Visual effects (VFX) and content company Dexter Studios is giving back to the community with field trip opportunities for high school students.
On October 14, Dexter Studios (CEO: Kim Wook, Kang Jong-ik) announced that it had invited students from Gwangshin Broadcasting Arts High School, which has signed an industry-academic cooperation agreement with the Korea International Broadcasting Foundation (Arirang International Broadcasting) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea. Students visited Dexter Studios’ Sangam-dong headquarters in Mapo-gu for a full day’s worth of programs including a company briefing session explaining what Dexter Studios does, a session on VFX pipelines, another session on the company’s animation department, followed by a presentation on how to prepare for job opportunities in the real world and a Q&A.
Dexter Studios said that Director Lee Woo-sang from the Animation Department at the VFX Headquarters’ Production Department 1, led the program. Director Lee, a video engineer with 13 years of experience, first entered the industry as a CG artist and as a staff member of a video production team at a Korean advertising agency. In 2010, he began his career as an animator at Digital Idea, a VFX company, then joined Dexter Studios in 2012, where he currently works as a VFX animation supervisor. Director Lee has participated in numerous films such as “I Saw the Devil,” “War of the Arrows,” “Mr. Go,” “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure,” “Along with the Gods,” “Ashfall,” “Peninsula,” “Space Sweepers,” “Escape from Mogadishu,” “Alienoid,” and “Emergency Declaration.”
He said, “As a person still on the front lines of VFX, I am confident the future is brighter than when I first entered this field.” He added, “If you want to become an artist, it will be useful to use your observation skills and creative thinking skills to build your own portfolio as you make your way into the industry.” Lee explained, “I had a great time talking about the interests we have in common and potential career paths with high school animator students. I wish them all the best, and I hope the students who I met today can become great assets for the VFX industry going forward.”
Oh Yoon-seok, head of the comics department at Gwangshin Broadcasting Arts High School, said, “I visited Dexter Studios, a leading VFX company, and was able to see the artists in action, and it was nice to see the inner workings of Dexter Studios and also how organized the company was on the inside.” He added, “In particular, the animated videos and presentation on future careers in VFX for our students were very helpful, and I was grateful for the positive influence on our students.”
Meanwhile, Dexter Studios says it plans to continue its social contribution activities. Last month, the company invited a delegation of foreign experts in the creative industry from the Korea Foundation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and participated in the Korean Film Academy VFX Master Class hosted by the Korea Film Council under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well. An official from the company added, “Dexter will continue to contribute to the development of K-content, and it wants to make sure that the company’s performance leads to a meaningful virtuous cycle capable of helping our society.”
Dexter Studios is an all-in-one, one-stop comprehensive content company that can plan, shoot, produce, and take care of post-production as well. Recently, the company’s virtual studio, D1 Studio, successfully finished filming Director Kim Yong-hwa’s new film “The Moon.” Not only that, D1 Studio is expected to use its own virtual production technology to produce live-action versions of “Wizard Boy Meoteol” and “Daughter of the Emperor,” both of which are based on cartoons.
