Catching up with Tian Liu: Founder of Tigertail Pictures, Award winning cinematographer and acclaimed fashion photographer

Tian Liu is an acclaimed Chinese camera operator, cinematographer, and photographer whose knowledge and experience have contributed to numerous short and long-form  film projects, and whose still photography has been published in international publications, including China Daily, Vogue Italy, and more. This year Cannes Film Festival will be screening Tian’s most recent film, The Best Date Ever, directed by Cherry Cao. Having developed her passion for the visual arts and put this passion into practice early, Tian has already amassed 17 years of experience in photography. Her areas of expertise include narrative film, fashion films, reality TV, and documentaries. Tian has served in the capacity of cinematographer on over 40 film projects, a number of which were captured on 16 or 35mm  film, making Tian one of the very few female cinematographers of her generation versed in and loyal to motion picture’s original medium. 

As a student majoring in journalism, years of professional study merely formed the cradle of my passion for photography. As an undergraduate, I worked both as a reporter as well as a composer at CCTV, China Net, and Young Press Corps, respectively. These experiences gave me the opportunity to visit Africa, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, all in the pursuit of further honing and perfecting my photographic composition. Subsequently, my individual memories consist of the time and objectives simmering behind my photos, filtered by my own growing life experience and reading scale. I believe this is the charm of photography. Deeply moved by the pleasures both from my past work and journeys, I always consider photography as a magically mysterious science that can take my body — as the carrier of my soul — into the unknown realms of time and space, realms in which I will never cease to look for new breakthroughs in my self-consciousness.

Fran: What is your current role in the industry?

Tian: I am the founder of Tigertail Pictures and I work as a female cinematographer, director, and photographer. At Tigertail Pictures we do event videos, documentaries, fashion films, behind-the-scenes videography, interviews, product showcasing videos, crowdfunding videos, as well as TV commercials. You can see the projects we have done in the past to get a sense of what we do. We work with start-ups, corporations, and everything in between. If you have a project and a reasonable amount of money to realize it, please send us an email!

When I was 20 years old, I went to Kenya to be an international volunteer. That experience made me decide to be a visual artist. I lived in a slum for two months and taught math in an orphanage. The youngest child there was only six years old. I witnessed children who don’t have shoes to wear and only had corn and rice to eat every day, yet they were still so optimistic and happy about life. I want to help them, so I use my camera to record my time with them. I was a photojournalist for China Newsagency at that time, so I wrote their stories as a special topic piece, and the results were reprinted and published on major portal websites like China News Service, China Daily, Phoenix.com, etc. This is my original intention to be a visual artist. I want to use the language of my lens to help people and make their lives better.

Fran: What are you working on now?

Tian: I also own an advertisement company and we do a lot of commercials, music videos and documentaries. We have a lot of projects with celebrities like Maggie Q, Coldplay, Gal Gadot, etc. Tigertail Pictures is a Los Angeles-based production company providing full-service production needs, from the first steps of the creative planning all the way to post-production. Our in-house team and our vast network of filmmakers and photographers allow us to carry out every stage of the development process successfully and efficiently. We work with clients all over the world and we have offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Beijing, China. The diversity of our clients translates to the various industries we represent with our services, from fashion to lifestyle to art to technology. Wherever you are or whatever you need, our innovative team will envision your values and effectively translate them into still photography and/or motion pictures.

Fran: What do you think the industry should do to be more inclusive and diversity?

Tian: Cultural changes are needed in various places: We need large-scale examples like the Oscars to recognize more female directors and female cinematographers, thereby encouraging more young women to enter the industry. But we also need to be more tolerant of women who are already in the industry. Although there are some open-minded men in this industry, I have also heard some stories about the male behind-the-scenes staff confronting female directors, female photographers, and secretly engaging in inappropriate behaviour. This is not worth it. So far, most of the major film festivals are heavily biased towards men. This is not because they are better actors or filmmakers, but because of the history of the industry, the people in power are only focusing on the men. This needs to change. 

Fran: Have you ever experienced any racism on set?

Tian: Never

Fran: Has your gender and the fact that you are a woman ever been an obstacle in your career journey?

Tian: I have, but I cannot change the opinions of others. I can only do my best and create better projects beyond the reach of those who were unwilling to cooperate.

Fran: Typically people that have agents, don’t need one. Do you think this is true?

Tian: I will have a better understanding when I sign one haha

Fran: Any piece of advice for women filmmakers out there?

Tian: Be positive, dedicated and follow-through, and stay passionate about female empowerment. 

You can follow Tian here:

https://www.instagram.com/tian.liu.dp/?hl=en