---Animation and video game design

"The Suggestions on Supporting the Development of Animation and Video Game Industry," issued by the Shenzhen Municipal Government in 2005, says the development of the city's animation and video game industry should be seen as a priority. In addition, "The Suggestions" also urges improvements to the industry's competitive edge and progress in building an integrated industry chain. It includes the reform of the management of trial bases, a leap forward in the development of the animation and video game industry, building up animation industry bases, speeding up the construction of the industry's trial zones and launching world-standard movie and television production bases, as well as a copyright protection center, an audio-visual product distribution center and an international cooperation center.

Since the setup of the Shenzhen Jade Digital Technology Co. Ltd. in 1985, the first animation production company in Shenzhen, the city has been developing animation production for 21 years. After two decades of growth in the domestic and international market, world recognition has showered on Shenzhen's animation creative efforts, especially in the field of three-dimensional computer animation. Mass cooperation with prominent international companies has been achieved, including the post-production of foreign computer-animated movies － "The Lion King" and "Tarzan." At present, there are more than 1,000 animation production enterprises with an annual production value of 200 million yuan.

In 2006, Shenzhen's original computer-animated movie "Thru the Moebius Strip" was finished, the first of its kind in both Shenzhen and China.

Also in 2006, three Guangdong-made movies were awarded excellent homemade cartoon TV series by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, among which two were from Shenzhen. At the DIGICON 6+2 organized by Tokyo Broadcasting System in 2006, "The Legend of Shangri-La" produced by Shenzhen's Global Digital Creations Holdings Ltd. snatched the DIGICON Grand Prize － the highest honor in the Asian competition － from 1,000 entries. It is the first international award that Chinese animation work has won since the country started to reform and open up to the outside world.

Shenzhen Yijing National Animation Industry Base, one of the State-level industry bases in China, was put into use in May 2006, with 50 enterprises. The annual China International Animation, Cartoon & Video Game Fair is held in May in Shenzhen. Produced by Shenzhen Phoenix Star Media Co. Ltd., which obtained the exclusive adaptation rights, "Fuwa," a computer-animated TV series, inspired by the 2008 Beijing Olympics mascots, was broadcast nationally on China Central Television in October 2007.

Meanwhile, cooperation in cartoon production between Hong Kong and Shenzhen grows increasingly. Throngs of Hong Kong cartoonists, movie directors, dubbing actors and 3D video designers have joined Shenzhen animation enterprises. Hong Kong staff played a big role in producing the 2007 cartoon movie "Sparkling Red Star," which was released by Shenzhen Puzzle Animation Studio Ltd.

Thanks to the highly developed local high-tech industry, Shenzhen is the first Chinese mainland city to have enterprises designing and developing online games. To date, there are more than 50 professional companies involved in online game development in Shenzhen, forming an integrated industry chain. This includes game software developers, operators and agents. In 2005, sales revenue generated from the Shenzhen online game market totaled nearly 200 million yuan, accounting for 10 percent of the national total.

Since 2005, Shenzhen's online game industry has entered a fast growth period. A string of online game developers and operators with strong capital and advanced technology have emerged. Tencent Inc., Asia's biggest network instant communications company, boasts 120 million subscribers. The company's 2005 revenue for games surpassed 52 million yuan. As the first city in China to tap into online game development, Shenzhen-made "Huaxia Online" was regarded as one of the favorite homemade 2D online games in 2004. In addition, the city also sees rapid development in the fields of 3D game design and game-player research.

The Shenzhen-based China Games Web site is one of China's pioneering online entertainment platforms, with 100 million subscribers. It is also the third-largest chess and card game portal in China, attracting more and more subscribers as Shenzhen-made online chess and card games are posted on China Games.

In researching and developing new games, Shenzhen's online game companies eye the integration of cartoon, animation, movie and television production. As the market potential for online game by-products becomes more and more inevitable, some companies are beginning to develop by-products, such as toys. In the future, the city's online game enterprises will reinforce cooperation between digital television operators and broadband network operators, to create a home game and entertainment center with a core of online games.

To consolidate the status in the national market, large-scale Shenzhen online game developers have in recent years focused more on cooperation, gaining mutual benefits through sales, research and development. The two key players in China's online game industry, Tencent Inc. and Shenzhen Domain Inc., signed an agreement under which Tencent invests in Shenzhen Domain. Tencent also cooperates with PowerLeader Science & Technology Co. Ltd. in server products.

