Forget the green screen, CJ ENM has a virtual studio

Tech

Published: 05 Jul. 2022, 18:37

Forget the green screen, CJ ENM has a virtual studio

The Virtual Production Stage inside CJ ENM Studio Center is filled with Samsung Electronics’ micro-LED screens from top to bottom, named The Wall. [CJ ENM]

PAJU, Gyeonggi — With the click of a mouse, a virtual production studio with two gigantic black walls swiftly turns into a mountainous valley and then to a colorful forest, a beach at sunset and finally into a New York cityscape.

The setting represents the future of filmmaking envisioned by Samsung Electronics and CJ ENM, the distributor of Oscar-winning “Parasite.”

The electronics maker supplied advanced micro-LED displays used at the Virtual Production Stage of the CJ ENM Studio Center, located in Paju, Gyeonggi, the company's newest studio, which cost 200 billion won ($153.7 million).

On-set virtual production has become increasingly popular in recent years, where actors get to see the computer-generated backgrounds they’re playing in real-time. Virtual production cuts time and cost of shooting compared to the green-screen process, where images are added in later. Because directors can instantly see how the scene is being filmed on the set, the time needed to reshoot or modify is reduced.

At the heart of the virtual production studio is the Samsung Electronics micro-LED screen, named The Wall. The micro-LED displays are considered one of the most advanced in existing display technologies because the microscopic LEDs can directly emit light without the need of a backlight. The tiny LED bulbs make post-production as easy and smooth as possible. Micro-LEDs are 100 times smaller than conventional LEDs, meaning they can be placed much more densely than the products manufactured by their competitors.

The Virtual Production Stage inside CJ ENM Studio Center [YOON SO-YEON]

The Virtual Production Stage is surrounded by a curved screen 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter and 7.3 meters tall, with a circular LED screen covering the ceiling. Over 130 million micro-LED bulbs are used to show the wanted scenery in the highest resolution in town.

“Micro-LEDs provide the brightest and the most detailed display technology, which means that what the directors see in real life is almost exactly the same as what they see has been recorded with their cameras,” said Song Jun-ho, a senior professional at the visual display business unit at Samsung Electronics to the Korea JoongAng Daily during a tour of the studio on Tuesday.

An actor stands against Samsung Electronics' micro-LED curved screen named The Wall at the CJ ENM Studio Center in Paju, Gyeonggi. [YOON SO-YEON]

Actors can also get into character and make fewer mistakes, because they can see the actual background they’re standing against, instead of imagining what it would look like afterward.

“There are numerous virtual production studios around the world, but ours is the only one in the world using a micro-LED screen,” said Kim Sang-yeop, head of the Content R&D Center at CJ ENM. “It can be used not only in making films and dramas, also for metaverse and extended reality [XR] productions."

The Virtual Production Stage is a part of the CJ ENM Studio Center, open this April after two years of construction. As the largest production facility in Korea, it houses 13 larges shooting studios over 210,000 square meters.

The CJ ENM Studio Center in Paju, Gyeonggi, opened in April after two years of construction. [CJ ENM]

The CJ ENM Studio Center in Paju, Gyeonggi [CJ ENM]

Executives from CJ ENM answer questions from the local press during a tour of the CJ ENM Studio Center taken place on Tuesday at Paju, Gyeonggi. From left are: Jun Sung-chul, public relations executive; Kim Sang-yeop, head of the Content R&D Center at CJ ENM; and Suh Jung-pil, general manager at the Media Tech & Art unit. [CJ ENM]

The 5,000-square-meter studio was set up on a recent day for the filming of tvN’s “Alchemy of Souls.”

Antique-style rooms were for an eerie vibe of a fictional historical era where evil magic changes people’s souls and disrupts society. Most of the design has been carried out by CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon, which will be occupying the Studio Center for the time being.

“We can make around 20 drama series a year using all studios, so right now we’re only planning to have Studio Dragon’s content produced here,” said Suh Jung-pil, general manager at the Media Tech & Art unit at CJ ENM. “But we are planning to set up additional facilities and infrastructure within the grounds to open it up to outside companies too.”

Upcoming dramas produced at the CJ ENM Studio Center include “Poong, The Joseon Psychiatrist” from Aug. 1 and “Little Women” from Aug. 27.

“Our production sets allow creators to overcome uncontrollable outside factors like the weather or the pandemic,” said Jun Sung-chul, a public relations executive. “We hope to become Asia’s leading production hub to lead the global spread of Korean content.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]