探討城市行銷與鼓勵影視產業之關聯：「少年PI的奇幻漂流」之個案分析 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University 碩士論文. Master’s Thesis. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 探討城市行銷與鼓勵影視產業之關聯：「少年 PI 的奇幻漂流」之個案分析 Strategies of Feature Filmmaking in City Marketing: A Case Study of "Life of PI". er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. n. v i n C hLin, Yi-Jung 林依融 Student: engchi U. Advisor: Professor Shang-Ren Kwan 關尚仁教授. 中華民國 103 年 7 月 July 2014.

(2) 國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University 碩士論文. Master’s Thesis. 政治大. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 探討城市行銷與鼓勵影視產業之關聯：「少年 PI 的奇幻漂流」之個案分析 Strategies of Feature Filmmaking in City Marketing: A Case Study of "Life of PI". n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. i n U. C. v. Student:hLin, e nYi-Jung g c h i林依融 Advisor: Professor Shang-Ren Kwan 關尚仁教授. 中華民國 103 年 7 月 July 2014. i.

(3) 探討城市行銷與鼓勵影視產業之關聯：「少年 PI 的奇幻漂流」之個案分析 Strategies of Feature Filmmaking in City Marketing: A Case Study of "Life of PI" 研究生：林依融指導教授：關尚仁教授. Student: Lin, Yi-Jung Advisor: Professor Shang-Ren Kwan. 國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程碩士論文. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學 ‧. A Thesis Submitted to International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies National Chengchi University. er. io. sit. y. Nat. n. In partial fulfillment of the Requirement a l degree of Master of Arts v For the ni. Ch. engchi U. 中華民國 103 年 7 月 July 2014. ii.

(4) Acknowledgement First I have to specially appreciate my advisor Pro. Kwan. Without him, this thesis would never be accomplished. Writing a thesis is a self-challenging process and it is quite difficult when you are working at the same time. But Pro. Kwan always provides fully support, consideration and also explicit directions, so although this thesis is not perfect enough, it is then finished. Second, I have to thank all the informants who are willing to provide their precious experiences while they are working with “Life of Pi”, especially my supervisor, the Director-General of Information Bureau of Taichung City. 政治大 collections so that we can get 立a closer look to observe what the strategies that Taichung Government, Jean Shih. She fully authorized and supported this research for data. ‧ 國. 學. City Government had decided by the time “Life of Pi” was filming. I also have to thank all the professors and friends who have been encouraging and supporting me a lot. ‧. during this thesis-writing and revising period. This research may have spaces to work. Nat. sit. y. on, but it somehow reveal the perspectives and the efforts which the government had. n. al. er. io. done for promoting film industry and to reach the city marketing goal. It may not be. i n U. v. perfect, but my periodic task is completed! Sincerely thank all the people who had helped me!. Ch. engchi. iii.

(5) 摘要自2000年「韓流」席捲整個亞洲之後，電影製作/影視製作就成為熱門的城市行銷手法，透過電影拍攝，不但可以將城市意象傳播至世界，也可以提升地方產業的發展。在這樣的潮流下，臺中市政府更邀請李安導演及國際劇組來臺拍攝「少年PI的奇幻漂流」，透過影片的拍攝及播送進一步行銷城市。然而，一般討論電影製作以及城市行銷間的關係時，多數會將焦點放在「影視觀光」以及「地方行銷」上；而「少年PI的奇幻漂流」這樣一部在臺中拍攝但完全沒有任. 政治大. 何臺中場景的電影，卻讓臺中市與這部電影產生了緊密的聯結，也在李安導演. 立. 獲獎無數後，讓臺中受到了許多國際媒體的關注。簡而言之，「少年PI的奇幻. ‧ 國. 學. 漂流」是一個不靠電影場景置入而成功達到城市行銷目標的個案，但臺中市政府如何透過鼓勵影視產業發展達成城市行銷目的？本研究即著重於探討臺中市. ‧. 政府在此個案上所採取的各項策略。. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. n. v i n Ch 關鍵字：城市行銷、電影製作、電影產業、少年PI的奇幻漂流 engchi U. iv.

(6) Abstract Since 2000, the craze of “Korean Wave” has overwhelmingly swept across Asia, filmmaking became a popular city marketing approach to broadcast and transmit the city image to the world, also to promote the local industry development. Following this trend, Taichung City Government seized the opportunity to invite and cooperate with Ang Lee and the production group of “Life of Pi” since 2010 to 2013 to market the city. However, when discussing promoting filming activities as one of the strategies to reach the city marketing goal, most of the perspectives and literatures were focusing on film. 政治大 whether the sceneries of the 立target city are broadcasting through the films or not. By tourism or place marketing. That means, most of the city marketers focus more on. ‧ 國. 學. contract, “Life of Pi” is the film which produced and shoot in Taichung but none of the sceneries from Taichung City were disclosed in the story. Nevertheless, the film and. ‧. Ang Lee had indeed linked the international media exposure and attention to Taichung. Nat. sit. y. City while they won numbers of film awards included the Academy Awards. To put it. n. al. er. io. more specifically, this is the case which successfully reached the city marketing goal. i n U. v. without manipulating any “product-placement” strategy. But what did the city. Ch. engchi. government do to reach the goal? This research aims at analyzing the strategies which Taichung City Government took by coordinating and supporting “Life of Pi” to reach the city marketing goal.. Keywords: city marketing, filmmaking, film industry, Life of PI. v.

(7) Table of the Contents Chapter 1: Introduction. 1. 1.1 Preface. 1~5. 1.2 Purpose of Research. 5~7. 1.3 Definition of Terms. 7. 1.3.1 Life of Pi. 7. 1.3.2 City Marketing. 7. 1.4 Research Area and Limitations Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 City Marketing. 立. 7~8 9. 政治大. 9 ~ 10. 2.2 City Marketing Strategies. 10 ~ 12. ‧ 國. 學. 2.3 Market Cities by Filmmaking. Nat. n. al. er. io. Chapter 3: Research Method 3.1 Research Design. 3.1.1 Research Flow. Ch. 17 ~ 18. sit. 2.4.2 Kaohsiung City. 15 ~ 17. y. 2.4.1 Taipei City. engchi. i n U. 3.1.2 Research Structure. v. 15. ‧. 2.4 City Marketing Strategies of Cities in Taiwan Through Filmmaking. 12 ~ 15. 19 19 19 ~ 20 21 ~ 22. 3.2 Case Study. 23 ~ 24. 3.3 Data Collection Tools. 24. 3.3.1 Document Analysis. 24 ~ 25. 3.3.2 In-Depth Interview. 25 ~ 26. 3.3.2.1 Informants. 26 ~ 27. 3.3.2.2 Design Questions for Interview. 27 ~ 28. Chapter 4: Data Analysis. 29 vi.

(8) 4.1 Pre-Production Period—Why Did Ang Lee Determine to Film in Taichung?. 29. 4.1.1 Key Figures. 29 ~ 31. 4.1.2 Environment Conditions. 31 ~ 32. 4.1.3 Supports from Taichung City Government. 33. 4.1.3.1 Administrative Support. 33 ~ 34. 4.1.3.2 Financial Support. 34. 4.1.3.3 Other Supports. 35 ~ 36. 4.2 Production Period—Maintaining Relationships. 36. 4.2.1 The Media Relations. 36 ~ 38. 政治大. 4.2.2 The Relationships between the Film Crew and the City Government 4.3 Post-Production and Film Screening Period—From Censure to Glorification. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 4.3.1 Secrecy Maintenance 4.3.2 Activities before the Global Premiere. ‧ y. Nat. n. Ch. engchi. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Suggestions. er. io. al. sit. 4.3.4 The “Ang Lee” Effects and the Benefits from Media. 4.3.4.2 The Follow-ups. 41 41 ~ 44 44 ~ 46. 4.3.3 Activities after Screening. 4.3.4.1 Media Coverage and Buzz. 39 ~ 40. i n U. v. 46 ~ 47 47 47 ~ 49 49 ~ 52 53. 5.1 Conclusion. 53 ~ 55. 5.2 Suggestions. 55 ~ 56. References. 57 ~ 61. vii.

