanish and Italian culture. People might think it’s similar, but it’s not if you go deeper.”
一如任何一个进军中国市场的国外后期公司，SEOULVISION也有很多要适应。而Kang所担心的“致命要害”——文化与语言的障碍——在上海这样一个国际化的都市中并没有对他们构成什么实际的挑战。
SEOULVISION is enduring the same learning curve as any foreign post house entering the unique Chinese market, but the international nature of Shanghai has meant that cultural and language barriers, the company’s “Achilles heel” in Kang’s words, have been less testing than they had anticipated.
博朗广告 | Braun
跟客户之间的沟通都是用中文或者英文，有时候如果对方公司有韩国人的话，他们也会用韩语沟通。在近期一个由中国女星宋茜出演玉兰油的广告中，他们跟Value Korea和BBDO广州之间开了电话会议，就是用中韩英三种语言。
Client interaction is conducted in either Chinese or English, and sometimes Korean if there is a compatriot within an agency. A recent job for Olay featuring Chinese performer Victoria Song, encapsulated the linguistic melee, with a con-call between Value Korea and BBDO Guangzhou conducted in all three languages.
Kim解释说，预算方面，中国要比韩国好一些，但是“并没有我们想象中那么好。”但是，他还是觉得新型中国市场有它的好处，“在韩国一切都是标准化的。有标准的报价，标准的预算。但是中国氛围高端市场和低端市场，这也带来了一些机会。”
Kim explains that the budgets in China are better than Korea, but “not as good as we thought they might be.” Nonetheless, he sees benefits in the relatively fresh Chinese market, “Everything is standardised in Korea. There is an average quote, an average budget that everyone works from. But in China there are the high- and low end markets, which brings opportunities.”
SEOULVISION上海成员工作中 | SEOULVISION Shanghai’s team member at work
一般都认为中国的客户不好打交道，拖款以及种种不切实际的期望是普遍的常态。Seoul Vision对此早有准备。Kim笑道，“我们在韩国已经有过许多类似的经历了——预算不高，要求不少。我们也对拖款这一事情有所准备。说实话，这并不是什么愉快的经历，但也是公司必须经历的一部分。”
Chinese clients are not known to be the easiest to deal with, with late payments and unrealistic expectations among the challenges. The company has come into the market with their eyes open though. “We already did many jobs in the Korea market, where they ask for so much and the budget is really bad. We knew that payments might be late. Realistically, it’s very hard, but it’s all part of the experience,” says Kim.
SEOULVISION的目标是高端市场，但是现在报价却比竞争对手要低，目的是为了先打通市场。而在这样的市场中，客户公司的人员流动率很高，所以压低价格的策略其实风险很大，这一点其他后期制作公司已经尝过苦头。Seoul Vision希望他们的优质水准可以帮他们留住客户。
SEOULVISION is targeting the high-end market but is currently setting prices lower than the competition as it seeks to establish itself and win market share. That is a risky strategy in a market with high staff turnover among clients. Seoul Vision hopes the quality of its work will be sufficiently compelling to maintain its client base, and to attract new clients.
SEOULVISION上海成员工作中 | SEOULVISION Shanghai’s team member at work
他们的短期目标很简单，Kim说，“我们第一年的目标就是为了告诉人们一站式的后期制作公司是什么样的，同时我们也要了解这一行的本地市场。”
The short term target is simple, says Kim, “Our first year our goal is to show the power of what a total postproduction company can do, and for us to experience the local industry.”
如果一切进展顺利的话，他表示公司未来的远大目标是，“Sang-Jin Lee一直希望把上海工作室打造成跟首尔一样的规模。一切都取决于供需关系……要看市场本身如何维持，如果市场不稳定的话，未来可能就没有这样的良性市场了。但是如果市场不断发展的话，我们也会日渐壮大。”
All being well, he outlines a cautious but ambitious future, “[Sang-Jin Lee] envisioned, and still envisions, the Shanghai branch being as big as the Seoul branch. It all depends on supply and demand… on how this market sustains itself. The market is unstable, it might not be as healthy tomorrow. But if it keeps on growing, we’ll continue to grow too.”
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