Entertainment · Film · 17 hrs ago
KPop Demon Hunters team discusses the film’s 4K release and animation
The team behind KPop Demon Hunters discussed its new Criterion 4K release at a Los Angeles event.
Directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang joined production designer David Bleich and art director Wendell Dalit for the conversation.
The animated film combines a musical, a K-pop concert experience, Korean cultural influences and fashion.
Making the concert scenes feel like live performances was a major challenge, because many artists worked on separate shots that had to match the music’s mood and tempo.
The team used a master paint-over of the film to plan changes in color, emotion and rhythm across those scenes.
That approach helped the sequences feel like a cohesive K-pop concert, rather than separate animated shots.
The team also described how Dalit developed a visual plan for the Saja Boys’ performance of “Your Idol.”
Directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang discussed the film’s Criterion 4K release at a Barnes & Noble event in Los Angeles.
Production designer David Bleich and art director Wendell Dalit also joined the discussion, moderated by Criterion’s Valeria Rotella.
The team described the challenge of making the film’s musical sequences feel like live K-pop concerts.
They said a master paint-over of the movie helped coordinate changes in lighting, color and tempo.
The “Your Idol” sequence, performed by rival band the Saja Boys, was a particular challenge.
- Who
- Directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang, production designer David Bleich, and art director Wendell Dalit took part in the discussion.
- What
- They discussed the film’s Criterion 4K release and the making of its animation.
- When
- The article was published on November 9, 2026; the event date is not stated.
- Where
- Barnes & Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles.
- Why
- The group discussed the new 4K release and shared insights into the film’s visual approach.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The team worked to make the musical sequences feel cohesive and respond to each song’s tempo and emotions.
Wendell Dalit put the “Your Idol” sequence into an application on a timeline, helping the team visualize its lighting.
What's on Netflix published its report on the Criterion release discussion.
- Release
- Criterion 4K release
- Event venue
- Barnes & Noble at The Grove, Los Angeles
- Directors
- Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang
- Production designer
- David Bleich
- Art director
- Wendell Dalit
- Sequence discussed
- Your Idol,” performed by the Saja Boys
1 source
What people are saying
One of the hardest things in animation is you animate all the shots, and a sequence is broken up into all these shots, and it’s divided amongst dozens of artists
We discovered doing this process [to] just put everything together and do one master paint over the whole movie file
The underlying thread was fashion.