(9) Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Preface Under the development of communication technologies and globalization, cities have a need to differentiate themselves from each other, to reveal and emphasize their individuality and characteristics in order to gain more attentions to stimulate more socio-economical activities. Hence “city marketing” is presented and practiced in various ways. In Taiwan, we can see a lot. 政治大 the city images through all media channels, activities related to celebrities or representatives of 立. of city marketing approaches among the city governments recently, such as advertisements of. cities like concerts , exhibitions and musicals. As the local films “Cape No. 7”, “Black and. ‧ 國. 學. White” and “Monga” had become blockbusters since 2008 and brought great attentions to the. ‧. cities where they were filmed from citizens and travelers, “filming” seems to be the rage to. sit. y. Nat. market the city images of all authorities of the local governments (詹芃儀, 2011).. io. er. In fact, the reason why the city governments focus more on city marketing and also the development of cultural and creative industries is because those industries indeed bring great. al. n. v i n profits and economy growth to theC places. According to U h e n g c h i the report by Oxford Economics in. 2014, the film and television industries directly contributed an estimated 56,883 million New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) to the Taiwanese economy in GDP in 2013 and directly supported 31,599 jobs and generate 8,256 million NTD in tax revenues (Economics, 2014). To address it more generally, the film industry is also related and supported by various cultural creative criteria like arts, music, literature, performing arts, crafts, etc. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) also released preliminary report on impact of arts and culture on the U.S. economy in 2013. The report showed that, according to the estimates, 3.2 percent (or $504 billion) of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) in 2011 was attributable to arts and culture in U.S (NEA, 2013). This showed that cultural and creative.

(10) productions actually benefit to the national economics and play an important role in the business model. For Asia, South Korea is the first country focusing on developing “cultural and content industry” such as films and digital industry after the Asian Financial Crisis; that led South Korean rise from the bottom of the crisis and create the amazing “Korean Wave”. The “Korean Wave” and the “K-Pop” swept away all over Asia around 2000, from the TV series “Autumn in My Heart (Guaeul Donghwa)”, “Winter Sonata” to “Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Guem)”, the Korean culture has been broadcasted throughout Asia and even to North America (Kim &. 政治大 about the successful marketing outcomes of peripheral commodity and the city images of Korea, 立 Wang, 2012; Wikipedia, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c, 2014b; 鍾志鵬, 2005) . Not even mentioned. which brought huge economic growth and boost the tourism (孔有美, 2005). A significant case. ‧ 國. 學. that explained the great influences of film and television industry to the cultural images and. ‧. economy recently is a TV drama called, “My Love from the Star.” This TV drama had seriously. sit. y. Nat. swept all over Asia from synopsis, actors, fashion to finance. Everything related to the drama. io. er. became hot sales. According to the MK News from Korea, the economic effect of the TV drama was estimated to reach $ 2.8 billion. Moreover, “My Love from the Star” had even saved the. al. n. v i n Cwere chicken farmers of China while they suffered from the bird flu only because h e originally ngchi U. the actress of the drama said she loved the combination of “fried chicken and beer” while it snows. Meanwhile, the tourists agencies all grab the opportunities to arrange itineraries to Korea based on where the actors dated and dined and the number of Chinese tourists was also expected an increase of 34 percent ("Chinese craze for My Love From The Star," 2014; "Economic effect of ‘My Love from the Star’ estimated at $2.8bn," 2014; 翁偉捷, 2014; 郭子苓, 2014). All these facts pointed out that the cultural and creative industry may have intensive influences among various criteria. And by disseminating the creative contents, the cultural and city images will also be spread throughout the world, hence bring numerous benefits to the country/city. 2.

(11) By noticing the economic effects of culture, all the cities and countries around the world started to put emphasis on developing cultural and creative industry. And while film and TV industry became the core industry of the cultural and creative industry criteria, many Asian countries made utmost efforts to develop digital media industry and the convergence of all types of media. South Korea established Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in 2009, budgeted $50 million per year to nurture audiovisual, music and internet games industry. Singapore, Hong Kong and even China all put much effort on developing the cultural and creative relative industries. And Taiwan also submitted “Challenge 2008-National. 政治大 Industry Development Plan”(KOCCA, 2014; 文化部影視及流行音樂產業局 (Bureau of 立. Development Plan” in 2002, put audiovisual industry to the priority of “Cultural and Creative. Audiovisual and Music Industry Develop, 2007).. ‧ 國. 學. Since the audiovisual industry became the key development of cultural and creative. ‧. industry, authorities of cities in Taiwan began to focus more on attracting film crews to shoot. sit. y. Nat. in their cities in order to market the city images and to promote the local film industry,. io. er. especially after the Korean Wave had indeed swept all over Asia and the world. And that became a frenzy in Taiwan since “Cape No.7” became a legendary box-office blockbuster in. al. n. v i n C hand brought a great the Taiwanese film industry in 2008 number of tourists to Kenting, engchi U. Pingtung (Wikipedia, 2013d). Following “Cape No.7”, the TV drama “Black and White” not only reached a high TV rating but also made a strong connection between the scenes of the story and Kaohsiung, which successfully marketed the city image throughout Taiwan, even Asia. Besides, the success of “ Black and White” also established Kaohsiung as an audiovisual-production-friendly city and also became a turning point to the city’s redevelopment (Yeh, 2011). Cases like “Cape No.7” and “Black and White” which boost city marketing were increasing after 2010, such as “Monga”, “You Are the Apple of My Eye”, “Seediq Bale” and “Din Tao: Leader of the Parade” all indicated that film productions not only sell commodities and city images but also bring huge economic benefits. 3.

(12) Among all the cases, there are some reasons that “Life of Pi” may be the most unique and precious case needed to be discussed. First, it is a Hollywood-produced movie, and ever since “The Sand Pebbles” in 1965, there were no such movie filmed in Taiwan (國家電影資料館, 2009; 蔡以倫, 2013). Second, it is not only a Hollywood-produced movie but an Ang Lee movie, and one that 70% to 75 % of the whole story was filmed in Taiwan and Taichung city; with Ang Lee’s faith on inheritance of Hollywood filmmaking experiences, “Life of Pi” might bring great influences to the audiovisual industry in Taiwan(中央社, 2013; 吳凱琳, 2013; 李子凡, 2010; 邱添喜 & 陳本瑛, 2012; 信息時報, 2011). Third, although most of. 政治大 view in Taichung” displayed in the film. However, Taichung has been connect to filmmaking 立 the sceneries were filmed in Taiwan, especially the city of Taichung, there are barely “scenic. and exposed to the international media due to Ang Lee and “Life of Pi” because Ang Lee had. ‧ 國. 學. mentioned the great help from Taiwan and Taichung to his film in many interviews. And that. y. Nat. 中央社, 2013; 吳凱琳, 2013; 邱添喜 & 陳本瑛, 2012).. ‧. indeed boost the fame of Taichung’s city image to the world (McClintock, 2012; POON, 2013;. er. io. sit. “Life of Pi” is a legendary milestone of Taiwan’s film industry, and also a successful case of city marketing by filmmaking, especially it is a Hollywood-produced, and an. al. n. v i n C hinfluences of filmmaking Under the massive toward city marketing, and engchi U. international film.. also the trend that city governments endeavored to develop film industry, I would like to. discuss the strategies which Taichung City Governments take to cooperate with the “Life of Pi” crew in their city in order to reach the city marketing goals. To depict this research, I would first start with literature review on city marketing, to discuss what and why city marketing, the city marketing strategies and the concept of filmmaking as city marketing strategy. Then I will move to the methodology section, by conducting in-depth interviews to the authorities of Taichung City Government and the crew members of “Life of Pi”, along with the media reports and also analysis relative document to discuss what strategies the government has taken; and based on the concept of city marketing, does the strategies Taichung City Government take fit 4.

