Samsung has announced a partnership with CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment and media group behind the Oscar-winning film Parasite, to build a new virtual production studio. According to the tech giant, the new studio will be part of the media group’s television and film production complex that is scheduled to open in Paju, Korea later this year.
The collaboration aims to cut down costs and time for production work by using surrounding LED displays and connected cameras to create virtual settings in real-time. This enables a crew to shoot live-action footage within the LED screen-covered set, which projects photorealistic 3D backgrounds that also follows the connected cameras’ field of view. With this approach, studios would not require to build large physical sets, use green-screen technology, or even travel to certain locations to film certain scenes. One of the more recent titles that feature virtual backdrops that are projected via LED screens is Disney Plus’ hit Star Wars-based TV show, The Mandalorian.
For the upcoming virtual production studio, Samsung will be supplying its “The Wall” microLED display unit to CJ ENM. The screen itself measures over 1,000 inches and supports up to 16K high-resolution HDR10+ content via cinema LED picture quality technology, with variable frame rates such as 23.976, 29.97 and 59.94Hz.
The company noted that the display will be installed in an oval shape with a diameter of 20 meters and a height of 7 meters or more in order to create a seemingly endless backdrop for filming. Furthermore, The Wall’s modular technology also allows creators to design environments to their specific requirements which enables for a variety of setup options such as ceiling installation, as well as convex or concave designs – as long as it is within the internal studio’s limitations.
This partnership between Samsung and CJ ENM will be the first of many that is expected. The South Korean tech giant says that it plans to cooperate further with the media group in other areas, including content production and virtual production solution development.
(Source: Samsung [Global newsroom] | Images: Samsung)
