Dexter Studios: “Korean VFX is on par with Hollywood”

Jong-hyun Jin and Jay Seung Jaegal, VFX supervisors of Dexter Studios, and DJ Lee, director of virtual production, discuss in detail the unique technological characteristics of visual effects and virtual production of the Korean audiovisual industry, which has experienced remarkable growth in recent years.

Dexter Studios has become a reference in terms of VFX y virtual production in South Korea. Based in Seoul and with an ambition that has led them to diversify their scope of action, they currently act as a comprehensive content study covering content planning, development, production, post-production, DI and sound, without forgetting other emerging concepts such as immersive content, augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality or the metaverse.

The company that was born in 2012 focused on special effects has reached 2024 transformed into a group with six subsidiaries, among which stand out as Livetone, DI and sound division that has independent studios; D1, focused on virtual production, or Dexter Pictures, a production company that develops its own IPs. Only at Dexter headquarters do some 330 personas, including some 200 VFX artists.

Its technological effort translates into productions that have gone beyond the asian markets to get to know each other all over the world. Possibly the most representative example is his work in Parasite, first Korean film to win the Oscar for Best Picture for which they created “natural and invisible” visual effects both in the DI areas (Digital Intermediate) as in sound. Other representative examples are the series Along with the Gods, the first Korean series to surpass 10 million viewers in its two parts; adaptation to live-action of Knights of the Zodiac or the recent Japanese original series Yu Yu Hakusho.

Jong-hyun Jin y Jay Seung Jaegal, VFX supervisors, and DJ Lee, virtual production director, help gain insight into the industry korean of visual effects and virtual production. They also share the work philosophy of Dexter Studios, in which the I+D has played a fundamental role in shaping up to more than 80 specific tools for your needs. However, in an era marked by IA and technological progress, for the Asian team creativity remains the fundamental pillar that the difference from its competitors.

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VFX and VP in K-dramas

How important would you say visual effects and virtual production are in the production of Korean dramas?

Korean dramas are known for addressing topics with a unique perspective, and visual effects play a crucial role in the representation of these stories. As the K-Content gana popularidad en todo el mundo, su diversidad se amplía, lo que convierte a los efectos visuales en un factor clave para asegurar la calidad del contenido y hacer que los espectadores los elijan frente a otros. Gyeongseong Creature y Parasyte: The Grey, dos de los últimos trabajos de Dexter, recibieron críticas positivas del público en todo el mundo por las criaturas que aparecen en ellas, tan únicas como realistas.

As for the producción virtual, su adopción en los K-dramas sigue creciendo. La producción virtual y los efectos visuales suelen ir de la mano. Cada vez se utilizan más en las producciones de forma complementaria e integrada. This synergy allows for greater creative flexibility, faster production times, and ultimately, more visually engaging storytelling. We anticipate greater adoption and integration in the coming years.

Is the Korean VFX and VP industry at the global forefront in these areas?

It seems that global audiences are recognizing the quality and creativity of Korean content, especially with the rise of streaming platforms and the demand for them to contain increasingly sophisticated VFX. The global success of K-content has highlighted the impressive capabilities of K-VFX, which are now at the height of Hollywood. Dexter has worked on international projects such as Knights of the Zodiac (2023) y Yu Yu Hakusho (2023) from Netflix in collaboration with renowned studios such as DAY, Orca Studios y Scanline VFX. In fact, since then the number of visits from renowned foreign companies and production companies to talk about projects that plan to have a global reach has increased. Additionally, Korea is quickly becoming a major player in the global virtual production industry. Your rate of adoption is one of the highest in the world.

Corea is quickly becoming a important actor in the global virtual production industry. His adoption rate is one of the highest in the world.

The growth of virtual production in the Asia-Pacific region, including Korea, is supported by important investments in virtual production infrastructure, local talent development and cost advantages compared to Western markets. This makes Korea an attractive node for both local and international creatives. For example, we recently completed the construction and consulting of a virtual production studio for the group The edges, a titan of content production in Thailand. We hope that Korea will become a dominant force in the global panorama of virtual production and contribute to the growth of the sector.

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Union of R&D and global technology

Could you tell us which VP studios you currently have and what the key technology is in each of them?

Currently, we have a virtual production studio that we have built together with the virtual production specialist Lux Machina. Our virtual production studio, D1, is equipped with the latest LED technologies, processors and rendering/playback systems to offer services optimized for ICVFX productions. The study also admits HDR y remote workflows. We have been laying the foundations of the D1 studio since we decided to create a virtual department four years ago; With it, we were able to ensure that this space had all the necessary capabilities to ensure a dedicated virtual production line.

