Dexter Studios just added to its long list of successful content productions with its latest VFX sensation.
On April 9, content specialist company Dexter Studios [206560] shared its role in the new Netflix series “Parasyte: The Grey” (production: Climax Studio, WOW POINT/original work: Hitoshi Iwaaki’s manga ‘Parasite’ published by Kodansha). According to the company, it worked on the VFX, Digital Intermediate (DI), and as its Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) to create a consistent look and feel across all episodes.
Parasyte: The Grey, which was first released on April 5, has been attracting worldwide attention. According to the OTT ranking platform “Flix Patrol,” the series ranked first in the Netflix TV program category for two days from April 6 to 7 in regions such as Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, and Qatar. During the same period, it ranked second in the United States, India, France, Costa Rica, and Hungary, making it the most-watched program in its category worldwide.
Parasyte: The Grey, directed by Yeon Sang-ho and written by Ryu Yong-jae, is Korea’s take on a Japanese classic. It tells a story of parasites that use humans as hosts to grow their power and operations led by “The Grey,” a dedicated team of specialists tasked with stopping the parasites. The plot focuses on “Heidi,” a parasite, and “Su-in,” Heidi’s host who learns how to coexist with her parasite. Actors Jeon So-nee, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Lee Jung-hyun brought the entire story to life, and Dexter Studios’ VFX technology played a crucial role in creating a show that looks and feels completely unique.
Director Yeon Sang-ho said, “In the original series, a parasite attaches to the protagonist’s right hand, deforming the hand and arm. But the protagonist did manage to retain a human face. In our Korean version, however, we took the whole concept of coexistence between the parasite and its host a step further and transformed the right side of the protagonist’s face and the entire face of other characters. This demarcated the difference between being completely encroached by the parasite and retaining at least part of a person’s humanity.”
He added, “When I decided to create Parasyte: The Grey, I thought about how to visually interpret what’s being imagined in text. And because I needed the best technology in the business, I reached out to work with Dexter Studios, which is the best in Korea when it comes to VFX design in Korea.”
VFX Supervisor Hong Jeong-ho created the concept art in June 2022, then worked closely with Director Yeon to develop the overall visual highlights of the series. Given the nature of the story, the series had plenty of sci-fi and fantasy elements. Thus, the main issue was to present VFX elements so that viewers could immerse themselves and feel like all scenes could be from real life.
Director Hong Jeong-ho said, “We worked hard on producing realistic renderings of how the parasites looked when they were just spores and when they would transform after completely taking over their hosts. In particular, we focused on making sure the moment when a person’s face opens in a bizarre way to reveal the parasite inside felt really impactful.”
Hong also said, “The main character, “Su-in,” had to stand out as a variant of an infested human who wasn’t yet fully consumed by the parasite. So, we made the right eye larger and darker, we stretched her skin and changed the look on her face, created a second mouth, and made the face tentacles look as aggressive as possible to make her character stand out a little more.”
Moreover, Hong says the behind-the-scenes process of producing action sequences was also something Dexter Studios wanted to get absolutely right. He said, “I was struggling to make the creatures move more naturally. Then, I remembered how people looked when turning their heads while wearing a traditional hat called a ‘Sangmo.’ I used motions that emphasized the movement of the upper body and the free-flowing movements of the neck and face. I also took note of the long and wide ribbon tied to the top of the Sangmo hat to produce the powerful and threatening visuals of the creature ‘Heidi’.”
