K-Content News

Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is widely known for its flooded basement apartment scene, which plays an important role in the story’s development. A few hours before a family finds their basement apartment flooded, they are all at their landlord’s mansion and remark that the rain ‘adds to the ambience of their house.’ However, they get a brutal reality check once they go home and have to bail out water. Without this landmark scene, it is possible that Parasite might not have been the first Korean winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s top award.

The basement apartment scene in Parasite was shot by Seaflex Film. Seaflex is the only video shooting company in Korea that specializes in underwater filming. The company has not only filmed the classic scene in Parasite but also most of the underwater scenes of movies shot in Korea.

Seaflex Film has been involved in a number of movies, including: The Spy Gone North, The Villainess, The Battleship Island, Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds, The Pirates, Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow, Sea Fog, The Suspect, The Face Reader, all of which have succeeded artistically and commercially. Seaflex Film was also in charge of the underwater filming for Bridal Mask, The King of Legend, New Tales of Gisaeng, Wild Romance, and Goblin.

Underwater filming is classified as a type of special effect. For underwater filming, it is essential that cameras and other equipment are waterproof. The location is also important as it is difficult to shoot in natural spaces with a lot of waves or floating materials. The weather is also a factor. Outdoor locations are difficult to shoot in the winter because of freezing temperatures. In order to convey a feeling of deep waters while still being able to operate filming equipment smoothly, it is necessary to have water that is dozens of meters deep.

People in the film industry name ‘weightlessness’ as the most difficult thing about underwater filming and say that underwater filming is ‘like trying to screw something in place at a space station.’ Buoyancy kicks in underwater, so artificial gear is needed, and shooting is often very slow. There are also time constraints due to the lack of oxygen underwater. Compressed air doesn’t solve this problem because breathing in compressed air for long periods of time can have an anesthetic effect, caused by nitrogen.

As a result of these challenges, it’s hard to establish and maintain a workforce—–it has even come to the point where many times, underwater scenes are simply eliminated altogether from movies. Many times as well, a lot of money, time, and effort are invested in underwater filming, but the final product doesn’t quite reflect all the input of all these resources. Seaflex Film, however, possesses underwater filming equipment and know-how that rivals even that of Hollywood. The first thing that makes it different from other companies is the special ‘housing’ it uses to make cameras waterproof. In the past, the director of photography himself went underwater to shoot while looking at a small monitor. However, this method resulted in a lot of unusable footage because the camera was unable to focus due to its depth and the image distortion that naturally occurs underwater.

The cameras and housing used by Seaflex Film are controlled from the outside using a remote. Everything is controlled from outside of the water. The director sets the camera angles on land, and the rest is controlled by the person in charge of the filming. The director can precisely check the focus and angle of the camera, so the problem of not being able to focus is now a thing of the past, and filming is quicker.

In years past, only fixed shots were possible when filming underwater. This was because if the location was changed after finally focusing the camera, the camera would then have to be focused all over again. Now, however, ‘moving shots’ have been made possible, all thanks to the advanced equipment of Seaflex Film. With Seaflex’s unique equipment and filming methods, camera focus can be clearly seen from the outside and continuously adjusted. In this way, various camera angles can be used to create a more dynamic product and vibrant video.

Seaflex Film also uses camera housing that is extremely versatile. In the past, different housing had to be used for each camera. If the camera had to be changed mid-shot, the housing also had to be changed. To connect a cable or change the battery, the equipment had to be taken out of the water and then submerged again once the task was competed. This same process was also used in Hollywood, which boasts the most advanced movie industry in the world.

Seaflex housing can be used for a variety of different cameras. Part of the camera housing can be folded for use on small cameras. In fact, Seaflex housing is so versatile that it can even be used as a smartphone casing on both Samsung Galaxy and iPhone devices.

The waterproof housing can also be installed on jimmy jibs and cranes. In this way, the shot can start on land and continue as the scene moves to the surface of the water or underwater. This means that a scene where a character in a movie falls into the water can be shown from beginning to end in one long take from the character’s point of view.

Advancements in filming technology have led to greater diversity in movie plots. Seaflex CEO Kim Jun-hee said, “Film plots are expanding from realistic romances or dramas to stories about space and other places yet to be explored by humans.” He added, “In the past, even if there was a lot of interest in stories set in the ocean or underwater, many of these movies didn’t get past the planning stage because we lacked the technology to produce them. As underwater shooting technology has advanced, more and more movies have started to explore marine themes.”

The most obvious effect of these advancements is reduced costs. Seaflex Film’s equipment makes their filming cost 30% cheaper than other companies. Yet, the company’s video quality is better than its competitors.

CEO Kim Jun-hee said, “Seaflex’s equipment is at a similar level or slightly more advanced than the equipment used in Hollywood, but the Korean market doesn’t recognize this. What we are building and operating is very good, but I guess many people have no basis for comparison. China and the US, on the other hand, already know that Seaflex equipment is outstanding.”

Seaflex Film has 10 patents pending for underwater filming equipment, and 7 of them are already registered. The remaining 3 are currently being reviewed. Seaflex Film has also procured a design patent for each of its pieces of equipment.

CEO Kim explained that being selected for a government-promoted R&D program helped the company develop such excellent equipment. Specifically, the company was able to build a crane weight variation system after it received a budget of KRW 300 million by applying to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)’s Danbi Program.

Water has a great amount of buoyancy. When a camera is installed on a crane, resistance occurs when the crane and camera enter the water. For this reason, the sinker at the end of the crane needs to be moved to the front to increase the weight of the crane and help it enter the water.

Seaflex Film’s crane weight variation system has received favorable responses abroad. Last year at the Cine Gear Expo, an exhibit for film equipment, Seaflex Film received rave reviews from Hollywood representatives, which helped the company become better known internationally.

Building off of its previous successes, Seaflex Film is in the process of opening an office in Los Angeles in the USA. By opening an LA office, the company aims to create a point of contact with Hollywood movie representatives and eventually expand throughout the USA.

CEO Kim Jun-hee stated, “We are in talks to start shooting a Chinese movie in the second half of the year. We are also thinking of expanding to China in addition to the US.”

CEO Kim said, “The overseas market is so huge that, at first, I didn’t even dare to dream of entering it. Jumping into enemy territory is only possible when you at least have a better weapon than the enemy, but I have the confidence now. Our revenue isn’t high and our workface is small, but it is my dream to become the number one underwater filming company, not only in Asia, but the world.”

In addition, Seaflex Film is planning to build a set in Korea that will be used exclusively for underwater filming.

CEO Kim shared his goals for the company saying, “You should see the sky when you look up from underwater, but when you see equipment, it’s hard to erase that with CG. There are four seasons in Korea, so it’s cold during certain periods, which makes it difficult to build sets outdoors. I purchased land in Paju to build an indoor swimming pool, and when I have the capital, I plan to turn it into an underwater shooting location.”