Choi Tae-young

Choi Tae-young (born July 2, 1971), also known as Ralph Tae-young Choi, is a South Korean film sound designer. Choi is the co-founder, Sound Supervisor, and CEO of Live Tone Studios, South Korea's largest cinematic sound studio. To date, Choi and Livetone have contributed to over 400 feature films and more than a dozen OTT series, including the globally popular series Squid Game and Moving. They have also worked on Korea's highest-grossing films such as The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds, 12.12: The Day, The Host, Miracle in Cell No. 7, King and the Clown, Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, A Taxi Driver, Exhuma, Train to Busan, and The Attorney.

Choi is best known for his collaborations with director Bong Joon-ho, and worked together in all his features, including Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and Parasite (2019).

He also a long time collaborator of director Kim Jee-woon, and has worked together in A Tale of Two Sisters (2003), A Bittersweet Life (2005), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), I Saw the Devil (2010), The Age of Shadows (2016), and Cobweb (2023).

Choi, along with Livetone, has 15 Grand Bell Awards nominations under his belt, winning three of them for Save the Green Planet! (2003), Lump Sugar (2006), and War of the Arrows (2011). He received the Best Sound Award from the Korean Film Producers' Association for The Fortress (2017). Their work on the film Parasite (2019) received the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature prize from the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) at the Golden Reel Awards. In 2020, the film Parasite won the Academy Award for Best Picture. As a result, Choi, who was involved with the production of Parasite, was invited to become an official member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that hosts the annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Early life
Choi Tae-young first developed an interest in music during his high school years. He pursued a career as a recording engineer and even joined a band, but the band disbanded in 1994 before releasing an album. Following the disbandment, Choi furthered his studies in recording engineering at the Los Angeles Recording School in Los Angeles, California. He then took courses in music business and recording engineering at UCLA Extension. It was during this time that he discovered the potential of a career in film sound post-production.

Establishment of Livetone
After returning to South Korea, Choi, a 27-year-old technical director at the time, co-founded Livetone, a startup sound production studio in 1996. Initially, Choi handled all aspects of sound post-production at the studio. As the company expanded, he shifted his focus to sound mixing. Livetone was a pioneer in Korea, being the first to adopt the Dolby 5.1 channel for film's sound, with their debut feature film Beat in 1997.

Choi's Early Challenges in Film Sound
Choi initially majored in sound, but did not specifically study sound engineering for film. When he entered the film industry in the early 2000s, he encountered significant challenges. These difficulties stemmed from his limited understanding of how sound functions within the context of film. Choi viewed sound in a simplistic manner: sound is just sound, without considering the mise-en-scène or the director's intentions. His approach focused solely on the technical aspects of sound, rather than its integration into the overall cinematic experience.

Choi's turning point came when he worked on director Kim Jee-woon's film The Foul King. Choi was excited about the film's dynamic nature, but his sound design was rejected. Kim Jee-woon wanted to create a "cool comedy," but Choi's sound design was too rich, which did not match the desired tone. It was at this point that Choi realized he had not even read the script, highlighting a lack of understanding he had about the filmmaking process. "'People ask us if it's difficult to create gunshots or hurricane sounds. It's not really difficult, just time-consuming. What makes film sound difficult is that films are subjective. It's about the director's calculations of when and how many times a new sound should be heard. My job is to transform the subjective imagination of the director into something objectively accepted.'"

After this experience, Choi began to thoroughly read and analyze film scripts, aligning his sound design with the film's overall concept and breaking the mold as a film sound engineer. His first film in this process was Kwak Kyung-taek's film Friend. Kwak Kyung-taek really liked his work on the film. There were specific sound points he hoped to be recognized for in Friend. "'It's a bit of a gruesome scene,' he recalled, 'but in the scene where Han Dong-soo (Jang Dong-gun) dies at the end, the sound of rain mixed with the sound of slashing with a knife comes out about 30 times at roughly the same point. In the past, I would have treated it in the same tone. Sound is naturally like that. But after reading the script, I designed the sound by dividing it into Han Dong-soo's perspective and the audience's perspective based on the situation and emotions of that scene. It's the same sound of slashing, but it's clearly different in that scene (laughs). I remember that Director Kwak really liked it.'"Choi later used Dolby 6.1 channels in the 2001 movie Volcano High.

In 2005, Choi served as the Sound Supervisor for Kim Jee-woon's A Bittersweet Life alongside Sound Designer Lee Seung-yeop. The goal of the sound design for the film was to create high-impact and realistic sound. To achieve maximum realism, sound effects were recorded on location or in similar environments. This included capturing footsteps at the Crown Hotel nightclub in Busan, gunshots with live ammunition at Yangsu-ri Studio, and ambient sounds from Seoul at night. The sound sources were mixed using a Dolby Digital Surround 6.1 channel method. The film's sound design effectively utilized panning, reflecting director Kim Jee-woon's visual style. The realistic sound was output through 7 channels, including center, left, right, left surround, right surround, back surround, and subwoofer. Kim Jee-woon praised Choi Tae-young at the Cannes Film Festival, saying, "You nailed the sound!"

