 Head of Layout at DreamWorks Animation |
Staff Reporter
After James Cameron's "Avatar" rewrote box office history, the prospects of 3D movies are looming larger than ever.
Many experts agree that a new paradigm shift is underway in cinema.
They say that Korean filmmakers must hurry to catch up with Hollywood and Europe as local 3D filmmaking, or lack thereof, is a big problem.
Korea, however, need not be afraid of venturing with new ideas when it comes to working with an extra dimension, according to a top expert in 3D technology in the United States.
"Filmmaking in 3D is very new. The 3D technologies James Cameron and DreamWorks used were developed as the films were being made. So if Korean filmmakers have a good idea, they should push it forward. We're all experimenting right now; Korean filmmakers are known for being innovative and resourceful, and they should use that," Jhun Yong-duk from DreamWorks Animation told The Korea Times in a recent interview in Seoul.
It's not unusual to spot Korean names in the credits of big-budget Hollywood animations. But Jhun is one of the few expats to assume the role of head of layout; DreamWorks has over 1,300 artists but only four supervising positions.
Jhun oversaw the layout for the box office smash "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek Forever After," the final chapter of the green ogre saga and first of the series to be in 3D, that will hit theaters this summer.
A layout head is the equivalent of a cinematographer on a live action film, and designs the blueprint of the movie, such as the scope and movement of the camerawork for each scene.
In 2009, DreamWorks Animation proudly introduced InTru3D to render "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D, and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that all future DreamWorks films would be in the new medium.
The layout department was hit hardest by the change, said Jhun. A computer program with one virtual camera had been the norm, but working with 3D meant dealing with two sets of cameras as well as a different sense of space and speed.
"It's fun," smiled the animator, about working with a new language while learning it and developing it at the same time.
Moreover, 3D movies have completely altered the audiovisual experience in theaters. "Three-dimensional effects can protrude about 70 percent toward the audience, with the screen being point zero, and extend about 40 percent back into the screen. In other words, the movie screen is virtually nonexistent," he said.
"Avatar" for example, does not utilize the full potential of 3D.
"James Cameron kept a very strict sense of space for 'Avatar.' The effects were not too extreme, which means that there would be less room for nausea and so on, and so it was more widely received. The film was a big hit not so much because it was 3D, but because of its compelling story and production design," he said. DreamWorks, on the other hand, drew up "Monsters vs. Aliens" purely for 3D.
Jumping into the unknown is something Jhun can easily relate to. After attending an art school in Seoul, he worked at an advertising firm, but became interested in animation. In Korea at the time, the genre was limited to small franchises produced for children's television.
But he believed in the potential growth of the animation industry and left for New York in 1997. He began taking English language classes and then took graduate courses in computer animation.
He was lucky to find employment in the competitive business, but as is typical of small animation companies, his firm shut down and he found himself jobless, with a newborn son. He had no choice but to move back to Korea if he didn't find a job within two weeks.
It was a miracle, he said, when DreamWorks called him for an interview, and he was hired three days later. And after working as a layout artist for only two years, he was offered the head position. Jhun currently lives in California with his wife and two children.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr
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