D1 Studio is supported by Dexter's virtual production department, consisting of the visualization team, VAD, R&D, stage team, photoscan team and background filming team. We also have a motion capture studio run by the R&D team and are in the process of fully integrating the capturing performances in the virtual production process.

Has your entire VP workflow been built internally with external resources? Have they developed or implemented original technology that makes their virtual production studios unique?

The basis of our workflows is the result of collaboration with various partners and other VP studios in Korea. We believe that the progress of the virtual production workflow has to be community-driven as it is constantly evolving. Collaboration and R&D community driven They are essential to create innovative and impactful solutions. By leveraging the community's diverse perspectives, resources, and knowledge, these approaches not only improve the quality and speed of innovation, but also ensure that the resulting solutions are sustainable, scalable and widely standardized.

What sets our studio apart from others is our attention to production speed and the consistency in quality. It doesn't matter if you have the latest technology: if you can't deliver the same quality time and time again, then it is not viable for production,

However, we also have our own specific needs, which is why we invest a lot in Internal R&D to continue improving and optimizing our workflow. What sets our studio apart from others is our attention to production speed and consistency in quality. It doesn't matter if you have the latest technology: if you can't deliver the same quality over and over again, then it's not viable for production. To mention a few, we have a own color management solution, así como de una solución de captura de escenarios 2D para ofrecer una calidad de imagen constante. Además, implementamos la supervisión remota y el entorno de trabajo para que el artista y el equipo no tengan que desplazarse.

Los proyectos de Dexter Studio tienen un acabado de primer nivel. ¿Cuáles considera las claves tecnológicas para lograr una producción de primera VP?

La producción virtual es un esfuerzo altamente técnico impulsado por las últimas tecnologías. Dedicamos mucho tiempo a explorar distintas soluciones de software y hardware para ver cómo podemos utilizarlas y cómo repercuten en la producción. Sin embargo, al fin y al cabo, A talented team is much more important than any technology. We are fortunate to have a team that comes from a variety of backgrounds including film production, visual effects, DI, broadcasting and production design. We are able to use our past experiences to leverage technology to solve problems. Having a team prepared for the changing VP environment and passionate about problem solving seems to us to be the most important factor.

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VFX: own tool and the question of AI

What are the key technologies that are shaping the present of visual effects?

In the visual effects industry, programs such as OPEN USD, Maya, Houdini, RenderMan y Equalizer. At Dexter Studios, we have integrated OPEN USD into our pipeline, creating a system where work on all parts can begin simultaneously by simply creating a downstream model. This has drastically improved the speed of work and has allowed the workload to be lightened.

At the moment we develop y we use nails 80 tools of own software. (…) Recently, we have also focused on the application of Generative AI in the production of VFX.

We currently develop and use some 80 proprietary software tools. Some notable examples are Zeal Fur, to realistically express the fine fur of animals; ZENV, a tool to efficiently place elements of the environment in the scenarios and thus create more natural and realistic scenarios, and Zephylos, designed to quickly perform large-scale water simulations. These technologies are applied variously in Dexter Studios' visual effects productions.

Recently, we have also focused on the application of Generative AI in VFX production through our internal R&D center.

Some talk about AI, others about cloud computing... What would you say are the key technological concepts that are shaping the present and future of VFX?

As technology advances, creativity will become the most important competitive advantage. It is clear that AI can be used to drastically reduce work time and maximize process efficiency. However, imagine and plan The basic ideas for carrying out the visual effects remain the sole responsibility of the artist. If the systemic conditions improve and standardize through technology, ultimately competitiveness will be determined by the creativity and original ideas.

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VFX and VP will reach short content

Technology can always improve. How would you like to see VFX and VP technology evolve in the future?

Based on the previous answer, we hope that the technologies represented by the IA and the cloud computing improve notably work processes and speed. Specifically, it is expected that the technologies necessary for the production of visual effects, such as aging/de-aging, motion capture, facial capture and retargeting, which are already used in various jobs, are developed in a more sophisticated way. Dexter also continues to research these technologies.

We hope that technologies represented by AI and the cloud computing Noticeably improve work processes and speed. (…) To follow the consumption rate, the production speed it has to be faster.

Visual effects and virtual production are expanding their application beyond films, dramas and OTT series, by multimedia art and advertising. In line with content consumption trends, these technologies are frequently applied even to short format media. To keep pace with consumption, the production speed has to be faster. We believe that technological flexibility will be increasingly important to adapt to the diversified flow of media and platforms.

An interview by Sergio Julián Gómez

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