For the first edition of [DIY Diary] we chat with Shanghai-based video artist/producer Tina Blakeney. Tina's the co-founder and creative director of Redscale Studios, a bespoke video production firm specializing in the complete creative package: high-end images and custom sounds to boot. That's how she makes ends meet. She's also an internationally accomplished visual artist, specializing in VJ / multimedia installations that have transformed some of our favorite afterhours joints in Beijing and Shanghai into tripped out sensory-overload immersion tanks. Last one I saw was part of the JUE Festival; Tina projected bleach-burned 35mm slides throughout Shetler's interior spaces and at certain points I felt I was losing my mind (not necessarily entirely due to the visuals). She'll be in town for this Saturday's Drive-in Delirium event at Dada, where she'll present a full night of live "vintage 3D visuals" (hint: by "vintage" she means not Avatar shit). Here's Tina on the DIY grind in China and what's in store for this weekend:

: I'm from Brisbane, Australia. I studied film production at uni and have always been fascinated with the moving image.

: I arrived in Shanghai at the end of 2006, I had left Australia to start a new adventure and to be honest I really didn't know what I was going to do or how long I was going to stay when I first arrived here. Previously I had co-owned and operated a Vegan cafe in Brisbane for 3 years so I was looking to do something new. Shanghai felt right so I stayed and somehow 8 years have passed and I'm still here.

: I was working full time and also freelancing doing video production, post production and VJing in my spare time. I had been involved with setting up various different ventures for a range of companies in Shanghai and kept thinking it was time to do it for myself, so I took the leap of faith and gave up the day job to focus full time on developing the company. Redscale co-founders Tina Blakeney (left) and Margot Hamer (middle)

: Before Redscale I was freelancing independently. Margot and I had worked together before and always had a great connection. We had talked about setting up something creative together and we were both at a point where we were both to do something new and call it our own, thus Redscale was born.

: Redscale is an officially registered company within China. We are on a business licence called a FIPE (Foreign Investment Partnership Enterprise). It is a relatively new scheme which is similar to a WFOE, but the FIPE seemed to be best suited to us a small company. We worked with a local agency to help us with the registration process as the FIPE scheme we were on was so new there was a lot of red tape that would have been pretty hard to navigate independently. It took around 6-8 months to get everything fully registered but I am really glad we went through with it.

: I guess because most of the personal creative work I do is experimental, a little bit of that naturally creeps in to the overall aesthetic of what we do. We also produce music videos and do corporate and creative VJ work as well so perhaps we have a broader spectrum of exposure than a stock standard production house, which then brings in more creative requests and clients. We are a small company so we work with each client very closely; in that way we can produce work that is more creatively directed and tailor-made.

: The bulk of our revenue comes from large-scale corporate work. We have done some very large-scale animation and pixel mapping projects for events as well as high-end video production and product launches. We also produce creative branding/destination videos for hotel and tourism clients.

: I wish I knew!

: I think it is challenging to work within the creative industries in any city and there are times when I wonder what the hell I was thinking giving up a stable, full-time salary! We are starting to see more clients who are interested in a more creative approach, which is encouraging as this makes the market a much more interesting place. But I think the main thing is understanding the seasonal nature of this kind of work and managing a way to balance the crazy corporate months with more creative projects over summer and Chinese New Year.

: Currently I am working on developing moving image installations and performances when I have spare time. I've been creating hand-made 35mm slides, bleaching, painting, and burning prints and negatives. I have also been working with 16mm and 8mm film, both collecting discarded film and then bleaching and painting directly on to 16mm film — then working with multiple projectors for performances. Also, I have been working with Acid Pony Club to create live cinema performances, where I recut and re-work old silent films while the boys do a live electronic soundtrack. We have been getting some great feedback about this and I would love to develop opportunities to perform more locally and internationally. The 3D party on Saturday at Dada is a bit of fun, really. We are not taking ourselves too seriously — it won't be Avatar — but it will reflect our personal aesthetic. We are creating vintage 3D visuals, everyone gets a pair of glasses and it's going to get weird. Hopefully we don't accidentally play the visual equivalent of the brown sound. *** Catch Tina supplying the 3D visuals for a live set from Shanghai's Acid Pony Club on Saturday, May 24 at Dada.