(13) the idea, or they take different path to reach the goal of city marketing?. 1.2 Purpose of Research As a personnel working for Information Bureau of Taichung City Government, I found out that since Taichung City and County has merged into Greater Taichung city, the city’s competitiveness became intense, especially when Mayer Jason Hu had aspired to transform Greater Taichung City as “International Taichung.” He made it clear that he is no longer content to just compete with Taipei or Kaohsiung, but rather set his sights on international. 政治大 and key mission for the city government, especially for the Information Bureau, which is in 立 cities, such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Hence, city marketing became an important issue. ‧ 國. 學. charge of managing public relations, conducting propaganda, and communicating with citizens, media and the public.. ‧. Moreover, the Information Bureau of Taichung City Government served not only as an. sit. y. Nat. information transmission institution, but also the official authority of audiovisual industry in. n. al. er. io. Taichung City. (The authorities of audiovisual industry of other cities in Taiwan are usually. i n U. v. the Cultural Affairs Bureau, but the Taichung City Government is different from others because. Ch. engchi. of certain historical reasons.) This made the audiovisual industry a more important status as the city marketing measure of Taichung City Government. However, for a long time, the industry of film and TV production centralized in the northern Taiwan while Kaohsiung City recently promoted the audiovisual industry successfully since “Black and White” that made high viewership and created great economic benefits; Taichung City—in the hope of compete with Taipei and Kaohsiung, seems a little bit backward in the same criteria. Since the audiovisual industry in Taichung City is struggling with the difficult position for years, the coming of Ang Lee and “Life of Pi” has become a turning point. Though I haven’t been in the early stage to strive for “Life of Pi” to film in Taichung, I have also noticed that 5.

(14) nearly all the members in Taichung City Government who are relevant to this case tried so hard in order to complete this case a successful issue. I believe the city government took this case as the opportunity to break the fortune; they are looking forward to create the economic benefits by supporting this movie, and also to broadcast the positive city image to the world. On my observation, “Life of Pi” is the case which is different from other films in city marketing in terms of using filmmaking as a strategy for Taichung City Government. Generally when talking about the effects of film towards city marketing, the concept is more likely as “film tourism, (S. Hudson & J. B. Ritchie, 2006)” but “Life of Pi” is fairly unique. because. 政治大 none of the scenic views of Taichung City were revealed in the movie. However, the name of 立. nearly 70% of the film was shot in the wave tank built in the Shui-nan Airport in Taichung but. Taichung City was closely linked with the movie, and the actor, Suraj Sharma even claimed. ‧ 國. 學. that Taichung is his second home while being interviewed(寇世菁, 2013). “Life of Pi” is a. ‧. story based on Yann Martel’s bestselling book of the same title. It is a shipwreck story about. sit. y. Nat. an Indian boy trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days. Obviously, the story is set. io. er. in India and ocean waters. Of course there will be no sceneries, trees or streets of Taichung City shown in the film. Didn’t the city government realize this before Ang Lee and his crew. al. n. v i n CTaichung members came if they want to market I believe yes. But based on what h e n gtocthehworld? i U. kind of idea will the authority decided to invite Ang Lee to film in Taichung City, even without any possibility to “product-place” Taichung? The idea of this research is very straightforward, by taking “Life of Pi” as a successful city marketing case; especially when it is a case that produced by a “Hollywood team” and manipulate in a “Hollywood way”, and with not a single scenery placed in the film. I would analyze and discuss the critical strategies that the Taichung city government chose to apply, and to compare those strategies with the city marketing concepts to see if the ideas fit. This research provides a second thought for other city governments that in the case of cooperating with an international film crew, and in the trend of film tourism, what will be the critical 6.

(15) strategies to take? Are these strategies following the similar idea of city marketing to the governments, or there are some unique strategies worth trying and learning?. 1.3 Definition of Terms 1.3.1 Life of PI A 2012 American 3D film directed by Ang Lee based on Yann Martel’s novel of the same name, and produced by 20th Century Fox. Director Ang Lee had brought his crew and built a wave tank in the old Taichung Shui-Nan Airport in Taichung City, Taiwan in 2010. Ang Lee had. 政治大. filmed most of the ocean scenes on the wave tank in Taichung City, and the city government. 立. had offered the crew in both administrative and financial supports. Even though none of the. ‧ 國. 學. sceneries of Taichung City were revealed in the movie, Taichung City still gain much media attentions by connecting with Ang Lee and “Life of Pi.” Director Ang Lee even thanked. er. io. sit. y. Nat 1.3.2 City Marketing. ‧. Taichung City in his greetings when winning the Oscars.. al. n. v i n Cplace City marketing, sometimes called regional marketing or destination U h e nmarketing, i h gc marketing, has adopted the idea of “marketing” in the business criteria. It is an idea. about promoting the strengths, positive images and characters of cities. In this research, filmmaking is the strategy to achieve the goal of city marketing, to promote a certain city—Taichung City.. 1.4 Research Area and Limitations This research took the Ang Lee film “Life of Pi” to analyze filmmaking as the strategy to apply in city marketing by city authorities in Taiwan. The reason why I choose “Life of Pi” to 7.

(16) be the targeted case is first because it is a “Hollywood-produced” film. For a long time, Taiwan is lacked of the experiences in cooperating with the international film production teams. Especially when the team has the “Hollywood” background, that directed indicated as a rather commercialized and professionalized mode in the film production criteria. “Life of Pi” is definitely a unique and rare case for not only the film professionals but also the city authorities in terms of audiovisual promotions in Taiwan. In short, it is a very representative case. Secondly, when observing the case in city marketing through the filmmaking approach, most of the perspectives and research angles are aiming to analyze the effects of “product placement”. 政治大 the film but the name of “Taichung” is closely related to “Life of Pi” and Ang Lee; Ang Lee 立 by filming. But in this case “Life of Pi”, none of the sceneries in Taichung City was placed in. himself had also recommended Taichung, Taiwan to Hollywood directors for filming(鄒念祖,. ‧ 國. 學. 2014). This outcome showed that, even without “scenery-placement,” by supporting film crews. ‧. and productions in various ways would still reach the goal of city marketing. Hence, “Life. y. Nat. of Pi” is certainly a special case which can show the marketing power and effect of filming;. er. io. sit. also, it initiates a different measure to practice “city marketing.” And that is also why “Lucy”, another international produced film directed by Luc Besson, and filmed in Taiwan, may not be. al. n. v i n C hstudy. To addressUmore, although “Lucy” is also an able to be the observed case in this engchi. international funded film, directed by a world famous director, and filmed in Taiwan. It is still a production which directed filmed on the street of Taiwan like so many other films. And since this research is aiming at observing the effect of promoting audiovisual industry, and taking filmmaking as a strategy of city marketing, hence to attract more film productions rather than tourists, “Lucy” may not be a suitable case to deliberate. In short, “Life of Pi” is the most appropriate and irreplaceable case in this research.. 8.

