{"id":575033,"date":"2023-05-18T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/cannes-how-south-korea-became-a-vfx-powerhouse\/"},"modified":"2023-05-18T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T09:00:00","slug":"cannes-how-south-korea-became-a-vfx-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cannes-how-south-korea-became-a-vfx-powerhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"#Cannes: How South Korea Became a VFX Powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Before shooting began on Bong Joon Ho\u2019s Oscar-winning Parasite<\/em>, the film\u2019s production crew had trouble finding one of the film\u2019s crucial locations: the luxurious home of the wealthy Park family. The chances of finding the right house were slim, but the chances of finding a two-story house with an ideal setting was even slimmer. As a result, the film\u2019s art team created a set \u2014 a one-story house that would become the Park\u2019s mansion and the film\u2019s main setting. <\/p>\n

\n Later, artists at Dexter Studios, a Seoul-based visual effects studio, added a second floor to the house using computer graphics based on its blueprints, complete with a staircase and a garden that was digitally created. The streets nearby also were made in 3D and digitally merged with the film. During the four months of preproduction, more than 200 artists at Dexter worked on the project and roughly 500 VFX shots were used in the film.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe call it \u2018invisible VFX\u2019 in the industry,\u201d says Dexter Studios CEO Kang Jong-ik. \u201cAnd it\u2019s often more difficult to create digital images that blend into the existing landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Kang started his career in advertising in the late \u201990s, when computer graphics were first app<\/a>lied in South Korea. He later set up his own studio and concentrated on films. One of his first \u2014 1998\u2019s The Soul Guardians<\/em>, a psychological thriller surrounding a religious cult \u2014 was the first Korean feature film ever to actively employ computer graphics. \u201cIt was a revelation,\u201d Kang says. \u201cPeople called it \u2018Hollywood style\u2019 then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n In 2011, Kang joined Dexter, which was founded by director Kim Yong-hwa, whose Mr. Go <\/em>(2013), a comedy about a baseball-playing gorilla, was the first South Korean film to be fully shot in 3D.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Dexter is now a producer of several local blockbusters, including 2021\u2019s Escape From Mogadishu<\/em> and 2018\u2019s Along With the Gods <\/em>franchise. The studio specializes in securing original IP of popular novels and web comics and provides VFX for major Korean and global titles, including director Tomasz Baginski\u2019s fantasy adventure Knights of the Zodiac<\/em>, which will be released in the U.S. later this month.<\/p>\n

\n In 2010, only 10 percent of VFX work in Korea was for content from overseas. By 2017, the number jumped to 56 percent, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, owing to the increased demand for VFX work from China. The institute\u2019s 2019 report \u201cStudy on Tax Incentives System of VFX Industry\u201d values the domestic VFX market at roughly $45.2\u202fmillion, and it\u2019s mainly led by five or six players.<\/p>\n

\n Elsewhere, the country\u2019s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism predicts that the domestic market for Artificial Reality will jump five times compared with 2020. VFX companies are now building virtual production studios, while conglomerates such as CJ ENM and SK Telecom are investing in the market. Leading tech companies such as Samsung and LG are collaborating with film studios to expand their investment in developing high-definition LED screens.<\/p>\n

\n VFX is used more aggressively in Korean films and dramas than ever, regardless of genre. In Big Bet<\/em>, a drama series<\/a> about a casino mogul set in the Philippines and currently streaming on Disney+ in Korea, Gulliver Studio, another Seoul-based VFX studio, made headlines for employing de-aging technology<\/a>, which incorporates artificial intelligence to depict changes in a character\u2019s appearance and voice over time and re-creates images without using any special equipment during shooting.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe technique was used in commercials before, but we were the first to try it in a drama series,\u201d says Gulliver Studios CEO Jeong Jai-hoon. \u201cWe developed a special 3D mask and AI voice tool using compositing technology to create an image of the veteran actor in his younger years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n South Korea also is leading the way in virtual production. Seoul-based XON Studio recently partnered with SK Telecom, the country\u2019s top mobile carrier, to create virtual studios using large LED walls that can re-create an extensive variety of settings.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe need for virtual production rose significantly during the pandemic,\u201d says Jang Won-ik, CEO of XON, recalling the time when many Hollywood VFX studios were closed. \u201cGiven the quality and reputation of Korean production globally, there were demands from Hollywood studios to utilize virtual studios in Korea with local production crews. The plan was to shoot necessary scenes through virtual studios with a minimum crew in Korea and sign off by the director in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n The company is currently testing the feasibility of connecting virtual studios in two different locations \u2014 Goyang and Pangyo.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is some latency, but we think it would be technically possible [to shoot in two studios simultaneously],\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Chang says if the virtual studios succeed, companies can shoot 24 hours a day at various locations around the globe, given the time differences, which can reduce costs.<\/p>\n

