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Technical Art Studio Cell is a special props•special make-up company. Looking at the list of the films that this company has participated in since its establishment in 2003, 21st century's Korean cinema is all seen at a glance. It is hence not a bluff that almost all major Korean films work with Cell. Cell has provided special props and make-ups to as many as 140 films, including Three... Extremes (2004), A Bittersweet Life (2005), Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (2005), The Host (2006), I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK (2006), The Chaser (2008), The Good, The Bad, And The Weird (2008), Thirst (2009), Mother (2009), The Man From Nowhere (2010), The Yellow Sea (2010), The Thieves (2012), Ode to My Father (2014), and Veteran (2015). Cell also produced the creatures in The Tiger (2015) and the robot in SORI: Voice from the Heart (2016).

 

 

Two years ago, director LEE Ho-jae came to see me with the scenario and a brief sketch of the robot. For a year we discussed the design, the function and the concept of the robot, and we started fabricating one and a half month prior to the film production.

 

What was the central issue of making Sori?

 

As LEE wanted to feature the robot in real action (as opposed to CGI), the robot had to feature the expressive function that the movie needed. Most importantly, Sori had to express his sentiments. For this end, the robot had to be able to react naturally to the actors. So we ended up using a self contained camera in Sori, to check on his perspective and adjust it. Responding to the main character LEE Sung-min's acting, we adjusted Sori's point of view and movement.

 

You adjusted the robot as it acts along with the actors. Was there any moment that you had to go for a retake?

 

Sure, a lot of times. As the robot had to fit to the actor's acting and emotion, we had to retake almost every scene several times. We had an actor to play Sori's role for rehearsals, and with him, other actors adjusted their dialogues and movements. We took a thorough look at their rehearsals and controlled Sori's movements once the actual shooting started. But we still had to retake them several times since Sori is a machine.

 

 

 

Some parts here and there, yes. One time, we had to change one of the motors because of its malfunction. That happened in the middle of the night. Under the lighting of several smart phones, we dis-assembled the robot's head and fixed it.

 

 

That robot in Doomsday Book was a thoughtful robot, a robot at nirvana, if you like. So his movement was rather static and soft, unlike typical robots. However, Sori had to have this mechanic feeling, so we used motors to achieve a completely different operating method. The two robots are totally different creatures.

 

 

The tiger in The Tiger required beast-ish dynamic movements, so we went for a 3D character. We separately produced part of the tiger, such as his front paw that touches other objects, and his hair with which the audience can feel his texture. We also produced dummies of more than ten dead animals, including cubs, wild cats and deer.

 

 

We also produce special safety props. We make concrete walls that collapse right by the actors in gun-fight scenes, and special bricks for the sake of safety. The hydrant that hits HWANG Jung-min in Veteran is also our special product.

 

 

Special make-up and special props production require endless application and combination of diverse know-hows and knowledge earned from various work experiences. Cell consists of 14 people, but we don't necessarily divide our areas, although we may each have our own specialty. It is difficult to succeed if you stick to one area. What comes before the technology is the understanding of the scenario and the set. The final result is the film, so you have to think first how this robot may look in the film and how it may move in the film rather than the actual abilities of the robot. You even need to know other parts in films like lighting, shooting and CGI. Only then you can foresee how the whole thing may be visualized.

 

 

 

Except for those that we can re-use, we just do away with them when the film is still in the theater. We get a lot of offers for exhibition, but we have refused them all. For the company, it may be a good way of promotion, but for the film itself, it won't be a good thing. We make props, but we also make films. If our job is too widely known, the film won't be a film anymore, if you know what I mean. When the audience says the props are well made, it is a downright failure for a film. When the audience "gets" it, you know you have failed. It is only successful when the props are accepted without even being noticed.

 

 

Along with BONG Joon-ho's Okja, we are working on 10 films or so at the same time, including KIM Jee-woon’s Secret Agent (working title), RYOO Seung-wan’s Battleship Island and Master starring Gang Dong-won and LEE Byung-hun.

 

 

Not as much as Korean films, but yes, from time to time. We worked for TSUI Hark's Young Detective Dee series and Tiny Times. We are currently working for a Taiwanese film.