CGV's special theater chiefs strive to provide best experience for moviegoers

Movies

Published: 07 Jun. 2023, 17:34 Updated: 07 Jun. 2023, 19:01

CGV's special theater chiefs strive to provide best experience for moviegoers

4DX producer at CGV Lee Ji-hye, left, and ScreenX producer Oh Yoon-dong pose for a photo at the CGV Yongsan office in central Seoul on May 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]

"Watching 'Fast & Furious 10' through 4DX was way better than going to Lotte World," An Chan-hyeok, a university student who recently watched the film at CGV's Yongsan branch in central Seoul, said. "It was so much fun and felt like experiencing the best theme park."

To say that watching a film equals going to an amusement park may have been a stretch ten years ago, but with the advent of special theaters where your chair moves along with the direction of the cars on screen, water is squirted at you when the characters are drenched, and the theater screen is not only one flat square in front of you but multiple screens surrounding your seat, this comparison is quite fitting.

4DX and ScreenX theaters are those very theaters. 4DX is a state-of-the-art film technology developed by CJ 4DPLEX, a subsidiary of the multiplex chain CGV. 4DX theaters incorporate on-screen visuals, synchronized motion seats and other off-screen effects such as water, wind and fog. ScreenX is another special theater developed by CJ, in cooperation with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, and is a panoramic theater with expanded 270-degree screens projected on walls surrounding the audience's seats.

Seats at a 4DX theater are shown at the CGV Yongsan branch in central Seoul. 4DX theaters apply off-screen effects such as water, wind, movements of the seats and others to allow immersive experiences for audiences. [CGV]

Since the development of 4DX and ScreenX technology, over 600 Hollywood blockbusters and domestic films have been screened in these special theaters, and there are 788 4DX theaters in 69 countries and 355 ScreenX theaters in 38 countries. It is safe to say that 4DX and ScreenX technology have taken over the global moviegoing experience.

So who is behind these revolutionary technologies for 4DX and ScreenX theaters? As moviegoers are scrambling to catch a screening of "The Flash" and "The Roundup: No Way Out" in 4DX or ScreenX, the Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with 4DX producer Lee Ji-hye and ScreenX producer Oh Yoon-dong at CGV, the masters behind the theater theme parks of our age.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

A ScreenX theater at CGV Yongsan branch in central Seoul. ScreenX theaters add additional expanded screens on the left and right sides of the main screen to allow audiences a 270-degree view. [CGV]

Q. How did you each step into developing special theaters such as 4DX and ScreenX?

Oh: I originally majored in film and, by chance, started in broadcasting when I came back to Korea after studying abroad. Then in 2008, “Avatar” opened in theaters, and there was a boom in 3-D content. I had the idea of filming performances in 3-D and thought that that would become a big thing. So it started from curiosity, but it led to me filming circuses and idols’ performances in 3-D, including an SM Entertainment tour. I then got a call from CGV to participate in developing a new kind of theater, which was ScreenX, and joined the team in 2015.

Lee: I also stepped into 4DX by coincidence. I was working in a part-time job at the CGV Sangam branch as a student, and around that time, the Sangam branch was the venue where they were experimenting with new types of theaters like a “five-senses experience” theater and smart screen theaters. Those were the development-stage versions of 4DX. From my experience with screening films at Sangam, I moved on to 4DX at CGV.

4DX producer at CGV Lee Ji-hye, left, and ScreenX prodcuer Oh Yoon-dong pose for a photo at the CGV Yongsan office in central Seoul on March 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]

What is the advantage of 4DX and ScreenX — as in, what can moviegoers get from 4DX and ScreenX screenings of films that they would not get from traditional theaters?

Oh: For ScreenX, watching a film through our theater is more of an experience than simple viewing. We aim for an immersive experience for the audience, which means through the surround-screen in ScreenX theaters, people can be much more immersed in the film. You escape from the stereotypical and expected rectangular frame of the screen and experience content in a never-before-seen way. Especially when you watch a blockbuster film through ScreenX, it gives you a realistic experience and the sense of being there where the scenes on the screen are happening.

Lee: An immersive experience for audiences is also the advantage of 4DX. We have a total of 21 effects, as we call it, that we can apply to 4DX screenings. We apply each effect to heighten the motions of the scenes themselves, so the audience can really feel that they are inside the film.

How long does it take to make a 4DX or ScreenX version of a film, and how much effort and labor is put into it?

Oh: A misconception that people tend to have about ScreenX is that we simply extend the original film into a wider screen. But we actually create all the additional footage needed for the 270-degree screens on the left and right sides of the central one. We use special effects for all of this additional footage. And we have to do that on a very short deadline. We only had eight weeks to make the ScreenX version of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which was a great challenge. This is because for us to create the ScreenX version of films, the original film has to be locked in, but that usually happens at the last minute with edits and such. And we have about 30 people working on a ScreenX version of a film.

