A Woman Who Hunts Bugs in Films and Television Dramas

The 27-year-old woman Zhao Xue can testify convincingly to the fact that there is nothing perfect in the film and television drama industry. She is CEO of China’s first business specialized in hunting bugs in films and television dramas.

Finding bugs such as absurd anachronisms in films and television dramas was at first one of her pastimes. After graduation from college in 2006， Zhao Xue found a job with a decoration company in Beijing. The work was physically challenging， for she needed to visit project sites and talk with managers about design and quality. After a year she resigned， thinking it was not the life she wanted.

She became a freelance designer. Using internet to find clients， she ran a small business at home. She did packaging designs， created illustrations for some magazines， and devised book jackets for publishers. She enjoyed her new work not simply because she no longer needed to visit construction sites but mainly because she now could spend a lot of time watching movies and television dramas.

She has been an enthusiast for movies and television dramas since her teenage years. During her middle school days she was mad about the dream world in these fictitious stories but had to stop watching because of heavy academic studies typical of middle school students across the country right before their national college entrance examination.

Now she had the time for the luxury. “Troy”， a 2004 Hollywood blockbuster， was one of the films she liked very much and watched again and again. In one viewing of the movie， however， she unexpectedly spotted a Boeing 747 in the background while a fierce battle was going all out in the movie. She saved a screen shot of the modern aircraft and uploaded it into an internet forum. The bug in the movie caused heated discussions at the forum.

This experience turned Zhao’s attention to bugs in movies and television dramas. To her astonishment， she found huge amount of bugs in domestic films and television series. Even some so-called epic productions were full of laughable bugs. For example， a general of the Tang Dynasty wore American blue-jeans in one scene and in another， beside the body of a dead soldier was a popular brand modern soft drink made in China.

Zhao soon found that she was not the only bug hunter. Online there were many. Many of them were doctors， lawyers， journalists and drivers. What made her famous was her contribution to a bug-finding competition at a well-known website. In a scene of “The Outlaws of the Marsh”， a television adaptation from the eponymous Chinese ancient classic novel about rebels in the Song Dynasty (960-1279)， Li Kui is seen walking and carrying a pack of meat wrapped in a piece of paper. When the wind ruffles the wrap， the paper turns and shows printed words “Legal Daily”， a modern newspaper published in Beijing and distributed nationwide. The bug was so laughable in the context of the scene that everybody laughed and agreed Zhao Xue should be rewarded for finding the anachronism. She won the first prize and 800 yuan in cash and a certificate.

In May 2008 she was asked by a website master if she was willing to watch a war film and see if there were any anachronisms and technical problems. Before the movie was to be released to the public screening， the producer wanted the movie to be debugged to be free of possible bugs. They had done their job， but they wanted an experienced person to check again. This is where Zhao came in. She watched the 1.5-hour film from beginning to end without speaking. Everybody else was happy. Seeing the faultfinder did not speak up， the director concluded that it seemed everyone had done their job and apparently there were no bugs at all. The director was interrupted by Zhao Xue. Zhao Xue pinpointed two scenes in the film and named the specific spots in the movie after referring to her notes. To the huge embarrassment of everybody present， they watched: a female military expert in the 1980s wore boots of a famous Italian brand， the content of a confidential document was the lyrics of a pop song entitled “How I Miss You”， a soldier was riding a white horse toward a destination and before he arrived his horse became purplish red.

The webmaster tried to stop Zhao Xue but Zhao did not want to stop her criticism. She said ruthlessly that she had spotted four bugs at first viewing. Now she was excited and everyone else was extremely unhappy. She began to walk away whistling a song. The webmaster asked her to stay. The director asked her to do the debugging thoroughly.

She became famous for her sharp eyes and sharp comments. Bug hunting became a job for her. The director later recommended her to many other producers. She was frequently commissioned to hunt bugs in films and television dramas before their national screenings.

When her fame grew and more and more commissions came her way， she found she was not able to cope with her job. The workload became unbearable. On one occasion， she watched two 20-episode television dramas and two films within two days. Her head and eyes hurt and tears welled up uncontrollably. After she completed bug notes， she saw nothing but spots flying and dancing in front of her.

To be a good bug killer， Zhao Xue says you need concentration， encyclopedic knowledge， good memory， sharp eyes， and hard work. She usually watches a film twice. In the first viewing she gets herself familiarized with the storyline and prepares herself for possible bugs and in the second viewing， she begins to hunt bugs seriously. She thinks it is a high-tech work. For example， after finding the newly installed telephone does not work， a woman sends for a telephone technician to check the phone. The phone repairer changes two batteries and the telephone works. Zhao Xue points out batteries are only for the crystal display panel and hands-free talk and when a telephone does not work， the connection is usually the culprit. In the same film set in 1985， the father wears a uniform that shows his military rank. But the system of military rank in New China was scratched in 1965 and it was not until 1988 that it was resumed.

Zhao Xue says that such cheap bugs can be easily avoided if you hire bug hunters to find faults for you.

In the spring of 2010， Zhao Xue advertised for enthusiasts to join her in bug hunting. Hundreds applied and about 20 were employed. Her studio is not China’s first specialist business committed to finding bugs in films and television dramas.

The Three Kingdoms， the latest television adaptation from the eponymous ancient classic， were found full of bugs after its first-round nationwide screening in May 2010. Director Gao Xixi paid eight million for removing bugs and correcting errors in history and language for the second-round screening across the nation in August 2010.

Now an experienced bug-buster， Zhao Xue has established partnerships with more than 100 directors and many independent film and television drama studios to find bugs for their latest productions. Running a business， Zhao Xue finds her job really exciting and enjoyable. In a sense， she gets paid and entertained for watching movies.□