(17) Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1City Marketing Under the trend of globalization and global economy, the built environment, infrastructure, and amenities tend to become more and more similar; hence cities are drawn into a competitive environment and therefore need to find new ways to distinguish themselves from their competitors so that they can attract more attentions from the users of the cities such as the. 政治大 current position of cities in such a competitive environment nowadays does matter to all the 立. citizens, investors and visitors (Paddison, 1993; Richards & Wilson, 2004). In other words, the. city governors so that cities need to “market” themselves to build a positive image and avoid. ‧ 國. 學. being marginalized. But what exactly city marketing is? City marketing, sometimes called. ‧. “place marketing,” “regional marketing,” or “destination marketing.” Literally speaking, it. y. Nat. adopted the idea of “marketing” in the business criteria. So when the global market is seen as. er. io. sit. a huge “shopping mall”, cities are under the concept of competitive arena, and city marketing is an instrument for cities that have more opportunities to compete(Braun, 2008b). City. al. n. v i n C hthe strengths, positive marketing is an idea about promoting images and characters of cities. engchi U Kotler defines place marketing as “designing a place to satisfy the needs of its target markets.. It succeeds when citizens and business are pleased with their community, and the expectations of visitors and investors are met” (Kotler, 2002). So it is also about place management and providing access to services and amenities that facilitate the increase of visitors, residents and professionals. And while American Marketing Association (AMA) defines “marketing” as “the activity, set of institutions, and process for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”, the definition of “city marketing” would be more neutral and balance to borrow the idea of the definition as it does not refer to a specific type of organization, products and clearly 9.

(18) acknowledges the importance of stakeholders((AMA), 2014). Erik Braun(Braun, 2008a) has reviewed many of the city marketing literatures and combined the definition of marketing by AMA to define “city marketing” as: City marketing is the coordinated use of marketing tools supported by a shared customer-oriented philosophy, for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging urban offerings that have value for the city’s customers and the city’s community at large.. 政治大 put the city marketing policies into 立 action. By implementing the city marketing strategies, cities. Based on the definition above, the “value” will be the reason why the authorities of cities. ‧ 國. 學. embark on attracting attentions from their “clients” include the visitors, residents and employees, business and industry, and export markets (Rainisto, 2003). Hence while the city. ‧. images being planted into their clients’ minds, the “value” of city marketing will be revealed. sit. y. Nat. as following: allowing differentiation with their competitors, image reconstruction, bringing. n. al. er. io. financial value, attract inward migration of residents and improving the well-being of its. i n U. v. population, etc. (Balencourt & Zafra, 2012; Boisen, 2007; Paddison, 1993). In sum, city. Ch. engchi. marketing is applying the marketing strategies to sell or broadcast the positive city images to the cities’ target audiences and hence brings benefits to the cities in various aspects.. 2.2 City Marketing Strategies Since the concept of city marketing is extending from the idea of marketing, cities could be seen as “products” to be marketed, thus the concept and strategies of marketing can somehow be transferred to city marketing. However, there are various kinds of city marketing strategies because marketing a city or a place is still an experimental stage and each city featured differently and is unique that the marketing approaches would adjust based on the specialties 10.

(19) (Smyth, 2005). But one thing is for sure, to achieve effective city marketing, the authorities and administrators need to distinguish their target audience and realize the importance of public and media relations and to deliver impactful experiences for their target audiences. Strategic city marketing concerns the enhancement of a city’s position and the image in the global market. A city image may be the essential and fundamental element needed to be clarified while implementing city marketing strategies. It forms by the city’s geography, history, art, music famous citizens, manufactures and other features. Kolter and Gertner also indicated that (Kotler & Gertner, 2002). As Hospers addressed, “Ideally, place marketing closes the gap. 政治大 the location wants to be known in the outside world (its “brand” or desired reputation)”. Thus, 立. between what an area really is (“identity”), what outsiders think about it (“image”) and how. to close the gap, it is essential to communicate, broadcast and promote the places’ features and. ‧ 國. 學. distinctive advantages (Hospers, 2004).. ‧. Furthermore, among various kinds of city marketing strategies, some studies still. sit. y. Nat. categorized them based on the tasks of city brand management: managing the image, attracting. io. er. tourists, attracting factories and companies, and seeking new market opportunities. The strategies could be listed as image marketing, infrastructure marketing, attraction marketing. al. n. v i n C hKotler & Gertner, 2002; and people marketing (Hospers, 2004; N. Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride, engchi U 2002; 黃義俊, 劉鎮國, & 許維真, 2012). Image marketing, in short, is to reconstruct the negative image and build up a positive image of a city, or to strengthen the image of a city. Infrastructure marketing is to modify and improve the facilities and constructions of a city to better the living, surroundings and environments together with other marketing and communication strategies to attract visitors to the city. Attraction marketing focuses on promoting the special geographical resources and activities of a city, which includes natural landscapes, ancient monuments, characteristic festivals and activities and friendly environments. Under the concept of attraction marketing, it could be derived into three parts: activity marketing, international identification and friendly environment establishment. 11.

(20) Activity marketing refers to the cities hold international events, activities or campaign such as the Olympics or the Universal Exposition or regional festivities as Dajia Mazu Procession. While cities are holding these kinds of activities, usually attract attentions from the media and also the tourists around the neighbors and the world. International identification focuses on the city’s international visibility, usually reveals in its architecture and urban planning. The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) in Beijing are the examples that the world famous architecture strongly connected to the city image and made deeply impression to people. Cities also endeavor to establish friendly environment which. 政治大 staying in the place but also praise for that. The fourth strategy, people marketing, emphasizes 立. could provide their consumers most resources and convenience so that they will not only enjoy. on “people” or “idol”, including residents, the local authorities, celebrities and famous. ‧ 國. 學. entrepreneurs, even designed cartoon characters, etc. Speaking about people marketing, it. ‧. focuses on not only the connections between the idol/people and the city image but also how. sit. y. Nat. the residents identify and share the common consensus of it. Furthermore, the kind and. io. al. n. market the city successfully.. er. amicable residents will also bring positive images to the tourists and hence imperceptibly. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 2.3 Market Cities by Filmmaking As observed, city marketing has gradually become a popular issue for the city governments recently because many of the city governments in Taiwan has been set up departments specifically in charge of city marketing, including Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, Hsinchu, Hualien, Yunlin, Yilan, Keelung, etc. And above this, city authorities had pay more and more attention to market city images by filmmaking because it may not only bring domestic and international tourists but also the professionals; not even mention about the film related industries like art, music, performances. The case of city marketing by film has occurred long 12.

