Korea’s VFX Houses Hit the Global Stage

NEWS & REPORTS
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Feature

NEWS & REPORTS

Korea’s VFX Houses Hit the Global Stage

Apr 17, 2018

Writerby Pierce Conran
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Local and International Hits Rely on Korean Expertise

The Korean film industry has actually been breaking records with its exports through a different route. Over the past few years, Korea’s VFX companies have been making giant leaps in their technical sophistication and have become highly sought out around the world.

Companies like Dexter Studios, Digital IDEA, MACROGRAPH and many others have been making inroads in foreign markets and are now responsible for much of the effects work on some of the biggest hits that have dominated the Chinese box office.

This week, KoBiz takes a look at some of the Korean companies that are changing the face of the visual effect industry in Asia.

Dexter Studios

Founded by film director KIM Yong-hwa and a group of visual effects experts in order to create the necessary effects for KIM’s 2013 family sports comedy Mr. Go, Dexter Studios has quickly established itself as one of the leading effects houses in Asia. It has provided detailed VFX services, that include full 3D workflow services, for Korean and Chinese blockbusters while also producing its own films in Korea, starting with Mr. Go.

The Chinese hits the company has been involved with include the Jackie CHAN vehicle Kung Fu Yoga (USD 254 million), TSUI Hark’s The Taking of Tiger Mountain (USD 150 million) and The Monkey King 2 (USD 194 million), which earned the company a Best VFX Award from the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2017.

In Korea they have provided VFX for blockbusters such as the period swashbuckler The Pirates (2014) yet their most impressive achievement has been their latest work Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017), for which they produced as well as provided extensive VFX. The fantasy adaptation of the popular webcomic, ‘With the God’ has been a stunning success in Korea, where it is now the second most successful Korean film of all time, and elsewhere around the world, has set new benchmarks for Korean films in markets such as Taiwan.

Dexter Studios has drawn a lot of attention for its high-quality work throughout Asia and has induced investment from Chinese companies such as the Dalian Wanda Group and Legend Capital.

MACROGRAPH

A ‘creative digital content’ company that delivers top-drawer VFX and CG output services in Korea and overseas through an optimized pipeline, MACROGRAPH has been raising its profile in order to become an internationally recognized content provider.

MACROGRAPH has worked on a large amount of major Korean projects, including KIM Han-min’s period war film Roaring Currents (2014), the most successful local film of all time. At one point, MACROGRAPH was set to work on a sequel to BONG Joon-ho’s The Host (2006) after generating a popular test video featuring the monster of the hit film in a new setting.

Among MACROGRAPH’s major foreign clients have been Stephen CHOW’s The Mermaid (USD 554 million) and Dante LAM’s Operation Mekong (USD 173 million), while they have also found success in South Asia through S. S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning (USD 100 million).

Digital IDEA

Founded in 1998, Digital IDEA has been involved in visual effects for over 250 titles. The company’s on-set supervisors begin to collaborate with filmmakers early in the creative process to ensure the consistent and high-quality delivery of state-of-the-art VFX. Digital IDEA continually expands the range of its services as it engages in constant research and development.

Most recently, Digital IDEA worked on YEON Sang-ho’s superhero action-drama Psychokinesis, which will be made available globally on Netflix later this month, and they are currently in post-production for the upcoming period war film Ansi Fortress (translated title).

The company is also active in China, where it provided services for Dante LAM’s Operation Red Sea (USD 574 million) and CHEANG Pou-soi’s The Monkey King 3 (USD 114 million), two of the hits that fueled this year’s record-breaking Chinese New Year box office.

MOFAC

One of the most experienced VFX companies in Korea, MOFAC has provided services to over 200 feature films since its founding in 1994. The company has maintained its status as a market leader by continually investing in new technology and equipment as it strives to best accommodate its clients’ needs.

The outfit is known for participating in local hits such as JK YOUN’s tsunami blockbuster Haeundae (2009) but has increasingly made a name for itself on major Chinese productions. These include The Taking of Tiger Mountain, John Woo’s The Crossing 2 and The Monkey King: The Legend Begins (USD 194 million). MOFAC has also worked on the global co-production Last Knights with Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen.

Among MOFAC’s upcoming credits is the period creature feature Monstrum, which is currently in post-production and due out later this year.

4th Creative Party

Since 1996, 4th Creative Party has been delivering innovative visual effects to Korean films and increasingly to overseas projects. Led by senior visual effects supervisor LEE Jeon-hyoung, the outfit is considered a top creative partner and is known for its work on BONG Joon-ho’s The Host (2006) and Snowpiercer (2013), PARK Chan-wook’s Thirst (2009) and The Handmaiden (2016) and PARK Hoon-jung’s The Tiger (2015) among many others.

Recently 4th Creative Party worked on BONG Joon-ho’s Netflix-backed Okja (2017), which was shortlisted for the Best Visual Effects category of this year’s Academy Awards. The company has also participated in other international projects, such as Luca Guadagnino’s acclaimed drama A Bigger Splash.

DEMOLITION STUDIO

DEMOLITION STUDIO has established itself as one of the most reliable providers of practical special effects within the Korean film industry, with credits that number over 250. Among their many projects was global blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron, for which they provided effects work while it was filming sequences in and around Seoul in 2014.

Recent Korean productions that the company has participated in include The Priests (2015), Veteran (2015) and The Tiger (2015).

CJ Powercast

Since getting started in 2003, CJ Powercast has been delivering one-stop digital content services, which range across production, delivery, processing, and management. Among the company’s specialties are VFX, DI, and Stereoscopic 3D production while their service area stretches across broadcast playout, content aggregating services, and digital advertising services.

Credits include the 2010 Chinese hit Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.

NEXT Visual Studio

A media technology company is known for providing VFX work to films and CGI and for animations both in Korea and overseas, NEXT Visual Studio has improved their craft by virtue of their decade of experience on major international productions.

NEXT Visual Studio has provided VFX work for a range of titles, such as the Korean War action-drama 71-Into the Fire (2010) and Chinese period blockbusters such as Three Kingdoms and 14 Blades.

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