Lee: 4DX is slightly different from ScreenX since ScreenX creates new images and footage to go along with the original film, but 4DX adds off-screen effects. We work on a 4DX version for about two to three weeks. There are 17 people working in the 4DX team at CGV, and when we receive a film to make into 4DX, we discuss and analyze the background of the film, decide on what the main narrative of the film is and which elements of the film should be most highlighted through our 4DX effects. In the past decade or so, we have built up a database of this information, so now it is a bit easier to make the decisions needed for creating a 4DX version.

A 4DX screening advertisement at CGV Yongsan Branch in central Seoul on March 6, 2023. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

We heard that when 4DX and ScreenX were first developed and not widely known, Hollywood directors were not very open to having their films screened in special theaters. But recently, this has changed, and directors are more open to providing the material for 4DX and ScreenX. How do you think this change came about?

Oh: Both 4DX and ScreenX had to go through the "incubating" stage, where we had to persuade directors to let us work with their films to turn them into special theater versions. ScreenX, in particular, had a big hurdle to jump over. For directors, their films are like their children, and when they are finished making a film, they are aversive toward anyone tweaking it. And when we create ScreenX versions, we have to see the films in advance, which was another challenge in the initial stage. I once had to fly to China to meet with a director to pitch ScreenX to him and was rejected after waiting for hours and hours. Now that these special theaters are more well-known and widespread, I think directors' perception is also changing.

Lee: I have an anecdote from the early days of 4DX. When we were first scouting for films for 4DX theaters, we had developed a version of a car-chasing scene from a film and had actual racecar drivers come see it. They responded that the motions of the cars that they were driving in real life were nothing like what we had developed. So we went through endless revisions and finally got a confirmation after months. And once, we got nearly a whole book-long revision notes from the original filmmaker for a 4DX version screening. But now I feel we get fewer revisions, and studios like Disney give us the full reign to make a 4DX version. We have come a long way.

A ScreenX theater poster for ″Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3″ [CGV]

What is the most difficult aspect of creating 4DX or ScreenX versions of films?

Lee: The difficult aspect is thinking really hard about how to provide the very best experience for the audience. Now, we provide the same 4DX effects for each audience, but I am pondering how to provide a custom 4DX experience for each person.

Oh: I think content creators like us are very simple people. When we hear reviews that the special theater screenings let them immerse themselves in a film better and that ScreenX screenings were amazing, all the hardship from having to make a ScreenX version within a tight schedule, the eight weeks or so that I mentioned before — washes away. It's actually much worse to receive no reviews than to get negative responses.

ScreenX prodcuer at CGV Oh Yoon-dong poses for a photo at the CGV Yongsan office in central Seoul on March 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The Korean film industry has been in a rut after the Covid-19 pandemic, with domestic films tanking at the box office and the number of moviegoers dwindling. As those in the special theater industry, do you want to contribute to overcoming this slump with the influence of 4DX and ScreenX?

Oh: Of course. I know that the film industry has recovered to about 60 percent before the pandemic now, and for markets like those in North America, the recovery is better at about 80 percent. I hope to contribute to the revival of cinemas through ScreenX. With works such as “Avatar: The Way of Water,” those who watched the film through special theaters like ScreenX and 4DX were more than 60 percent. If traditional cinemas are in a rut, I hope we can revive the moviegoing experience through special theaters. And as we know, there is a thing called the holdback period in films — the period of time it takes for a film to be released on streaming services after being screened in theaters. This holdback period is being shortened and shortened. But with special theaters, people know that they won’t be able to watch films the same way at home. So that is something that we have going for us.

4DX producer at CGV Lee Ji-hye poses for a photo at the CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on March 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Some films must be more fit for special theaters, for example, action films and superhero films with a lot of movement on the screen. On the other hand, some films, such as romances and dramas, would have fewer scenes where 4DX effects are fitting. How do you make that distinction and decide which films to make into special theater versions?

Lee: There are absolutely more fitting films for 4DX versions – we can immediately think of films with a lot of car chases, films in the action, fantasy or sci-fi genres and such. But I think it’s too early to say downright that films other than these are not good fit for special theaters. As I said, we are always looking for new ways to provide the best experience for different audiences and how the special theater experience could be customized. Some may want to experience those calmer, less-action-filled films in 4DX.

A ScreenX theater poster for ″Fast & Furious 10″ [CGV]

What new interactive effects could we expect in the future?

Oh: I can’t say for sure, but we in the industry are always pondering what the next thing will be and how to provide the audience with better theater experiences. When we say interactive effects, it could pertain to hardware involving the theaters themselves but also the content of the films.

Lee: New technology that we are preparing with 4DX is not yet ready for opening to the public, but we are definitely developing more interactive effects. We could add to the 21 effects that we have right now for 4DX, and other improvements for audiences to experience 4DX better are always being thought of.

Oh: What we want above anything else is for audiences to be able to experience films in the most immersive and entertaining way possible — and through ScreenX and 4DX, people have that opportunity.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]