(21) time ago: “A City of Sadness” by Hou Hsiao-Hsien in 1989 successfully helped the tourism and economy growth of the small mountain city, Jioufen ( 黃慧新 , 2011). But the city governments in Taiwan has finally pay much attention on the effect of filmmaking in city marketing after the “Korean Wave” has overwhelmingly swept across Asia around 2000. There is a clear definition of “Korean Wave” by Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS): The Korean wave refers to the phenomenon of Korean entertainment and popular culture rolling over the world with pop music, TV dramas, and movies(Service, 2014). And the rise up of Korean film/TV industry development may be perceived as the turning point of Korea,. 政治大 also seizes the opportunity to strengthen the soft power by applying the policies to promoting 立 positioning as the cultural export country. The Korea government knows the importance and. the creative content industry, and that became the most successful contributor to the national. ‧ 國. 學. economy of Korea (Jin, 2012). Following the Korean Wave, the success of film “Cape No.7”,. ‧. “Monga” and the TV drama “Black and White” brought huge beneficial result for the cities. y. Nat. such as high media exposure and a large amount of tourists, etc. These events had finally caught. er. io. filmmaking.. sit. the city governors’ eyes and drive the cities into a competition of city marketing in terms of. al. n. v i n C h of information As the rapid development and innovation and communication technologies engchi U. (ICTs), messages, audios, and videos could easily been transferred internationally, and so is the city image. Films and TV dramas will be the best carriers to broadcast the city images to the world and hence studies indicated that tourists are increasingly visiting the cities or places being depicted in the productions (Soliman, 2011). Moreover, it is also possible for a city which is featured in a tremendous success film to reorganize its industrial structure. For example, Jioufen was originally a downgraded gold-mining village, but after “A City of Sadness” has been a blockbuster and won so many international film prizes, this small village turns out to be a well-known attraction and charmed thousands of tourists from domestic and other countries. Since then, Jioufen has been shaped as a famous tourist attraction (Tourism Bureau, 2014; 13.

(22) Wikipedia, 2014a). Besides, Busan is also a city which transferred its business structure to a film-based environment due to the development of film-related activities such as Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). The flourish film activities and the construction of various film-related facilities in Busan actually made the city being regarded and positioned as a “hub of the Asian film industry” ("Busan, Hub of Film and Visual Culture," 2014). Based on the city marketing strategies addressed above, the development of audiovisual industry or filmmaking may be categorized as using the concept of attraction marketing and people marketing. First, when the authorities of cities are promoting filmmaking, they intend. 政治大 historical resources, special festivals or anniversaries etc. through the audiovisual productions. 立 to deliver the city images to the world, including the attractions, natural landscapes, human and. And by broadcasting the city images through the audiovisual productions, viewers from other. ‧ 國. 學. cities or countries will get to know the city more because the images may be closely linked. ‧. with the plots and hence increase the possibility for them to visit the city. The idea may be. sit. y. Nat. depicted as “film-tourism”, or “film-induced tourism.” According to Hudson and Ritchie, film. io. er. tourism is defined as tourist visits to a destination or attraction as a result of the destination being featured on television, video, DVD or the cinema screen (S. Hudson & J. R. B. Ritchie,. al. n. v i n C h put so much emphasis 2006). The reason why the city marketers on film tourism is because engchi U. when tourists visit a city or destination based on the films or TV dramas they have seen, it not only increases the visitor numbers of a city but also creates additional business and services through film tourism. In addition, it also enhanced the awareness of and familiarity with a city (Beeton, 2010). Second, making movies in a city might develop the city into an entrepreneurial and international city, which will increase the revenues created in that city more. A lot of city governments strive to invite film companies/crews and directors to produce the films/TV dramas by providing comprehensive support and plenty resources in order to make sure these people have great working environment. Besides, as more and more film crews produce movies and TV dramas in the city, the image and everything about the city will be discussed, both by 14.

(23) the viewers of the audiovisual productions and the film crew members, include the director, the actors, and the staffs. The function of it is to create a “Buzz” (positive word-of-mouth effect”. People watching a film made in a city might talk favorably to others about the city and attributes of it. This in one side will emphasize the identification of the citizens and impressions of the image of their city and in other side, once the director, the actors and the film crew had great experiences when filmed in a certain city, they might naturally deliver the positive image and conceptions to their peers and even the media internationally when being interviewed(Apaydın, 2012; 黃義俊 et al., 2012).. 政治大 2.4 City Marketing Stategies of Cities in Taiwan Through Filmmaking 立. ‧ 國. 學. 2.4.1 Taipei City. It will be necessary to get a closer look to the Taipei Film Commission in order to get a clearer. ‧. picture of the development of film and TV industry in Taipei City. “Taipei Film Commission. y. Nat. io. sit. (TFC), an organization specifically responsible for providing services for film and TV. n. al. er. production and promoting the development of creative industry in Taipei City, is subordinated. i n U. v. to the Taipei Culture Foundation, which was established in 1985, supported by a combination. Ch. engchi. of public and private sector funding(臺北市文化基金會, 2014). TFC was established in the end of 2007, it could be seen as the core organization in the development of film industry and film-oriented city marketing of Taipei City. The Taipei Culture Foundation was originally a non-profit organization, but since reconstructing in 2007, it has become a semi-government organization with a chairman from Taipei City Government, a chief executive officer from the Department of Cultural Affairs of Taipei City Government (usually the director-general of the Department of Cultural Affair), and also industry professionals as commissioners. And as TFC subordinated to the Taipei Culture Foundation, it will be resourceful and flexible at the same time, with both the supports 15.

(24) from the government and industrial professionals. Presently, the TFC is operating with members of around 30 people, leading by Director Jennifer Jao, and roughly divided into several groups including media/publication, international affairs, location and production affairs, administrative affairs, event coordinating affairs, and website management(臺北電影委員會 TFC, 2014). By observing the missions, policies and also accomplishments of TFC, the strategies of marketing Taipei City through the filmmaking approaches could be categorized as below: 1. Providing production subsidies. 政治大 production groups in order to capture the beauty of Taipei City and thus to promote 立. Taipei City Government has offered subsidy for both international and domestic. the city image and to support the local film industry.. For the international film. ‧ 國. 學. production groups, the subsidy is up to NT $60 million (2 million US dollars) per year:. ‧. 30 million NT dollars of which are allotted as subvention, and the other 30 million for. sit. y. Nat. international promotion. For the domestic groups, the subsidy is totaling 25 million. io. er. NT dollars (approximately 840,000 US dollars) per year. And there are two terms of the application to the subsidy each year (the first and the second half year).. n. al. 2. Assistance for filmmaking. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. TFC provides services to assist film production groups in many ways in order to improve the efficiency and lower the threshold in filmmaking. TFC offers assistance in scouting as requested, coordination with government agencies for the filming application, and they had also set up an online location gallery accessible from their official website where the production groups could search for filming locations throughout the city in advance. Besides, the film, TV and documentary production crews are able to use municipal properties free of charge or in a fairly generous discount if the arrangement is made through TFC.. 16.

(25) 3. Marketing co-operation TFC offers promotion and marketing assistance for the film production groups which are not only the hyperlink from their website, but also includes: organizing premieres and special screenings, complimentary exposure of printed advertisements at metro stations, bus stops and buses, complimentary playback of digital media on outdoor display boards, metro station TV screens and multimedia displays offered by associated merchants. Overall, for the Taipei City Government, TFC is the main agency in promoting film and. 政治大 groups in Taipei City. And its ultimate goal is to convey the beauty of the city and to market 立. TV industry; it is also specifically responsible for communicating and helping film production. Taipei’s urban images to the world while at the same time develop the local film industry. So. ‧ 國. 學. far TFC is still regarded as the most systematical organization in the film promotion criteria in. ‧. Taiwan.. sit. y. Nat. io. n. al. er. 2.4.2 Kaohsiung City. i n U. v. Kaohsiung City Government has officially established the Filmmaking Assistance Center in. Ch. engchi. 2009 to provide assistances and services for film production groups, and to attract film crews to shoot scenes in Kaohsiung, build a film-friendly city image(高雄市政府文化局影視發展暨拍片支援中心). And the “Film Development and Production Center and Filmmaking Assistance Center” was established in 2010 when Kaohsiung city and Kaohsiung County were merged, it is then one of the departments in the Bureau of Cultural Affairs in Kaohsiung City Government (高雄市政府文化局, 2011a). The Film Development and Production Center and Filmmaking Assistance Center, as implied by the name, could be divided into the “Film Development and Production Center” and “Filmmaking Assistance Center”. For the Film Development and Production Center, it is 17.

