[Exclusive]"Detail is conviction; imagination is instinct." The power of sound as spoken by Live Tone's Choi Tae-yeong (CEO) [★Research Institute] [Interview 1]

*This content was translated by AI.

[Editor’s Note] [★Research Institute] StarNews meets the people driving the entertainment industry, uncovering their unique know-how and success strategies. We introduce the practical experience and philosophy of those who quietly pave the way behind the scenes of glamorous stars.

There is a person who has recorded the history of Korean cinema through "sound." Starting with the 1997 film "Beat," Choi Tae-yeong (CEO) of Live Tone has designed the sound for countless box office hits, including "Parasite," "Hansan: Rising Dragon," "The Host," "The King and the Clown," and "Seoul Spring." Having participated in approximately 330 works and taken responsibility for more than ten films with over 10 million viewers, he is a first-generation engineer and veteran sound supervisor who has personally experienced the paradigm shift of Korean film sound from analog to digital, and further to immersive sound.

Recently, StarNews met Choi Tae-yeong (CEO) at the Live Tone headquarters in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to hear about his sound philosophy that completes the emotion of films from unseen places.

Founded in 1996, Live Tone has been a place that has presented the "global standard" for Korean film audio. Choi Tae-yeong (CEO) started as the youngest of the four founding members and has now become the head leading the studio. The history of Live Tone has run parallel to the development of Korean film sound technology.

"'Beat' by director Kim Sung-soo was our founding work. In the same year, we presented Korea's first Dolby 5.1 channel with 'Deep Sorrow,' and in 2002, we introduced the 6.1 channel with 'Hwasan' and the 7.1 channel with 'The Last Ride.' We also introduced Dolby Atmos with 'Mr. Go.' Live Tone was the first to bring Dolby-related cinema formats to Korea."

Live Tone did not stop at simply introducing technology. It has led technical evolution by experimenting with new sound formats in each era, including 'The Yellow Sea,' which implemented 14.2-channel 3D sound for the first time in the world. In 2017, it joined as a subsidiary of VFX company Dexter Studio, growing into Asia's largest post-production facility covering the entire post-production process. Furthermore, it is expanding its scope of activity by extending its reach to OTT content such as Netflix's 'Squid Game' and 'Kingdom,' and Disney+'s 'Moving.'

Despite his title as CEO, he still directly directs sound design and mixing on the front lines. His work begins the moment he receives the script. The first stage of the work is consulting on budget and schedule; the second stage is a directorial approach to determining the 'sound identity' of the work.

Choi Tae-yeong (CEO) explained, "I decide whether to focus on music, on effects, or how to divide the ratio between realism and cinematic sound. If necessary, I even go to the filming site." He added, "During 'The Good, the Bad, and the Weird,' we collected sounds by personally demolishing walls before the set was dismantled, and to create bullet sounds, we bought steel balls and fired them in Cheonggyecheon to record."

Full-scale sound work begins after the edited version is ready. The key is the 'pre-mixing' stage, which involves organizing various sources such as noise removal, ADR, and sound design to enhance quality. He said, "Final mixing is a process of tuning according to the director's intent, but pre-mixing is entirely my domain," and added, "It is the point where I am most satisfied." Even after that, he continues to seek the optimal sound through close collaboration with the director.

Director Choi Tae-young said, "Just as the name Live Tone suggests, 'Live' means the vividness of the scene, and 'Tone' means accurate sound. If you overlook details and do things carelessly, it will definitely show. It is something even I find embarrassing. That is why we work while adhering to the standard that 'detail is conviction and imagination is instinct.'"

He reflected that, although he was not a film major, he built his current competitiveness through trial and error. The conclusion he reached by constantly clashing with directors on the front lines was ultimately "trust."

He stated, "Sound is invisible, but it is an important element that completes the emotion and storytelling of a film. When the director listens to the entire mix and says there is nothing major to fix, I feel the satisfaction of 'we were looking in the same direction.' I have come this far after going through those countless processes."

-Continues to Interview 2.

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*This content was translated by AI.