\n Global expansion is one of the main goals of VFX studios in Korea. But time differences and language barriers are still major hurdles for Hollywood studios to partner with local studios, especially when English-speaking countries like Canada and New Zealand that are geographically closer to Hollywood are providing tax incentives for major film productions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Gulliver Studio, which earned a special visual effects Emmy in 2022 for Netflix\u2019s megahit Squid Game<\/a><\/em>, has attracted inquiries from global studios for partnership. Jeong believes that the quality of VFX artists in Korea has substantially improved in the past decade but feels that there still are some challenges.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe also lost many talented artists to global studios after the release of Squid Game<\/em>,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n Dexter\u2019s Kang agrees that Korean VFX artists are competent and offer broad skill sets, adding that savings are another selling point for the industry.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe quality of Korean VFX artists has caught up about 80\u202fpercent with major studios in Hollywood,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re the best in Asia. In fact, many overseas companies in Japan, China and Thailand are asking for business partnerships with our company. Korea\u2019s competitiveness lies in its ability to create high-quality work with relatively smaller budgets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n With the rise of Korean films and dramas during the COVID pandemic, the size of VFX companies has expanded as well.<\/p>\n

\n Following the success of 2022\u2019s All of Us are Dead<\/em>, a high school zombie flick, Westworld, another VFX studio in Seoul, is set to release the ambitious drama series Black Knight<\/em> on Netflix in May. The company started with 10 employees in 2018. As of 2021, it houses up to 170 employees, largely due to its partnership with Netflix.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done A-to-Z,\u201d says Westworld CEO Son Seung-hyeon. \u201cAnd because we have broad experiences, we\u2019re good at problem-solving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Many in the industry say that tax incentives are a great way to promote the country\u2019s VFX industry and ensure local companies remain globally competitive. Currently, depending on the production scale, the country provides up to a 10 percent return via tax incentives, a number many in the industry think should be increased. But an official at KOFIC, a government-run film body, says there is no immedia<\/a>te plan to offer additional tax incentives or support for local VFX companies.<\/p>\n

\n There also are complaints that the government favors global VFX players over local companies. In 2019, the Seoul government attracted Scanline \u2014 which has done VFX for Hollywood tentpoles like The Batman<\/em> and Godzilla<\/em> \u2014 by offering various incentives. After the announcement, local companies complained that they were being discriminated against by the local government in favor of foreign players.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFrom an artists\u2019 perspective, the opening of Scanline was an opportunity to work on global-scale projects,\u201d says Chae at Korea Tourism and Culture Institute. \u201cI think the government attempted to elevate the industry\u2019s wage standard and develop the VFX industry. But because the industry scale is still relatively small, it became a competition between the local players and foreign players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Dexter is currently working on The Moon<\/em> (working title), an ambitious sci-fi drama produced by Blaad Studio about a man abandoned in space, which was shot in the company\u2019s virtual production studio. Westworld is currently working on director Na Hong-jin\u2019s next feature, Hope<\/em>, which will be shot in virtual production.<\/p>\n

\n Kang at Dexter believes that there are certain limitations that come from the production scale in the Korean VFX market despite the industry\u2019s success. Budgets, he says, need to increase in order for Korea\u2019s VFX industry to continue to evolve.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cCompared to Hollywood, the budget for film production in Korea is still small,\u201d he says. \u201cIf the total production cost is over 20 billion won ($15 million), it\u2019s considered a blockbuster here. Compare that to Avatar 2<\/em>, which is almost $400 million. The size of Korean film is still only about 10 percent of Hollywood production.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n