(26) mainly responsible for the formulation of film policies, film marketing planning and implementation and organizing of large scale events. For the Filmmaking Assistance Center, it mainly provides services for filmmakers including administrative assistance, location scouting support, space support (spaces in the office where could be used as meeting spaces, audition spaces, equipment and prop storage), equipment assistance, post-production support and information provision. Basically, in Kaohsiung, the Film Development and Production Center and Filmmaking Assistance Center is in charge of providing assistance for filmmaking and also the marketing. 政治大 And what is different from the strategies of Taipei City is that the subsidy to film production 立. activities when movies premiere, which are similar to what the Taipei Film Commission does.. groups is mainly implemented by a different organization which is also subordinated to the. ‧ 國. 學. Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the Kaohsiung Film Archive(高雄市政府文化局, 2011b). The. ‧. subsidy from Kaohsiung City Government aims not only to the film production itself but also. sit. y. Nat. to the accommodation fee while the film is shooing in Kaohsiung City. Moreover, the. io. er. Kaohsiung City Government offers not only the subsidy but also the investment to the film production groups in order to encourage film producers to shoot movies in Kaohsiung and to. al. n. v i n C h to “The keyUexecution key points of Kaohsiung increase the visibility of the city. According engchi. City Government Bureau of Cultural Affairs for movie production subsidies”, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs is cooperating with the Juridical Endowment Cultural Foundation of Kaohsiung City in subsidizing and investing in movie production, and the Kaohsiung Film Archive would be the implementing body. Thus we could see that the Kaohsiung City. Government is combining “investment” as another approach when implementing the subsidy strategy to increase the flexibility and initiative in financially supporting the film productions. In this way, the city government will then gain profits from the film which hit great box office, and thus to encourage more films that are in high quality to apply for the subsidy/investment.. 18.

(27) Chapter 3 Research Method 3.1 Research Design This Chapter focuses on describing the design of the research structure, the informants, and the research procedure. As the purpose of this research is to analyze the critical strategies that Taichung City Government took to reach city marketing goal by supporting the Ang Lee film “Life of Pi” in order to gain positive images toward both the public and the film crews, the. 政治大 members from the film crews will be the critical issue needed to be discussed. Besides, the 立. decision making and the strategy implemented from the authority and also the reactions of the. relevant document of this case is also needed to be analyzed and categorized as the supporting. ‧ 國. 學. information.. ‧. This research will adapt the method of in-depth interview to obtain the information and. y. Nat. the critical strategies which Taichung City Government apply to support the Ang Lee film “Life. er. io. sit. of Pi” as an approach to market Taichung. Also, by combining the informants’ opinions and the relevant document, such as news and public document, it will be evidence to help scrutinize. n. al. i the critical approaches that reach theCcity marketing goal. U n hengchi. v. 3.1.1 Research Flow Following the concept from the research purpose, as city marketing and the development of audiovisual industry became an important issue for both the local and central government and also the city’s development, being one of the staffs in the Information Bureau of Taichung City Government, I am really curious about the strategies that city government took especially when filmmaking was regarded as the popular approach to activate city marketing. Hence I adapted in-depth interview and the document analysis as the qualitative research methods to collect 19.

(28) data and information about “Life of Pi” as a city marketing case, hoping to sort out the findings that could respond the purpose and the motivations. Moreover, I also hope the findings from this research could provide a second thought and some suggestions for the executive officers from other city government and hence bring more cases like “Life of Pi” in Taiwan. The research process is as below:. Research Purpose and Motivation Compare and Respond. 政治大 and Observing the 立Reviewing Literature Case. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 Establish Research Structure. In-Depth Interview. Ch. engchi. i n U. v Document Analysis. Combine and Compare the Information from the Informants and the Relevant Document. Research Findings and Conclusions Figure 3.1 Flow Chart of Research Process 20.

(29) 3.1.2 Research Structure This research aims at the strategies which Taichung City Government has implemented in supporting film industry and film production itself to reach the city marketing goal. To address more, the cities nowadays in Taiwan are looking forward to improve their city marketing achievements, thus the authorities had tried many strategies for doing so, and “supporting filmmaking” is one of the popular approaches in recently years. Most of the city authorities in Taiwan are focusing on their mission to convey their city images to the world by inviting and supporting film production groups to shoot in their city. 政治大 is a movie that broadcast none立 of the city image of Taichung, why the name of Taichung City and thus to reach the city marketing goal. But the research question here is, since “Life of Pi”. ‧ 國. 學. is still closely connected to the film? Why Ang Lee especially thanked the City of Taichung when he has won the Best Director in the Oscars? What are the strategies that Taichung City. ‧. Government implemented to reach this goal? By reviewing the literature, the strategies which. sit. y. Nat. city authorities implement would include: subsidy to film production groups, assistance for. n. al. er. io. filmmaking and also marketing activities. But are there other critical strategies? So by using. i n U. v. the method: document analysis and in-depth interview, this research could thus find out the. Ch. engchi. critical strategies that affect the successful outcome in city marketing.. 21.

(30) Research Question: Without image placement, what are the strategies of city authorities to market a city by supporting filmmaking?. Case Study: The Ang Lee Film, “Life of Pi”. 政治大. 立. ‧ 國. 學. ‧. Strategies implemented by city authorities  Subsidy to film production groups  Assistance for filmmaking  Marketing activities  Others. Documentary Analysis. sit. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. In-Depth Interview.   . Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Goal: Successful City Marketing Gain mass media exposure Attract more attention from film industry both internationally and domestically Boost local filming activities. Figure 3.2 Research Structure 22.

(31) 3.2 Case Study This research aims at taking “Life of Pi” as an example to examine the strategies that city authorities take to support audiovisual/film industry and hence to achieve the city marketing goal. And when most of the films that produced in Taiwan and successfully reach the city marketing goal are those with “scenery-placement”. Thus, “Life of Pi” may be a special case which actually linked Taichung City and the film, and also the director, Ang Lee without placing any sceneries of Taichung in the film itself. To analyze the specialties and also the critical strategies, case study would be the key research method to apply.. 政治大 of research strategy that aims 立 at analyzing a special individual, event, group, community, or As defined by the National Academy for Educational Research, “Case Study” is the kind. ‧ 國. 學. country, rather than multitudinous targets(陳雅文, 1995). And although the Dictionary of Sociology has defined case study as:. ‧. The detailed examination of a single example of a class of phenomena, a case study. y. Nat. al. er. io. sit. cannot provide reliable information about the broader class. But it is often useful in. n. the preliminary stages of an investigation since it provides hypotheses which may be. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. tested systematically with a larger number of cases(Abercrombie, Hill, & Turner, 1994). Bent Flybjerg pointed out “it is not true that a case study cannot provide reliable information about the broader class.” And “it is misleading to see the case study as a pilot method to be used only in preparing the real study’s larger surveys, systematic hypothesis testing, and theory building.(Flyvbjerg, 2006)” Robert K. Yin also indicated: “the distinguishing characteristic of the case study is that it attempts to examine: (a) a contemporary phenomenon in its real-life context, especially when (b) the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.(Yin, 1981)” 23.

