Coco brings the East to the West

A film and television student aims to introduce the West to a lesser known side of her native China through a major YouTube project.

Teesside University final year BA (Hons) Television and Film Production student Zhao Jing, known as Coco, aims to provide a view of the East which Western viewers may not be familiar with.

Coco, 22, has been working with True North Productions in Leeds to produce content for the China Icons channel, with much of her work filmed on location in China.

Originally from Beijing, Coco is continuing the final year of her studies while working with True North two days each week to develop the YouTube channel.

She said: 'It's a collaborative programme involving True North in Leeds and the China International Communication Centre in Beijing.

'I went to True North on placement earlier in my degree and was offered a paid internship, working on the China Icons project. They asked if I could continue my involvement when I returned home to China during the summer.

'I made contact with celebrity agents and built relationships, setting up interviews while I was in China. One of the interviews I secured was NBA basketball player Yao Ming.'

Coco added: 'The China Icons channel on You Tube aims to find an audience in the West, to provide a different and alternative view of what they might already know about the country.'

Along with celebrity focus, the videos also aim to celebrate Chinese ‘wonders’ by exploring places which tourists may not be aware of, while also featuring stories behind the news.

Coco said: 'We filmed some really beautiful footage in a rural area of China called Shangri-la, which tourists wouldn’t usually visit. We also filmed behind the scenes at the 2008 Olympic building known as the Bird’s Nest.

'I spent over a month in China filming for the China Icons project. The purpose is to show the foreign audience a different China through short videos.'

She added: 'I was asked to be involved in this project as the organisers said I have the passion, dedication and enthusiasm to achieve things. It’s given me the opportunity to become co-producer, director and a camera operator while working on China Icons.'

As well as arranging locations to film, Coco led on setting up interviews, filming, translating Chinese interviews to English for the post-production team, adding: 'In general, I was taking care of the programme to make sure it ran smoothly.'

Coco, who is working on post-production at True North, with the You Tube channel going live this month, said: 'I’ve had a great experience and learned so much being able to work alongside people already established in the industry.'

She added: 'Studying at Teesside developed my creativity, team working, organisational skills and time management.'

Coco came to Teesside University having initially studied graphic design in China. She said: 'I decided to change direction as I am more interested in television and film.

'It was a big challenge to come and study in the UK. The lifestyle here is quite different, but I’m not someone who gets homesick so I was determined to adapt.

'My degree course is better than I imagined. I like the environment, freedom, creativity, equipment and teaching methods and the teamwork with my course mates.

'The placements have been invaluable. I’ve learned many so aspects and developed the technical skills I learned on the course. Studying at Teesside has helped to really develop my creativity.'

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Link to the China Icons YouTube channel