AC Continues Success with Chinese Edition

The award-winning international publication of the ASC — long known for authoritative and detailed coverage of creative motion-picture photography and new image-making technology — now has some 50,000 subscribers in China.

Working with the American Society of Cinematographers and staff of American Cinematographer, the popular Chinese filmmaking and entertainment website Cine Hello is currently offering a Chinese-language digital edition of AC’s July issue. It features a selection of stories from the print magazine, including the cover piece on Solo: A Star Wars Story, photographed by Bradford Young, ASC (seen above).

You can download the entire July issue here.

According to the most recent stats, the latest tracked issue of AC’s 36-page Chinese edition — May 2018 — has attracted almost 2 million page views so far. 

Over the past 12 months, the AC library has generated almost 16 million views. 

The e-publication also boasts close to 50,000 subscribers.

This publishing effort in China began with AC‘s April 2017 issue and “the Chinese edition of American Cinematographer is one of the ASC’s most important international initiatives,” says AC editor-in-chief and publisher Stephen Pizzello. “Our publication currently reaches readers in 138 countries through our print and digital editions, but China’s importance to the global film industry clearly merits specially curated content.

“Each month, the Chinese edition will offer a sampling of magazine content selected by our U.S.-based editors — a mix of the feature articles and departments that we feel will hold the most appeal for the region. And Hello Cine has a substantial audience of industry professionals.”

The process of translating and creating the Chinese edition of AC is overseen by Yang Shao, an ASC associate member and the CEO of the camera support company Tilta, who, with ASC President Kees van Oostrum, was instrumental in helping to establish the ASC’s relationship with Hello Cine.

The ASC’s goal in this effort is to reach out to Chinese-speaking filmmakers and expand upon the Society’s longstanding mission to share information, educate the next generation of filmmakers and inform the public of the vital role that cinematographers play in the making of all motion pictures — the same key tenants that helped form the 98-year-old organization in 1919.

Notes Pizzello, “We’re confident that this form of international outreach will succeed and inspire further expansion into other global markets.”