Director of Photography in China
Ryan Potts (Rynos) is a Canadian Director of Photography based in China with over twenty years in the country. English-speaking and Mandarin-fluent, he shoots commercial, fashion, and brand-documentary work across the mainland, and can run a foreign team's production directly.
Shooting in China as a foreign production requires a level of local infrastructure that most international agencies underestimate until they're mid-production. Permits are obtained differently. Crew communication operates through different channels. Location access involves relationships that take years to build. And the entire logistical apparatus - gear, transport, catering, talent clearances - runs through a system that rewards fluency in both the language and the culture.
Ryan Potts (Rynos) is a Canadian Director of Photography who has lived and worked in China for over twenty years. He is Mandarin-speaking, deeply embedded in the production communities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, and has shot for global brands across mainland China including Huawei, CHANEL, BVLGARI, DHL × BBC StoryWorks, XPeng, and Grand Hyatt.
What shooting in China actually involves
China's production landscape is both highly capable and highly specific. Studios in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai rival those anywhere in Asia. Local crews are professional and experienced. But the path to a smooth shoot requires knowing which locations are permit-free and which require weeks of approval, understanding the unwritten norms around talent and set etiquette, and being able to communicate a creative brief clearly to crew members who may have limited English.
As a DP who functions as a bilingual production partner, Rynos removes these friction points. The foreign production teams guide covers this in more detail.
Cities and regions
Services available across China
- Commercial cinematography
- Fashion cinematography
- Product cinematography
- Narrative cinematography
- 16mm and analog formats