TRW True Originals Shanghai
Automotive
Production support in Shanghai
For the China edition of TRW’s international True Originals Brake Discs campaign, Alchemist Films supported a UK-led automotive production in Shanghai. Our team handled location scouting, local coordination, tea-room set development and Shanghai B-roll planning, helping translate the overseas creative brief into a practical local shoot.
- Client
- TRW Automotive
- Worked with
- Spectrecom and Law Creative
- Location
- Shanghai, China
- Role
- China production support
- Scope
- Location scouting, tea-room set development, Shanghai B-roll planning and local production coordination
Production support
What Alchemist handled in Shanghai
Location scouting
Researched and coordinated practical Shanghai locations that matched the visual and logistical requirements.
Tea-room set development
Supported the development of a locally credible tea-room environment for the interior scenes.
Shanghai B-roll planning
Identified city details, driving environments and supporting shots that strengthened the Shanghai setting.
Local production coordination
Connected the overseas team with local schedules, suppliers, locations and on-the-ground production requirements.
Frames that carry the story
How support worked on the ground
For TRW, the China-side work was about making the campaign feel specific to Shanghai while keeping the shoot practical for an overseas-led team. The China edition used traditional tea-making as its human story, linking careful craft with the precision behind TRW’s brake discs.
Location, set context, product detail, and city movement had to support the same automotive story.
- Local access and realistic choices Scouting focused on settings the team could actually film, not just locations that looked good on paper.
- Tea-room setting and product precision The controlled tea-room scene gave the film a human craft counterpoint to TRW's brake-disc story.
- Shanghai movement around the edit Road, traffic, and automotive-adjacent B-roll gave the campaign a clearer sense of place.
What overseas producers need to plan
Four practical considerations when bringing an automotive or industrial production to China.
Validate locations early
Confirm visual suitability, access, permissions, and practical shooting conditions before finalising the treatment.
Define local support clearly
Identify where the overseas team needs scouting, set development, local coordination, or shoot-day assistance.
Separate controlled and city filming
Plan product-focused scenes independently from road, traffic, and location-dependent Shanghai B-roll.
Build local context into the brief
Share the cultural details, environments, and place-specific images the final film needs to communicate.