(32) Comprehensively, case study is the kind of strategy to apply for researches which examining a contemporary phenomenon, a special individual, group, etc. especially when the boundaries are not clearly evident. Also, it is the approach that has the potential to deal with simple through complex situations(Baxter & Jack, 2008). Since the relation between city marketing and filmmaking is still under discussion, and most of the literatures and city authorities are focusing on the relations between film tourism, destination promotion and city marketing, it is necessary to use data collection tools to analyze the critical strategies that the Taichung City Government used in the case “Life of Pi”.. 立. 3.3 Data Collection Tools. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. 3.3.1 Document Analysis. Document analysis is a systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents—both. ‧. printed and electronic (computer-based and internet-transmitted) material(Bowen, 2009). It is. y. Nat. io. sit. the strategy to collect and review documents include government reports, journals, thesis, news. n. al. er. reports etc, in order to comprehensively understand the research question correctly based on. i n U. v. the research objectives( 鄭淑文, 2006). That is to say, documents are interpreted by the. Ch. engchi. researchers to offer the meanings toward the research objective or topic. In this research, it would be necessary to implement document analysis as an important method because although I am a personnel working in the Information Bureau of Taichung City Government, I am not taking part in the period when the film “Life of Pi” was produced in Taichung. And by examining and interpreting the documentary about “Life of Pi”, it would provide a clearer picture to how and what the city authority has done to help this film production group. And to get a closer look to why the city authority wanted to help. Besides, by applying document analysis, it would be easy to see how the city marketing effects and outcomes after the movie premiere globally. In short, it will provide a fairly comprehensive 24.

(33) research outcome by using document analysis to figure out the basic strategies and effects of the city authority in this case “Life of Pi.”. 3.3.2 In-Depth Interview In-depth interview is one of the methods of data collection used in qualitative research in which the researcher asks open-ended questions. It can be used for variety of purposes, including needs assessment, program refinement, issue identification, and strategic planning(Guion, Diehl, & McDonald, 2011; Legard, Keegan, & Ward, 2003).. 政治大 to film in Hollywood under the立 professional techniques, finance and environmental supporting. In the case of “Life of Pi”, a Hollywood-produced film like this was generally supposed. ‧ 國. 學. surroundings. But why would they determined to bring so many crew members, take about 13 hours flight and stay in an unknown country/city for almost half a year? Taiwan and the city of. ‧. Taichung must have done something to lead these happened. Besides, when Ang Lee and “Life. sit. y. Nat. of Pi” filmed in Taichung and after filming, what did the city government do to ensure there. n. al. er. io. are positive connections between the city image and the film in order to reach the city marketing. i n U. v. goal? The answers of these questions should be further discussed by interviewing the decision. Ch. engchi. makers or people involved of both sides. By adapting in-depth interview, the informants could fully express their opinions and determinations toward this case. The reason why this research chose to adapt the method of in-depth interview as the main research method is because “Life of Pi” is a unique case in terms of filmmaking in Taiwan, it not only brought great influences to the audiovisual industry but also been as the most powerful helper to market the city internationally for Taichung City Government. Hence, by interviewing the stakeholders, this research will then obtain the most detailed and plentiful qualitative information. Combine and compare these information with the relevant document of “Life of Pi”, this research will hopefully provide a more integrated and comprehensive 25.

(34) perspective and also collect the critical strategies of filmmaking in city marketing.. 3.3.2.1 Informants As this research mainly adapted the interview approach, and chose the decision makers or people involved in the film “Life of Pi” to analyze the critical city marketing strategies by filmmaking, it means that the relative information will be obtained by specific and representative people or event which may not be perceived by other sampling survey. Hence, the principle to pick informants of this research is to choose the core members involved in. 政治大 for the city governments’ side 立 because this research aims at analyzing the critical strategies in. “Life of Pi”. And it will be even better if the informants are the decision makers, especially. ‧ 國. 學. city marketing of the government.. The informants could be separated into two parts, one is the people who work for the. ‧. Taichung City Government and the other is the members from the film crew. This research has. sit. y. Nat. interviewed the representative people who are involved in the case “Life of Pi” when it was. al. er. io. filming in Taichung City, and it included 5 informants. All of the informants are deeply. v. n. involved in the film “Life of Pi”, both in the production and marketing stage. The information. Ch. from the informants is listed as below:. engchi. 26. i n U.

(35) Figure 4.1 Information of informants Informant. Professional Title. Organization. Jean Shih. Director. Quin Huang. Chief Secretary. Lenora Lin. Former Contract Employee. David Lee. The Assistant of Ang Lee. Information Bureau of Taichung City Government The “Life of Pi” Crew (Basically the informant will be David Lee, but the content he addressed has been discussed with Ang Lee.). Ruan Pei-Fen. Former Correspondent. 立. Taiwan Times. 政治大. 3.3.2.2 Designed Questions for Interview. ‧ 國. 學. The questions for the interview will be separated into three stages: the pre-production period. ‧. of “Life of Pi”, the production period, and the post-production period. Under the concept of the raised questions, this research will take “Life of Pi” as a full package, not only focusing on. y. Nat. io. sit. the after-screen-period in terms of city marketing, but also the time before production and. n. al. er. during production. All the questions are focusing on the strategies and approaches that. Ch. i n U. v. Taichung City Government took to cooperate with or link the image to “Life of Pi” to bring. engchi. positive effects in city marketing. The outline of the designed questions for the informants will be as below: 1. Why did “Life of Pi” choose to film in the city of Taichung? 2. What did Taichung City Government do or what are the niches of Taichung that brought the crew from Hollywood here? 3. During the film production period in Taichung City, what kind of supports did the City Government offer? Is there anyone that impressed you the most? 4. Do you think the filming experiences or the environment in Taichung will bring you or the crew members come back again in the future if possible? 27.

(36) 5. After filming, did Taichung City Government still keep in touch with the film crew and arrange some relevant marketing activities? What are they? 6. Why the Director Ang Lee brought Taichung City’s name as the special thanks while he won the Oscar Award? In order to maintain the authenticity of all the answers and opinions from the informants, I will not translate all the scripts into English version, but will combine the findings and descriptions with the analyzed documents to sort out the critical strategies and hence bring the comprehensive perspective towards city marketing by the filmmaking approach.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 28. i n U. v.

(37) Chapter 4 Data Analysis The results of this research will be discussed based on different filmmaking periods of “Life of Pi.” There will be the pre-production period, the production period and the post-production and marketing period. By interviewing the informants and combine the relevant document, this research will then provide a preliminary thought and decision making process for other city government as references. However, as this research is focusing on the strategies which Taichung city government applied to practice city marketing by “Life of Pi”, the background. 政治大. and the situation will be specific and tailored, but the concept and some of the strategies will. 立. still be worth studying.. ‧ 國. 學 sit. y. Nat. 4.1.1 Key Figures. ‧. 4.1 Pre-Production Period—Why Did Ang Lee Determine to Film in Taichung?. n. al. er. io. The story of “Life of Pi” in Taichung started in 2010, when Director Ang Lee was looking for. i n U. v. a place to film the Canadian fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel, published in 2001. It is. Ch. engchi. a story about an Indian man named Pi, living in Canada and telling a novelist about his life story and how at 16 he survives a shipwreck in which his family all die, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker for 277 days. Basically, most of the clips of the film and the main scenes are on the boat, in the ocean. Concerning about this, where will be the best place to shoot this film? At that time, Australia, New Zealand and India were all endeavor to invite Ang Lee and the crew to film in their country, but Ang Lee himself were thinking about coming back to Taiwan. While Ang Lee was searching for the location to produce the film, the mayor of Taichung City, Jason made a call. “It’s because of Mayor Jason Hu! Mayor Hu and Ang Lee were very acquainted since 29.

