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Yan: Your films have been entered into many international film festivals and received international recognition.
But I think it may be the case that they touch the hearts of Chinese audience more than westerners'
because family values are important to us.
How were your films received in China?
What do you wish to convey in your films?
Liu: Most screenings have been overseas.
There were a couple in China, but very few.
Iberia screened it. Ullens Center of Contemporary Art also screened it.
Maybe it will also be screened at a forum on Chinese youth filmmakers and similar events.
I am not very sure.
It's hard for me to answer your question because my communication with overseas audience exceeds that with Chinese audience.
I did notice that the discussion on my films vary regionally.
East Asian countries and regions like South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan focus on the family.
And that's not the case in North American and European countries.
Especially about family values.
I feel westerners are more rational.
They're more interested in film theory and film form.
East Asian audience center the discussion on the family.
which I don't enjoy as much.
In China, it depends on which occasion this film is shown.
Often it's shown to people who either study or make films.
This kind of screening is different.
People don't just watch the film but they argue about it too.
The occasion can be heated.
Yan: Like academic discussions.
Liu: Maybe not.
Maybe they didn't like me as much.
People came purposely to criticize me.
The air in this kind of screening is different from public screening.
Yan: What were the criticisms?
Liu: First, my method was too unconventional to be accepted for a film.
Second, I didn't care about the spectators in my work.
The criticism is directed towards me from the perspective of the spectators.
Yan: Too self-centered?
Liu: I'm not sure.
The answers to their questions were obvious to them.
Yan: You mentioned that the responses of your films in East Asia.
Some questions struck the right chord with you.
Could you give us some memorable examples?
Liu: Most people who came to watch my films were interested in independent productions.
Some years ago at the Berlin Film Festival,
an overseas Chinese student commented that
the two-hour film felt like two-hour real time with his parents.
He was away from home for two and a half years.
He's from northern China. He came for my film from another city.
I remember the student's remarks best from my entire stay at the festival.
There is another comment I remember, at Ullens.
It was about my parents and my relationship with them.
The comment was very poetic.
But it was so poetic that I really can't recall it now.
Yan: It expressed what you wanted to express.
Liu: Right. I felt that the film was made for that viewer.
But I really can't recall now.
I forgot where it was.
It was in Hong Kong. I'm sorry.
South Korean viewers focused on the family too,
especially on dumplings.
Oxhide II is about making dumplings.
And we had dumplings afterwards too.
Yan: With the audience?
Liu: No, the others.
Different people focus on different things.
Yan: One last question.
Do you use Apple computers and Apple software for your films?
Liu: I do. This is it.
But this is not what they are selling now.
It's a MacBook Pro, which came out a few years ago.
It's 15-inch wide and is one of the two 15-inch wide MacBooks that they have.
Same goes for their 17-inch wide MacBooks.
I bought the 15-inch with a faster processor.
I got it in 2007.
It was much more expensive than now.
The price might be 17,000 yuan.
I don't quite remember now.
The 17-inch MacBook cost more than 20,000 yuan then.
Now it costs about 15,000 yuan with better features.
Professor Zhang Xianmin was the person who recommended it to me.
It was inconvenient to do editing in the school's computer lab.
He suggested everyone get a MacBook.
Independent filmmakers need to deal with large amount of data.
We need to edit around the clock.
So I got a MacBook and used the same features like the others.
Many of us bought the same product.
I don't use my MacBook to edit all the time.
Sometime I still go to the computer lab to do my editing, on Apple desktops.
But other times I watch and edit on my MacBook by myself.
To me, the speed is quite okay.
It helps if you have some external memory.
I don't have a lot of footage.
I'm relatively slow.
MacBook is enough for me.
As for post-production, there are many forums that we can consult.
We can surf those sites from mainland China and also those from Taiwan.
People share their knowledge about computer software and hardware online.
It's much easier to obtain information online.
Final Cut is good, as you probably all know.
It's not the only editing software for Apple.
But Final Cut is made for Apple computers.
I like that because I don't need to make further choices.
You can compare and contrast when you choose other editing software.
When you buy Final Cut, it is made for all.
I prefer not having to make a choice.
And I've been using Final Cut till this day.
Final cut updates really fast too.
Not long after HD was out, Final Cut could edit in HD video.
It's also faster than other editing software, which I think it's great.
17-inch MacBook may be harder to carry.
But if you can afford it, it should still be a better choice.
That's about it.
Yan: Digital technology is very helpful to indie filmmakers.
Liu: But I haven't other Apple products such as iPhone.
I feel iPhone is easy to get crashed and damaged.
iTouch is good for playing games.
I was playing some games over there earlier.
My MP3 player isn't from Apple.
My only experience with Apple is their MacBook.
Many of my friends are Apple fans.
Everything they use is Apple.
And they wait to buy iPhone 4.
I'm still unsure if everything Apple is that good.
But I think for post-production, Final Cut is a safe choice.
Edius may be another good choice for editing software on laptops too.