How was Yeon Sang-ho's new film
Director Yeon Sang-ho's new film Gunchae (director Yeon Sang-ho, distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by WOWPOINT · Smilegate, co-produced by Midnight Studio) released production behind-the-scenes footage showing the birth of an unprecedented zombie film.
Inside a building sealed off by a mysterious infection outbreak, the isolated survivors facing infected people who evolve in unpredictable forms, the film Gunchae released production behind-the-scenes footage completed through the precise collaboration of veterans in choreography, art and cinematography, raising expectations among prospective audiences.
Jeon Young, the choreography director who handled the zombie choreography for Train to Busan and Peninsula, completed the infected people's movements in Gunchae by collaborating with top contemporary dancers in Korea at the request of director Yeon Sang-ho. Jeon Young, who said Gunchae "was a work that satisfied my thirst for dynamic movement," organized the choreography with thorough preparation, holding multiple rehearsals with dancers and designing several movements even for a single scene. The astonishing movements of the dancers born from this effort create a stranger and more grotesque impression than any VFX and complete a look differentiated from the existing zombie genre.
Gunchae minimized CG use in creating the skyscraper that becomes the epicenter of the infection and enhanced realism through efficiently designed practical set work to give the impression of being trapped in a building. Art director Lee Mok-won, who has worked with director Yeon Sang-ho on nine films from Train to Busan to Face to Gunchae, said, "I think the more real the space is, the more naturally the surreal stories inside it can be accepted by the audience," and said he put a lot of effort into realizing the space's realism during the production process. Gunchae's unique space design is expected to vividly depict the survivors' struggle in the isolated building and increase audience immersion.
The filming of Gunchae, which offers an experience that feels like being a survivor trapped in a building, is also a point to watch. Cinematographer Byun Bong-sun, who completed his sixth collaboration with director Yeon Sang-ho following Psychokinesis and Revelations, actively used handheld techniques, personally carrying the camera to maximize the urgency of the infection outbreak. In scenes showing the primal fear induced by the infected, he used high-angle wide shots looking down on them, and in scenes where survivors' expressions are important he used close-ups to capture emotions delicately. "I wanted to express the camera not as an observer fixed in position but as an entity that enters the rough flow," as seen in cinematographer Byun Bong-sun's words, and Gunchae's cinematography is expected to deliver an immersive experience that drags the audience into the midst of the infection outbreak.
[Photo] SHOWBOX
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