Transnational collaboration of the multisensory kind: exploiting Korean 4D cinema in China

This article explores how technicians working in the cinema exhibition arm of the Korean conglomerate CJ Global are pioneering the diffusion of four-dimensional (4D) motion widescreen cinema technology. It analyzes the 4D work-flow processes being developed to connect Asian and Hollywood films with local audiences via motion and environmental special effects, as well as some of the cultural assumptions underlying this new technology transfer. As a case study, this article investigates how the Korean 4D team in Beijing is seeking to appeal to Chinese audiences through this innovative process, while assisting CJ Global's expansion across China and the world. This study sheds light on a new type of inconspicuous transnational collaboration that is enabling Korean post-production practitioners to contribute to the expansion of the film industry in China and its integration of technical innovation and ideas from outside the country.