 

---Digital movie design

The three important fields in the development of the Shenzhen cultural industry in the next 10 years will be digital content, creative design and video games. With the improvement in digital screening and audio-visual technology, Shenzhen has become a city with prosperous digitalization in China. The digital content industry in Shenzhen has experienced rapid development with nearly 100 companies involved in digital movie and television production. In recent years, films produced by Shenzhen companies have both digital mode and film reels. With the most advanced 3G-production level in the country, Shenzhen-made digital films are prestigious for high definition.

The rapid development of Shenzhen's digital movie industry is due to the city's advantage in hi-tech industry, as well as the continuing upsurge in Shenzhen box-office revenue. In 2006, with 2.3 million filmgoers, the city's box-office revenue totaled 100 million yuan, 42.8 percent higher than that of 2005 and ranking No. 4 in the whole country. In 2007, the city's box-office revenue hit 130 million. When a new movie is to be screened in China, the film crew will hold a press conference in Shenzhen. Chinese veteran director Zhang Yimou first chose Shenzhen to promote his "Hero" and "Curse of the Golden Flower."

Since 2006, grand cinemas have soared in Shenzhen. To date, there are nearly 60 cinemas, with six still under construction. Forty percent of the cinemas have screening rooms for digital movies. Four major Hong Kong cinema lines have also entered the Shenzhen market. Since most of Shenzhen's cinemas are located in shopping malls, more and more Shenzheners, especially young people, watch a film after shopping, exercising or dining in the malls.

In order to build up an integrated industry chain for digital movies, the Shenzhen Municipal Government set up Nanshan Cyber Cultural Industry Base by renovating old factories. The base has all the equipment for digital movie development, with all the functions serving a digital culture. Cinemas inside the base provide digital film screening for companies located in the base so the companies don't have to build their own screening rooms. The digital cinemas are also open to the public. Apart from screening some popular science films for primary school students, internationally acclaimed digital movies that are not screened in grand cinemas are also shown here.

Launched in May 2007, the Nanshan Cyber Cultural Industry Base has attracted many enterprises. Hong Kong Sil-Metropole Organization Ltd. set up a grand high-definition digital audio-visual post-production center, aiming to compete in the national market of digital movies, TV series and music.

China's first high-end Forum for the Development of Digital Film Technology was held in Shenzhen in 2007. The forum discussed the trend of international digital movies, the status quo and development of the domestic digital movie industry, film copyright protection and the great opportunity that digital movie brings to the cultural industry. The forum is a driving force for the development of Shenzhen's digital movie technology. The city is exploring new paths for digital movie development by converging high technology and cultural communication. Shenzhen Media Group is also carrying out reform on movie digitalization through international digital movie festivals, trying to change Shenzhen into a digital movie city.

In May 2007, the China Digital Movie Exhibition was held in Shenzhen, the country's first free digital movie exhibition. Eleven homemade digital films were shown to the public, including "Crazy Stone," "Falling in Love," "Call for Love" and the Shenzhen Film Studio's "Finding a Wife." The films demonstrate the high level of homemade digital movies achieved in recent years.

Opened in March 2007, Shenzhen ACTO Digital Cinema is the first high-definition digital cinema for residential communities in China. Admission is only five yuan, 10 percent of that of grand cinemas. The cinema's digital projectors were created by Shenzhen ACTO Digital Video Technology Co. Ltd. It is China's first 3LCOS high-definition digital projector with intellectual property rights. The production cost of the projectors is only 10 percent of imported ones. ACTO is also the first projector-maker to participate in setting up national projector industrial standards. In the next two years, ACTO Digital Cinema will launch chain cinemas in cities neighboring Shenzhen.

Digital video cameras are now very popular in Shenzhen and many movie-lovers shoot short digital films and documentaries at their own expenses. Several excellent works, including "Ferry," "Sisters" and "Love With No Boundary － Cong Fei, the Singer" won national top awards in various documentary competitions. Zhang Hua, a female barber from rural areas, spent one year shooting the story of her younger sister and herself working in Shenzhen. Her documentary, titled "Sisters," had a great impact in the country. With more and more documentaries focusing on low-income people and the lives of migrant-worker families, many enterprises have launched charity funds for low-income people.

Held in December 2007, the first Shenzhen DV Competition offered opportunities for all the entries to be shown on Chinese TV. The competition promoted the popularization and development of Shenzhen digital movie and television. It also encourages Shenzhen people to record the city's history by detailing the living conditions of different people in the changing society.