Dexter Studios continues to expand its global presence with its unique virtual production technology.
Content specialist company, Dexter Studios [206560], announced on September 5 that it has completed the construction of a virtual production studio for Thailand’s comprehensive media group, Kantana. Dexter Studios, the first Korean company to establish and consult on an overseas virtual production studio, has successfully completed the largest-scale project in Thailand. This achievement is further bolstered by the successful completion of an Amazon Prime OTT project, marking a series of favorable outcomes for the company.
The two companies have maintained a friendly relationship and continued cooperation since early last year. In March of last year, Kantana Chairperson Somsook Kaljaruek and key executives from affiliated companies visited Dexter Studios’ headquarters and the company’s in-house virtual production studio, D1, to inspect its infrastructure. During their visit, the Thai delegation signed an MOU on building a new studio in Thailand, and by September, a formal business contract was signed, and the studio project got underway in earnest.
The entire process, from planning to completion, took about eight months, with key members of Dexter Studios’ VP division spending three of those months in Thailand to put the final touches on the project and make sure project expectations were met. To optimize the local system setup, Dexter Studios directly handled the design and inspection of the studio space and LED Wall, system stabilization, equipment installation and operation, 2D and 3D workflow pipelines, VP shooting workflow, and production as well as shooting supervision.
It also collaborated with major vendors such as Epic Games, the developer of Unreal Engine, Disguise, a virtual production hardware and software company, Pixreal, Brompton, and Stype to boost competitiveness.
Content featuring Dexter Studios’ technology is expected to be released on global OTT platforms. The Amazon Prime Video original series “Butterfly,” created by the team behind the popular American TV show “S.W.A.T.,” recently completed filming at Dexter Studios’ D1 facilities. The series gained attention for featuring Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim and for its approximately four-month-long shoot on-location in Seoul.
A company representative emphasized, “Dexter Studios has become the first Korean studio to carry out an Amazon Prime Video original project using its own virtual production technology.” According to Dexter Studios, it was involved from the planning stage, designing shooting solutions, and conducting pre-visualization work using Unreal Engine. During the production stage, Dexter Studios developed its own driving plates for vehicle scenes and utilized In-Camera Visual Effects (ICVFX) to simultaneously capture virtual backgrounds displayed on LED screens and real actor performances.
Lee Dong-joon, head of Dexter Studios’ VP division, explained, “We successfully completed the project based on our operational capabilities, which we accrued through an active portfolio of films, OTT, and advertisements since preparing for our studio in 2021.” He recalled, “At the workshop during the Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwanese film and video production officials visited and were amazed by our demonstration and operational capabilities,” and added, “Advertising marketing content created in collaboration with our subsidiary Dexter Krema has also received significant attention, solidifying our position as a leading comprehensive production company.” Lee concluded, “We hope that ‘Butterfly,’ created through active communication with Hollywood production teams, will serve as a starting point for more opportunities to participate in global projects that appeal to a wider audience.”
Meanwhile, the global market research company Grand View Research has projected that the global virtual production market will grow at an annual rate of 17.8%, reaching USD 6.79 billion (approximately KRW 9.1 trillion) by 2030.
