Dexter Studios (CEO: Kim Wook and Kang Jong-ik), a company specializing in visual effects (VFX) and content, strengthened its mutual cooperation with Netflix, a world-class entertainment streaming service, at the Netflix Partner Day event.
ⓒNetflix
Park Jin-yeong, Director of Dexter Studios’ DI Department, and Choi Tae-yeong, CEO of Livetone, attended Netflix Partner Day, which was broadcasted live online on the morning of the 29th, to share some feedback regarding their collaboration with Netflix and to discuss future plans for both companies.
Dexter Studios’ DI Department, launched back in 2015, is responsible for color correction and color grading during the digital intermediate stage. Each year, it participates in roughly 40% of all domestic films released, including tentpole movies, TV shows as well as other OTT content. Starting with its work on season 1 of ‘Kingdom,’ the DI Department has worked on a number of projects such as ‘Time to Hunt,’ ‘Space Sweepers,’ and ‘Night in Paradise,’ with Netflix.
Meanwhile, Livetone, created in 1997, is a sound studio equipped with the latest technology in sound production, including Korea’s first Dolby Channel mixing equipment and the world’s first 14.2 Channel D-Cinema 3D sound production system. Livetone started collaborating with Netflix with ‘Okja,’ and continued working closely with the OTT outlet on projects such as season 1 of Kingdom and Space Sweepers.
At the Netflix Partner Day event, Livetone CEO Choi Tae-yeong described working with Netflix as a “process of producing the highest quality of technology,” and said, “Livetone has world-class sound technology and artists, and Netflix was able to generate significant synergies with sophisticated technical guidelines used in Hollywood. We have established a relationship that goes beyond simple collaboration at a business level. We have created a relationship that helps each other grow together.”
Director Park Jin-yeong agreed with Choi saying, “The addition of guidelines by Netflix, which reflect UHD, HDR, and 4K technologies, to our DI technology has helped us produce higher quality content. Not only has the awareness over OTT content quality been raised around the world, but OTT is also becoming a medium for creators to produce more sophisticated and creative outputs.”
Park also mentioned the news of Dexter Studios’ recently signed new partnership agreement with Netflix. The DI Department and Livetone signed a long-term partnership agreement with Netflix to strengthen collaboration in post-production processes in July. Prior to this, in June, Dexter Studios invested a total of KRW 2.5 billion in its OTT studios. Park explained, “Thanks to our collaboration with various OTT platforms such as Netflix, we were able to boost our performance in the first half of this year by 35% compared to the previous year. The number of orders we have received has skyrocketed as well.”
Livetone also performed extremely well throughout the first half of this year. Choi said, “Our performance in the first half increased by 49% compared to the previous year, and the number of OTT content currently in production or ready for released has doubled compared to last year. Also, recently, we have been hosting special lectures for video experts working in Southeast Asia.”
Park added, “With our work being showcased and becoming more popular overseas, people have been reaching out for us for a wide range of global projects. The popularity of K-content has also increased interest in the Korean creative industry.” Park continued, “We are looking to showcase Dexter Studios’ work to people all over the world, and produce more diverse stories in collaboration with new markets and new creators.”
Meanwhile, the collaboration between Dexter Studios’ DI Department, Livetone, and Netflix is expected to continue in the future. Several projects, including ‘Hellbound’(DI Department) and ‘The Sea of Tranquility’ (DI Department, Livetone), are expected to follow the success of Netflix’s recent hit series, ‘Squid Game’ (Livetone).
Squid Game has become a global sensation – it became the first Korean show to rise to no. 2 on Netflix’s worldwide rankings and no. 1 on Netflix’s US rankings. The show has been praised for creating the perfect atmosphere for an extreme survival game with a delicately tuned sound using Dolby Atmos technology.