(38) Jason Hu was still the director of Government Information Office. We can even say that Mayor Hu was the “pushing hands” of Ang Lee’s “Pushing Hands.” He devoted to develop the film and audiovisual industry very much while Ang Lee was still not as famous as his is right now. So when the city government heard that Ang Lee is looking for a location, the mayor called him and invited him to come to Taichung, and Ang Lee just agreed immediately.” said Jean Shih, the Director of Information Bureau of Taichung City Government. Quin Huang, the Chief Secretary of Information Bureau of Taichung City Government said: “We started to put more efforts on promoting audiovisual industry since 2009, and at. 政治大 blockbuster, he asked him: “How about coming to Taichung?” Ang just agreed right away.” 立 that time in 2010, when Mayor Hu heard that Ang Lee was preparing an international. “We decided to film in Taichung City because of Mayor Jason Hu, he showed great. ‧ 國. 學. sincerity striving for this and promised to offer comprehensive supports.” said David Lee, the. sit. y. Nat. scouting and most of the administrative affairs.. ‧. personal assistant of Ang Lee, who actually handles everything for Ang Lee, including film. io. er. Although Ang Lee showed a great interest in filming in Taiwan, Taichung, it is still very difficult for the film company and also the crew to agree this decision because filming in. al. n. v i n Hollywood is not only the director’sC business but also a process h e n g c h i U and business model that needed precisely calculation. In order to persuade the crew and also the people in charge of the film. company that filming in Taichung is worth investing, Ang Lee needed to bring them to visit Taiwan for scouting, but the film company didn’t plan the budget for this in advance. Ang Lee couldn’t even make it until a one-million-dollar donation from Sisy Wen-Hsien Chen. According to the Mayor Jason Hu, the Director, Jean Shish, the Chief Secretary, Quin Huang and Sisy Wen-Hsien Chen’s saying, at that time, Mayor Hu was worried about the budget, because it is very difficult for the city government to pay for the crew’s expenses for scouting under the restrictions of the law in Taiwan. Not even mentioned about the condition at that time that no one knows for sure whether they will come to film or not. But if the city government 30.

(39) and also Ang Lee didn’t cease the opportunity to make things happen, “Life of Pi” will not be able to film in Taiwan and Taichung City. Luckily, Sisy Wen-Hsien Chen donated one million dollar to the city government in the name of her grandmother for promoting audiovisual industry, and this amount of money then became the critical funding for Ang Lee and the crew members’ flight tickets. “Sisy Wen-Hsien Chen is also one of the backstage heroes of “Life of Pi.” Without her and the donation, it is impossible for Ang Lee and “Life of Pi” to come to Taichung”, said Jean Shih.. 政治大 Taichung City Government made 立the first step to invite the international film crew successfully 4.1.2 Environmental Conditions. ‧ 國. 學. initially with the help of Mayor Hu and Sisy Chen. But besides solving the problem of the budget for scouting, the city government must have provided more information and conditions. ‧. which are suitable for filming. In short, Taichung City Government must have shown the. sit. y. Nat. strength of the city which will attract Ang Lee and the film crew to affect their decision-making.. n. al. er. io. “Taichung Shui-Nan Airport” is one of the main incentives which the city government. i n U. v. provided for Ang Lee. It was the airport established in the Japanese Colonial period and also. Ch. engchi. an important military base of Taiwan. As time goes by, Shui-Nan Airport then became one for both the military and civil service. But it was then closed in 2004 due to the urban planning. The city government brought Ang Lee and the crew to the airport and they were amazed by it. Quin Huang said, “They decided to film in Taichung right away. Ang Lee thought the SuiNan Airport is really suitable for filming. After the airport closed, things are still left in, and there is a huge space not in use, plus the terminal and the hangers. Besides, they will not be interrupted while filming in the airport. Ang Lee came to visit the airport and he thought it was really amazing! They didn’t even have to build the studios, which indeed save a great amount of money. The terminal can also be decorated as the office for the crew. He actually thought 31.

(40) every condition of the airport fits their needs. Everything just came together at the right time.” Quin continued, “Really, they saved a lot of money after coming. They rearranged the current facilities as clothing rooms, dressing rooms, props rooms, etc. And the height and width of the hangers were just like the studios. We have got everything the crew needs. The conditions were perfect for them so Ang Lee agreed to come immediately. They don’t have to look for offices or studios additionally.” David Lee also indicated, “At that time, the Sui-Nan airport provided the similar scale as the large studios in United States. The other cities in Taiwan didn’t have such conditions and. 政治大 to spend much money to decorate and reform them as studios. Besides, the area of the airport 立. environment. There are large-scale and ceilinged hangers in Sui-Nan Airport, we don’t have. is immense. It is available for not only the studios/hangers, the under water tank for underwater. ‧ 國. 學. filming, but also the working areas included the office for 300 people, the dining space for 500. ‧. people, and also post-production offices. Moreover, we can also set up an exclusive area for. io. er. enough for building the main scene of the film—the wave tank.”. sit. y. Nat. feeding the tigers that are going to be in the film. And most important of all, the space is large. For Taichung City Government, the Sui-Nan Airport is one of the unique factors which. al. n. v i n C hcities. The film industry differentiate themselves from the other nowadays focuses more on engchi U. post-production rather than filming in a real scene. Hence, the adequate space for production and post-production will be rather important for the film industry. Taichung City just offered the professional-friendly environment for the film crew and that became a decisive factor. Besides, David Lee also pointed out that the weather in Taichung is extremely good. It seldom rains and when comparing to the northern and southern part of Taiwan, it is not as cold and wet in winter and torridity in summer. So under this kind of surroundings, the crew just worked very smoothly. “It seems everything goes right. The people, the environment and the weather all made Ang Lee and the crew decided to pick Taichung City as the best location to film “Life of Pi”.” 32.

(41) 4.1.3 Supports from Taichung City Government 4.1.3.1 Administrative Support To support a Hollywood film production is a tremendous task. Especially when there are going to be so many crew members from different countries in the production team in this case. The crew is going to stay in Taichung City for 10 months. In the concept of city marketing, cities needed to provide favorable environment for their visitors in order to gain positive impressions. Taichung City government, though not having much experiences in helping the film crews at that time, still made the efforts to ensure their guests get fully supports.. 政治大. Lenora Lin, the former contract employee who was mainly played as the contact of the. 立. city government toward “Life of Pi” crew said, “Once we knew that Direct Lee is looking. ‧ 國. 學. for a location to build the studio, the city government started to call the meetings actively. We held the meeting and invited relevant authorities included the central government, the relevant. ‧. bureaus of city government, the military and also the authority of land readjustment etc.,. y. Nat. io. sit. hoping to strive for the “Life of Pi” crew to locate in Taichung against all odds. Moreover, we. n. al. er. helped as much as possible to support nearly everything the film crew needed. We helped them. i n U. v. to look for office spaces, and employed director assistants, etc. What’s more, we strived for the. Ch. engchi. financial subsidy from the central government, hoping to bring about a rarely achievement for the film industry in Taiwan.” Just as what Quin had mentioned, the Taichung City Government started to put more emphasis on developing audiovisual industry since 2009; but Ang Lee and his team came in 2010, most of the people in the city government had few experiences dealing with film crews and film production process, not even mentioned about facing such international and largescale case like “Life of Pi.” According to the relevant document, the airport was initially planned as the trade zone instead of a film studio, hence there were numerous details and administrative affairs needed to be prepared for the crew to produce “Life of Pi.” For example, 33.