Park Ye-jin (박예진)

Celebs get their hands dirty down on the farm

2008/06/25 | Source | Permalink |

I watched as a sought-after singer wearing no makeup at all caught live fish with her bare hands.

Meanwhile, a prim-and-proper actress got ready to slice up the catch for dinner.

This is the latest fad on Korea's weekend TV shows ? putting celebrities through pain to entertain viewers.

The singer Lee Hyo-lee and the actress Park Ye-jin were featured on a recently launched entertainment show called "Here Comes the Family".

It airs on SBS-TV at 5:20 p.m. on Sundays in the segment called "I Love Sundays".

The singer and actress were part of a group of eight celebrities.

They are sent on a trip to the countryside where they stay on a farm whose occupants have been sent on a fancy holiday.

The celebrities stay on the farm and take care of the farming while the family is away.

The eight celebrities are dubbed a family, although they have no blood ties.

The show's point is that this "family" from the city is thrown into the reality of farming.

On their first trip...| More

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New technological step in Korean animation

2008/06/05 | Source | Permalink |

After RYOO Seung-wan's "The City of Violence" (Jjakpae) and PARK Chan-wook's "I'm a Cyborg, but that's Ok" (Cyborgjiman Gwaenjanha), "Life is Cool" (Geunyeoneun Yeppeotta, English translation: "She was beautiful") will be the next instalment of CJ Entertainment's HD Project, and the first Korean animation film using the technique rotoscoping. With this procedure, live-action film is being traced by animators frame by frame.

KIM Soo-ro ("Vampire Cop Ricky"/Heuphyeol Hyeongsa Nadoyeol), and television actress PARK Ye-jin are among the actors involved in the project. CHOI Ik-hwan directs this tale about three distinct male friends who fall out with each other when they all fall for the same woman.

Rotoscoping opens new doors in filmmaking. One of the benefits is that it makes facial expressions more realistic than other forms of animation. The animation technique was also used for A Scanner Darkly, starring Keanu Reeves, and the music video Take on Me by A-ha. Also, the procedure i...| More

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Rotoscoped Film Shows Life in '4D'

2008/06/05 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Director Choe Ik-hwan ("Whispering Corridors 4: 'Voice Letter"') brings "Life Is Cool", South Korea's first rotoscoped film. In this HD film project by CJ Entertainment, local production company DNA, which whipped up animation and graphics for "The Animatrix", creates hip visuals for a friendly love story.

Rotoscoping is a process in which animators trace over a live action sequence, frame by frame. It goes beyond computer-generated imagery for larger than life effects. By utilizing what's only possible in animation, it gives 3D action added dimension ― it's tech savvy and digital but breathes life into the film.

"Life" took only a month of actual shooting but almost two years and 140 artists for rotoscoping. One may wonder, why go through the trouble, as leading lady Park Ye-jin said. The director said he was inspired by "Waking Life", a rotoscoped film that captures human life despite being digital.

The movie takes advantage of the be...| More

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More Lifelike Animation Due in Theaters

2008/05/31 | Source | Permalink |

Coming to theaters soon is a film that will display a new technique in filmmaking.
The process uses actors to advance animation closer to the realm of the real world.
Kim Jiyoung has more.
At first glance, it looks like your ordinary animated movie.
But the movement and expressions of the characters in "She Was Beautiful" are more real than typical animation work can portray.
And the faces belong to those of well-known actors.
This is something different created through a process known as rotoscoping.
Movies made with this technique are actually filmed live first.
Animators then trace over the film, frame by frame, with a computer.
One second of a movie is 24 frames so for every second of film time animators must draw 24 pages of pictures.

[INTERVIEW : Kang Seong-jin, Actor] "These people have looked at my face more than anyone in the world including my parents and family".

The advantage of this technique is that since it is based on real acting, everything seems more li...| More

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Korean movies leap into box-office fray

2008/05/29 | Source | Permalink |

In late April, Iron Man arrived in the Korean cinema, smashing the box office into very profitable pieces. In mid-May, Prince Caspian took the baton and kept up the pressure on Korean competitors. Last weekend, whip-wielding Indy joined the Hollywood-only party, roped in plenty of movie tickets sales.

The bombardment of Hollywood films dragged down the share of Korean films to a record low. But the bleak development was widely predicted since only a couple of new Korean releases were made. June might be slightly different, as eight Korean movies are set for release.

"Girl Scout", directed by Kim Sang-man, will hit theaters on June 5, featuring well-known actors such as Kim Seon-ah, Nah Moon-hee, Lee Kyeong-sil. The film will test whether the audiences still have an appetite for a chase-the-money drama with fewer funny moments than publicized.

Waiting in line for the June 12 release are four Korean films: "Life is Cool", "Beyond All Magic", "Spare" and "Like Father, Like Son". ...| More

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