DB: ZenZany Films是做什么的？它是如何形成的？What is Zen & Zany Films and how did it come into being?
ZenZany Films是我们公司ZenZany的视频制作分公司。我们为国内外客户制作原创视频、电影、社交媒体视频和纪录片。我们擅于制作富有创意的公司视频，已经成功地为许多中国客户在国际上推广其品牌。
Zen & Zany Films is the film production branch of our company Zen & Zany. We create original videos, films, social media videos and documentaries for clients in China and abroad. We have been able to support many Chinese clients in launching their brands internationally by providing them with creative video content.
DB: 您能说说你们做过的其中一个特别令人兴奋的工作？Can you tell us about a particularly exciting project that you have worked on?
我们所做的最令人兴奋的项目之一是为英国的一个客户制作其初创项目的简介视频，以用于参加美国的一个创业竞赛。我们只有12个小时，从概念、剧本到完成拍摄。通过编织采访、现有素材和创作简单的动画来突出概念，我们为客户制作了一个简约流畅的视频。而这个视频连同他的议案为他赢得了100万美元的资金，在美国开展业务，同时，他也收到了竞赛评委们对视频非常积极的反馈。
One of the most exciting projects that we worked on was for a client in the UK who needed a video to showcase his start-up in a venture funding competition in the US. We only had 12 hours to work on the video from concept, script to execution. We created a minimalistic, streamlined video for him by weaving in interviews, existing footage and creating simple animations to highlight the concepts. This video, along with his pitch, won him $1 million to expand his business into the US and he received very positive feedback on the video from the competition judges in the US.
DB: 这真令人敬佩！那是在英国，听说您也曾在纽约和巴基斯坦工作过，为什么会来到深圳？That’s very impressive. That was in the UK and I read that you have also worked in New York City & Pakistan, so what brought you to Shenzhen?
我在纽约学习影视制作 – 并在那获得了媒体硕士学位。我们一直想探索中国，因为我的丈夫是华裔，但他从未在这里生活过。所以我们决定继纽约后搬到中国来，并探索在这里影视制作的潜力。
I was in New York City for film school – I did my Masters in Media Studies there. We always wanted to explore China as my husband has roots here but he’s never lived here. So we decided that we would move to China after NYC, and explore the potential of making films here.
DB: 到目前为止，你在这里拍电影的体验如何？And what has your experience making films here been so far?
这是多样化的－－ 我一直在制作一部国际纪录片以及一位意大利导演的短片。我们还与多家中国公司合作，通过制作社交媒体视频和贸易展览录像以展示他们的公司和品牌。到目前为止，这是一次探索之旅，我们面临着许多由于语言障碍带来的挑战。必要时，我们会用团队里会双语的人翻译，有时我们也会使用翻译软件来传达我们的意思！
It’s been very diverse – I’ve worked on producing an international documentary as well as a short film by an Italian director here. We’ve also worked with multiple Chinese companies to showcase their companies and brands through social media videos and videos for trade shows. So far, it’s definitely been a journey of discovery and we face many challenges due to the language barrier. We make do – we use translators as we have bilingual people on our team, and when needed, we also use translate apps sometimes to get our meaning across!
DB: 听说你们这个周末在深圳举办电影制作会，有什么让人期待的？I understand that you are running a film-making workshop in Shenzhen this weekend. What can people expect?
是的，这是一个提供给初学者的电影制作会，例如那些一直想拍摄视频却不知从哪里开始的人。我们会在脚本、故事板和基本构图核对，然后进行学生拍摄和编辑电影的现场演示。我们还将介绍主要的编辑软件和编辑技术。这样做的目的是为了在理论和实践之间取得平衡，使参与者牢牢掌握基本知识，并有信心去制作自己的视频。
Yes, it’s a film-making workshop for complete beginners, i.e. people who have always wanted to create videos but don’t know where to start. We’ll be going over the basics of scripting and story-boarding, shot composition, and then going on to live demos where students will be shooting and editing their own film projects. We will also cover major editing software and editing techniques. The idea is to provide a balance between theory and practice so that participants get a firm grasp of the basics and gain the confidence to go out and make their own video content.
DB: 五年后，你是怎样预测 Zen & Zany Films？Where do you see Zen & Zany Films in five years?
五年后，我们将致力于为电影制作人和视觉艺术家创造一个社区空间—一种类似于创客，但针对影视领域的。这是虚拟的，人们可以直接进入或通过视频、注册课程体验，达到训练他们的视频制作技能的效果。我们希望它成为视觉艺术家和内容创作者的枢纽，这样可以使人们遇到其他志同道合的伙伴，协作和创建新项目并且为现有的项目寻找资源。
In five years, we would aim to create a community space for filmmakers and visual artists – kind of like a makerspace but for film and video. Something like that doesn’t exist, where people can just walk in and experiment with video, or register for classes to build their video making skills. We would like for it to be a hub for visual artists and content creators so that people can meet other likeminded souls, collaborate and create new projects and find resources for existing projects.
DB: 这听起来都很刺激。再问最后一个问题，做为一名导演，你最喜欢的电影是什么？It all sounds very exciting. As you are a director, I have one last question just for fun. What’s your favourite movie?
我喜欢很多电影－－但我深受Richard Linklater的启发。我一直在关注他的工作，我喜欢把重点放在日常生活中来塑造人物形象，让故事和他们的互动有机的结合起来。
I don’t think I can have just one favourite – but I’m very inspired by Richard Linklater. I’ve been following his work and I love the approach of focusing on placing great characters in everyday situations and letting a story evolve organically from their interactions.
如果您对Zen & Zany Films的服务感兴趣或者想参与电影制作，你可以通过电子邮件或者微信联系Nausheen
If you are interested in hiring Zen & Zany or want to participate in the filmmaking workshop you can contact Nausheen via email or Wechat:
微信公众号 Wechat Account: zen-zany
email: nausheen@zenandzany.co
