Freed from Lots of Constraints, More Creative Content Producing is Expected

Virtual production studios are emerging as an alternative as not only location shooting has become difficult due to the influence of COVID-19, but also procedures have become more difficult in filming requiring large numbers of people.

A virtual production studio refers to being able to shoot actors and backgrounds at the same time after projecting 3D backgrounds on a large LED wall in real-time, and its biggest advantage is being able to shoot them in the way and location you want. In short, it saves time and money by immediately filming and reflecting VFX works.

Movie production companies in Korea are scrambling to build virtual production studios. Not only is Korea's role as a content supply base growing due to global OTT companies' entry into Korea, but competitions to preoccupy the virtual production industry have begun as the metaverse industry is growing rapidly. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea predicts that the domestic realistic content market will grow about five times from 2.8 trillion won in 2020 to 11.7 trillion won in 2022.

In the past, to film such scenes needed the help of overseas professional companies, but it is now possible with domestic technology and manpower, and the overseas film industry is also paying attention to Korean virtual production studios.

Dexter Studios Launched D1, a Virtual Production Studio in Paju, Gyeonggi-do

Recently, several virtual production studios were established in Korea, drawing attention. First, Dexter Studios, a company specializing in visual effects (VFX) and content, has unveiled its virtual production studio. In November, Dexter Studios launched D1, its first virtual production studio in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. The new production method, which implements the desired background on the LED wall and performs graphic work simultaneously as filming, is expected to reduce the production cost of a blockbuster film worthy of 10 billion won by 2~3 billion won.

D1, launched recently, is noteworthy in that it plans and produces its own content while simultaneously having a virtual production studio department and LED stage. In order to have all the capabilities, Dexter Studio newly established the VP headquarters two years ago and has been preparing for D1.

It is also noteworthy that Dexter Studios collaborated with Lux Machina in the United States for the first time in Korea. Lux Machina is a leader in virtual production solutions and engineering and has been building a variety of virtual production workflows and stages, including Disney+ drama The Mandalorian Season 1, the movie Solo: Star Wars Story, Oscar Awards, and the 2020 League of Legends World Championship, etc.

D1 not only selected and introduced solutions verified through successful overseas cases but also has the best LED panel processors, rendering, and systems to provide high-performance real-time remote monitoring and streaming services. D1's first work is Director Kim Yonghwa's new film The Moon, which has recently been cranked up.

VA Corporation Established a Multi Studio in Hanam

VA Corporation, a metaverse platform company, is building a total of 3.3 acres of a multi-studio by expanding general studios and art centers following its existing virtual studio. Construction began in March, starting with three virtual studios in ‘VA Studio Hanam’ in Hanam, Gyeonggi-do, and the general studios began to be built in June. VA Corporation emphasized that it has built the largest multi-studio in Asia only in 9 months. The company plans to preoccupy the growing content market with its global production environment.

In addition to the virtual production environment such as XR studios and medium-sized studios, this multi-studio has motion capture studios, R&D centers, a production boardroom with 120 seats, and viewing rooms. It laid the foundation for a leap forward as a comprehensive content company that can produce content in one place, from planning to filming, production, and visual effects (VFX).

Kim Dongeon, CEO of VA Corporation, said, "This multi-studio construction has laid the foundation for mass production of content that allows you to work in one place without moving to filming locations. We will leap forward as the best partner to produce well-made content.”

CJ ENM's Super-large Future Studio, VIT, VIVE Studios's integrated Control Solution 

In addition, CJ ENM, a comprehensive entertainment company, plans to invest about 180 billion won in Paju, Gyeonggi-do, to complete its super-large future studio with 13 buildings in a total of 53 acres, including VFX Studio, which has the largest LED wall in Korea, by the end of this year.

It also plans to sign a business agreement with Epic Games, which has secured real-time rendering technology, to accelerate the production of realistic content with the high global level of completeness by Unreal Engine technology, a combining 3D creative platform. CJ ENM plans to supply high-quality content produced in Virtual Production Studio to global OTT as well as TVING by utilizing the content capabilities it has accumulated over the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, VIVE Studios is producing realistic content through VIT, the first integrated control solution developed in Korea. Computer graphics (CG) technology, widely known for realizing virtual space in movies and dramas, works in a way that actors imagine and do acting in front of a huge green wall and then the scene is synthesized with the space later to create realistic characters and spaces. However, based on a game engine, VIT implements 3D in real-time as if it were a game. The camera and virtual space are synthesized in real-time through synchronization, and real-time graphics according to the movement of the camera can be projected onto a large LED wall to create a realistic scene.

Now, virtual production studios have become an essential environment for realistic content production. Such growth of virtual production studios will continue after COVID-19, and it is expected to change the production paradigm, not a temporary trend. It is because they greatly contribute to improving the quality of content by providing satisfactory environments and results to content producers and consumers. In that sense, it is expected that more creative content will be created if it is freed from existing constraints.