Biography

BA Modern Languages University of Cambridge 

Alumini of the National Film and Television School 

PhD University of Lincoln

Dr Hing Tsang comes from a background of practical filmmaking. He was trained in the documentary department of the National Film and Television School, after which he worked on both TV documentaries and feature projects in a number of production and technical roles. He continues to collaborate with visual artists and puppeteers as well as working on his own documentary based projects. His research and teaching bridges the gap between theory and practice. He has currently completed a monograph about the application of Peircean semeiotic in a documentary context.

Selected productions:

Under the Bed (2007)

 A collaboration with artist Edwina Ashton resulting in the production of a twenty minute film which was shown at Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin in April 2007.

The Trouble Between Men and Women Next Wave Films dir. by Tony Fisher                                            

 (2001 – 2002) Cinematographer on a feature film, and shown at various European and American Film Festivals.

The Children’s  Midsummer Night’s Dream Sands (2001) dir.Christine Edzard

 Sound recordist and assistant editor on a feature film

Willows High (1999) dir. Sian Roderick

 Sound mixer and 2^nd camera on a six- part television documentary series shot in Cardiff.

Research Interests

Documentary Practice and Theory
Chinese Cinema
Latin American Cinema
American Pragmatism
Semiotics and Biosemiotics

Publications

Books

‘Self-Knowledge and the Living Sign’ (in progress) 

Book Chapters
'Mobile Topography in the work of Van der Keuken', Chaper 8, Urban Cinematics: Understanding Urban Phenomena through the Moving Image (Eds. Francois Penz and Andong Lu) 2011 University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-1-84504285.
'Rural American ‘ in Director of World Cinema: American Independent (Ed. John Berra). Intellect, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84150-368-4.

Journal Articles

'The Subject and the indexicality of the photograph' Semiotica (Volume 2009, No 173), an article co-written with Brian Winston about the indexical status of the image and its relationship to Peirce’s notion of the self. ISSN 0037-1998.

'Emotion, documentary, and Van der Keuken's Face Value ', Studies in Documentary Film, Volume 5 Number 1, Intellect  2011.

'Christians, Jews, and Moors in the work of Van der Keuken',  Interventions (forthcoming 2012).Jost’s description of Rural America for the ‘World Cinema Directory’ to be published by Intellect in 2010. 

Mobility and Global Complexity in the work of Van der Keuken published in the proceedings of the Urban Cinematics: Film and Narrative, Digital Studio for Research in Design, Visualization and Communication, Department of Architecture, Cambridge 2009.

Teaching

Chinese Cinema

Introduction to Audio-Visual Media 

Narrative Construction

Research Methods (contributor)

Conferences and Public Appearances

 'Transcendence and Transgression in Li Shao Hong’s Stolen Life.’ (presented at 'Asia Exposure, East Asian Cinema in a Global Context', at the University of Coventry, February 12th 2011).  

‘'Trusting the Dancer' (presented at the SDHS conference, 'Dance and Spectacle', at the University of Surrey, July 9th 2010).

'Mobility and Global Complexity in the work of Van der Keuken', (presented at 'Urban Cinematics: Film, City and Narrative' symposium at the University of Cambridge, December 8th 2009).

Mobility and Chance in European documentary (presented at the ‘Mobilities’ Conference, at the University of Lancaster, September 8th 2009).

‘Vermeer reconfigured through Jon Jost’ (presented at the ‘Framing Film’ Conference, University of Winchester, September 5th 2009).

‘Killing as Performance in the Cinema of Rithy Panh’ (presented at ‘Performing Lives’, at the University of Kingston July 7th July 2009).

‘Mobile phones, zapping and affectivity in Van der Keuken’s Amsterdam Global City’ (presented at the 'Mobility and Creativity: Narrative, Representation and Performance' at the University of Surrey, July 3rd 2009.

‘Autonomy and independence in Jon Jost's The Bed You Sleep In' (presented at 'American independent cinema: past, present, future' at Liverpool John Moores University May 9th 2009).

‘Charles Horton Cooley's account of the 'Looking Glass Self', (presented at the British Association for American Studies annual conference at the University of Nottingham April 18th 2009).

‘Jia Zhangke’s global performativity', (presented at the ‘Continuity and Innovation Film Conference' at the University of Reading, September 4th 2008).

‘Charles Sander Peirce's semeiotic and documentary film practice', (presented at the ‘Film and Philosophy Conference' University of West England 5th July 2008).

Crossing the Line’, an overview of the work of Jon Jost, (presented together with Peter Snowdon on Resonance Radio 2005, 28th March 2005, and available as a CD).

Languages Spoken 

English mother tongue 

Fluent French and Spanish (written and spoken). 

Fluent Chinese (Hakka and Mandarin). Reading ability in Chinese.