In 2007, Choi was nominated for the Sound Award at the 44th Grand Bell Awards for his work on several films. He was nominated with Lee Seung-cheol for The Host, with Livetone for For Horowitz, and with Kim Kyung-tae for The Restless. He won the award with sound director Jeong Kwang-ho for the film Lump Sugar.

Kwak Kyung-taek's film Typhoon.

In the 2011 movie War of the Arrows, Dolby 7.1 channels were utilized to enhance the sound experience. The 4D sound technology was specifically employed to emphasize the impact of the bow as a weapon and the sound of arrows in flight. The sound design aimed to make the bow a main character by capturing the nuances of different arrow types, flight directions, and speeds. Choi Tae-young collaborated with Sound Dogs, an American sound recording company. The team selected the Palm Springs desert in California for its clean acoustics and minimal background noise. Using nine microphones and an experienced archer, they meticulously recorded various arrow shots to capture the authentic sound of the bow in action. The result was a dynamic and tense soundscape that aimed to transport viewers into the heart of the action.

Mr. Go was the first Korean film to utilize Dolby Atmos, an advanced sound technology that creates three-dimensional audio based on the movement and positioning of objects on the screen. Sony Tier provided free support for the three-dimensional mixing of Mr. Go. Sony typically focuses more on resolution rather than 3D, to maintain sound waves and frequencies that are beyond human hearing range. Wavel's CEO Lee Jeong-jin prepared the sound source.

When working on sound design for The Admiral: Roaring Currents, Choi focused extensively on creating the cannon sound. Unlike the ships in Pirates of the Caribbean, the vessels in Roaring Currents lack power plants. To capture the ship's movement, he incorporated twisting sounds that simulated external pressure on a large tree. In his work on the film Tunnel, Choi skillfully layered sounds to depict the collapse of something.

Working with Bong Joon-ho
Choi is well-known for his extensive collaborations with acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho. He has contributed to Bong's entire filmography, starting from his first feature Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) to his critically acclaimed works like Snowpiercer, Okja, and Parasite. "I did all the work on Bong Joon-ho's directorial works. Director Bong is now one of the best directors in the world. Once I asked him, 'Why do you keep making me work?' but he didn't answer (laughs). Now that I think about it, maybe it was because I wasn't a 'yes man.' I often argue with directors when working with them (laughs). But it was Director Bong who broke my stubbornness. There was an incident where I gave in, not that he broke me. During the work on 'Memories of Murder,' there is a scene where a female student walks in the rain and the culprit looks down from a mountain path. The mixing that the director wanted at the time was 'unreasonable' by my standards. In the end, I got angry and said, 'I can't do it.' But I was convinced at the technical screening. I realized why Director Bong wanted it that way when I saw the final mixed result.'"

Livetones collaborated with Sound Dogs, an American sound recording company, for the film The Host. In the film, most of the sounds of the monster are the cries of sea lions. However, at director Bong Joon-ho's suggestion, actor Oh Dal-su's voice was used for the sound of the monster snoring and spitting out its prey.

Snowpiercer was mixed in Dolby 7.1 surround sound during a six-month production period. Despite Choi's involvement in all of Bong Joon-ho's previous films, this project faced a setback during production that almost halted its completion. Initially, the producer planned for all audio files to be completed in the United States for this international project. So no contract was signed with live tones. This task was assigned to Choi late in the process, requiring a last-minute reorganization of the team. Choi discovered the budget constraints prevented him from going to the US for sound effects post-production.

Choi revealed that the Okja, a genetically modified "Super Pig" was inspired by Bong Joon-ho's vision of a creature that, despite its origins, possessed human qualities and a vegetarian diet. To bring Okja to life, Choi meticulously blended the sounds of various animals, including New Zealand pigs, hippos, and rhinos, with the voice of actress Lee Jung-eun.

Choi, sound design concept in Parasite. The film's sound design effectively establishes two separate auditory realms: one representing the affluent Park family and the other reflecting the impoverished Kim famil.

The sound design in the 2019 film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, played a critical role in establishing the distinct social and economic worlds of the affluent Park family and the impoverished Kim family. Choi employed various techniques to aurally differentiate these two realms. He utilized the oppressive sounds of air circulation in a confined space to intensify the tension in specific scenes.

Audio post-production for the film Parasite was completed at Live Tone Studios using two AMS Neve DFC 3D film consoles. A 48-channel Neve Genesys console was also utilized for recording and monitoring ADR. As sound designer and re-recording mixer, Choi emphasized the importance of the Neve DFC 3D console in achieving the detailed and emotional sound of Parasite. Choi praised the console's automation and audio quality, which allowed for efficient and intuitive work. Despite other consoles being capable of handling 3D Atmos, Choi found the Neve DFC 3D console to offer superior tonal quality and control during the film's production.

