Visual effects (VFX) and content company Dexter Studios (CEO: Kim Wook and Kang Jong-ik), has signed a strategic business agreement with WHYNOT Media (CEO: Lee Min-seok), a new media content studio, to bolster its content business.
Dexter Studios announced (on October 19) that it had signed an MOU for “new media content production and business joint development” with WHYNOT Media at its headquarters in Sangam-dong, Seoul, on December 19.
Dexter Studios is an all-in-one comprehensive content company that offers content planning, shooting, production, and post-production services through its “‘one-stop system.” To date, Dexter Studios has had its hands in producing box office hits such as “Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds” (2017), “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days” (2018), “Ashfall” (2019), and “Escape from Mogadishu” (2021).
Meanwhile, WHYNOT Media is a content producer that operates on YouTube and Facebook. It also works on Naver NOW’s web drama channels “Whynot TV,” “In My Heart,” and “Real:Time:Love.” WHYNOT Media’s best-known works include “Secret Crushes,” which was the first-ever web drama series to surpass 100 million views, “Best Mistake,” “One Fine Week / 7 Days of Romance,” and “Real:Time:Love.”
With this MOU, Dexter Studios and WHYNOT Media are expected to co-produce a new drama series using the Dexter Studios’ virtual production studio. More specifically, the MOU will facilitate the application of WHYNOT Media’s expertise in producing various types of drama series, including short-form productions, and the utilization of Dexter Studios’ virtual production studio, and thereby help the expansion of drama genres produced by both companies and develop an optimal virtual production studio business model.
Furthermore, Dexter Studios and WHYNOT Media are looking to co-develop a new media commerce channel. In addition to using Dexter Studios’ know-how in metaverse technology, such as extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI), WHYNOT Media plans to secure its competitiveness in the media commerce sector, and add a new growth engine for the future through alliances with new media channels and contents.
The partnership between Dexter Studios and WHYNOT Media will also help the co-production and distribution of OTT dramas. The combination of Dexter Studios’ VFX technology, which is among the best in Asia, and WHYNOT Media’s drama planning and production capabilities is expected to enable both companies to plan, produce, and distribute OTT dramas to boost their profits.
Dexter Studios’ CEOs Kim Wook and Kang Jong-ik said, “With our new MOU, we want to plan and produce new media content that utilizes our technology. Working with WHYNOT Media will have a significant impact on our ability to reach MZ generation audiences, and create more experimental and successful works.” Kim and Kang added, “Please keep an eye out for the innovative and diverse range of content created by both companies going forward.”
Meanwhile, WHYNOT Media CEO Lee Min-seok said, “At the moment, we are creating a diverse lineup of global drama series to respond to the global OTT market and metaverse movement. We are hoping to bring new metaverse characters and high-quality dramas to the market by collaborating with Dexter Studios, which has the best metaverse technology in Korea. So, if you are a fan, you can expect some great synergies between our two companies.”