Choi dedicated 12 weeks to the Parasite project, including 8 weeks on sound editing and recording, 2 weeks on a pre-dub mix for Dolby Atmos, and 2 weeks on the final mix with director Bong Joon-ho. During the final mix, Choi heavily relied on the automation and stem routing features of the Neve DFC 3D console to bring the director's vision for the film's sound to life. "The picture editing ended at the end of November 2018. The sound editing (dialogue, SFX, backgrounds) and recording (ADR and Foley) at Live Tone Studios started in December 2018 and went until the end of January 2019. I had two weeks for pre-dub mixing and two weeks for the final mix in Dolby Atmos in February 2019."Choi's and his team, including Young Kang Hye, Byung-in Kim, Sung-gyun Park, Chung-gyu Lee, and Shin i Na, were awarded the MPSE Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature for their work on the critically acclaimed film Parasite (2019). This prestigious award is a testament to their masterful sound editing, which played a crucial role in enhancing the film's immersive and impactful storytelling.

In 2021, Choi with other Korean film industry sound masters, were attending the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival.

OTT Series
Choi discussed the unique approach to zombies in the popular Korean series Kingdom. He explained that unlike the slow-moving zombies often depicted in Western cinema, Kingdom's zombies were characterized by their speed and agility, creating a distinct and thrilling cinematic experience.

Choi was confident that Livetone Studio's work on Squid Game marked the beginning of the K-sound trend. Choi emphasized the importance of sound quality in content production. He noted that while local OTT producers are investing heavily in video content, they often overlook the significance of sound. He stated, "Domestic production companies often request basic stereo sound, focusing only on left and right channels. In contrast, global OTT platforms demand at least 5.1 channels or Dolby Atmos for immersive sound experiences." CEO Choi expressed disappointment that domestic producers may not fully understand the importance of sound technology in content creation.

Livetone's first foray into handling sound for a Disney+ production was with the series "Moving," providing valuable insights and opportunities for the company. Choi aims to create distinctive genre content using unique sounds in the future. Kang Hye-young, Livetone's sound supervisor for "Moving," discussed the challenges of creating sound for the show's action scenes involving superpowers. The sound effects were carefully crafted to match the intensity and variety of each scene, incorporating elements like high-frequency sounds for electric sparks and three-dimensional sound design for flight scenes. This innovative approach allowed Livetone to deliver a unique and immersive auditory experience for viewers.

Recent Works
In 2018, Choi Tae-young, on behalf of Dexter Livetone, and Ryu Jae-rim, director of the Korea Film Archive, signed a business agreement at the 'Sound Master Data Donation Ceremony' held at the Korea Film Archive in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Through the agreement, Dexter Livetone will donate over 200 original analog and digital sound pieces it owns to the Korea Film Archive. The Korea Film Archive plans to permanently preserve the donated materials and complete the digitization of analog sound materials to use them for future digital video restoration.

Seoul Business Agency (SBA) and Livetone signed a business agreement to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic content industry. The agreement included joint technical support for film and broadcast content production, support for sound studios, revitalization of short film and documentary production, and advisory services for media content center sound studios. The collaboration aimed to support the global market competitiveness of domestic content. Post-production support for 'Dolby Atmos content' was also provided. This partnership combined the advanced studio capabilities of SBA Media Content Center with Livetone's cutting-edge technology to strengthen the global competitiveness of domestic content.

Choi Tae-young collaborated with director Kim Yong-hwa on the film The Moon. Due to the noisy set environment, 99.9% of the audio was recorded after filming. All dialogue and background noise had to be recreated using sound effects and foley sounds due to challenges with simultaneous recording. The project was complex, requiring approximately 700 sound channels, the most extensive in Choi Tae-young's 20-year career. The production of The Moon took over a year to complete.

Livetone, the sound team behind the film Exhuma, integrated Dolby Atmos sound technology right from the start of production. They enhanced the immersive experience by blending sound effects seamlessly with Dexter's color correction.

For the film "12.12: The Day," Choi put significant effort into creating realistic sound effects, including capturing the sounds of various military boots (menacing boots of the Hanahae group, heavy boots during a phone call, solemn boots as a character jumps over barbed wire) through extensive field recording and foley work. He also designed the sounds of military vehicles such as trucks, armored vehicles, and tanks, as well as incorporating realistic sounds of weapons, artillery, and military operations to enhance the cinematic impact. Choi, who had prior military experience in a band, used his personal memories to guide the sound mixing process. The sound team also recorded and edited crowd walla to create realistic background dialogue."We particularly focused on effects that maximize tension, such as the sounds of gunfire and artillery fire, vehicles, military boots, radios, loudspeakers, and telephone calls. We paid attention to the sense of space as well as the confrontation between characters. As the story unfolds in such a tense manner, we put a lot of effort into even the smallest elements of the sound mixing to support the narrative."The sound mixing process took 2 months, followed by 1 month of pre-mixing and final mixing for Dolby Atmos. The Dolby Atmos setup allowed them to optimize the directionality and immersion of sounds to provide a truly cinematic experience that would be difficult to replicate on streaming platforms.

In 2023, Choi, on behalf of Livetone, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Supertone for sound technology development and mutual cooperation at Livetone's Sangam-dong headquarters.

Choi stated about his work in Alienoid: Return to the Future, "The sound coherence was maintained throughout the film, as the first and second parts are considered to be the same movie." He added, "While the first part progresses based on the outline of the story, the second part focused on creating a narrative-centered emotional story to enhance audience immersion."