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\n Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon\/Universal Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\n <\/p>\n
You may have seen clips on social media<\/a> of people watching The Odyssey<\/a> in theaters and absolutely getting their shit rocked. They\u2019re being ragdolled by mechanical seats, sprayed by gusts of water, jarred by simulated flashes of lightning, and by all indications having a great time. The people in these clips are experiencing Christopher Nolan\u2019s epic<\/a> in 4DX, an immersive theatrical format designed to engage moviegoers\u2019 bodies and senses through an array of effects including moving and vibrating seats, water, strobe lights, wind, snow, scent, and \u201cback ticklers.\u201d It\u2019s a format that has been growing steadily in popularity since it was first brought to market in 2009; there are now 777 4DX screens globally, with 78 of these in the U.S. But these viral videos raise more questions than they answer: How do these effects operate? Are the filmmakers involved in designing them? How much water is there really? Is the water clean?? These are the questions pioneering Korean company CJ 4DPlex is asked routinely as they sell specialized 4DX facilities to multiplexes and convert movies to the 4DX format today.<\/p>\n The initial idea behind 4DX theaters was \u201cborrowed from the amusement-park industry,\u201d says Paul H. Kim, the company\u2019s COO. After developing a proof of concept at its parent company\u2019s multinational CGV theater chain (which, after complaints, added the option for individual customers to disable the jets of water spraying them in the face), CJ 4DPlex brought it to the international-multiplex market, where it was met with some resistance. Part of the initial challenge, Kim says, was that the format was viewed as a gimmick, but even today it\u2019s not the easiest sell. For a multiplex to be able to screen 4DX movies, a theater needs to be retrofitted with heavy mechanical chairs; plumbing; \u201ceffects bars\u201d in the ceiling capable of generating wind, snow, and bubbles; and a custom server in the projection room that communicates with the cinema\u2019s existing server to synchronize the 4DX effects. There\u2019s also ongoing maintenance. The water, which goes through a multistage filter, has to be regularly flushed out to remain hygienic; the scent dispensers need to be refilled; and the spray nozzles need to be unclogged. When chairs intermittently break, the expertise and parts of a certified CJ 4DPlex technician are required to fix it. Despite all this, the business continues to grow. 4DX movies have brought in $52 million at the U.S. box office so far this year \u2014 box-office sales CJ 4DPlex gets an unspecified cut on \u2014 and that number is projected to surpass $100 million by year-end.<\/p>\n Jaehyun Jeong and Jaesang Yoon, CJ 4DPlex lead producers based in Korea, are responsible for designing the effects moviegoers experience while watching these films. Every chair tilt, gust of wind, and scent spray is carefully timed to match the onscreen action and precisely calibrated not to understimulate or overstimulate audiences. It\u2019s not an exact science \u2014 audience members occasionally report feeling nauseous \u2014 but through hours of testing, Jeong and Yoon aim to make the experience as seamless and memorable as possible. Between them, they\u2019ve worked on adding 4DX effects to over 100 films including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, Backrooms, and, yes, The Odyssey. In a recent interview, they broke down how their process works from start to finish, the movie scenes they\u2019re proudest of their work on, and the best and worst notes they\u2019ve gotten from filmmakers and their teams.<\/p>\n This is a pretty specific line of work. How did each of you get into doing this?\u00a0<\/strong> Jaesang Yoon: <\/strong>I\u2019ve been working as a 4DX producer for probably four years now. I majored in journalism and business management in university, but I always loved movies. Watching movies as your daily job is the best thing, so I chose to be a 4DX producer. I\u2019m really happy that I\u2019m now creating this content, and people in every other country overseas with 4DX movies can feel what I design.<\/p>\n How many people work on adding the effects to each movie? How long does it typically take?\u00a0<\/strong> What sort of technical training did you need when you started?\u00a0<\/strong> When you say \u201cgraph,\u201d what does that look like?<\/strong> \n Jaehyun with his team of producers I understand you both lead your own team of producers now, but do you have any stories about movies you worked on together?\u00a0<\/strong> J.J.: <\/strong>One thing that people don\u2019t realize is that 4DX is generated by software, but every effect is crafted by a producer. Every producer has a different point of view for the film, so the effects can be different based on who worked on it and how they understand it.<\/p>\n Take me through that. When you opened up that file and were watching the movie, what details were you looking for to help you decide where to add effects?<\/strong> Jaehyun, I know you worked on The Odyssey. Can you walk me through what that process looked like?\u00a0<\/strong> Could you tell me a story about a time you worked with a filmmaker or a filmmaker\u2019s team to refine the 4DX effects of one of the movies you produced?\u00a0<\/strong> \n Jaesang with his team of producers. J.Y.: <\/strong>Recently I did Backrooms, and I heard that the director loved the experience. But he also sent me the feedback that he wanted the wind to be blowing at the audience when the rooms were changing. Originally I thought that these backrooms are places where there are no windows, but he wanted to add a fan so that the audience can feel that they\u2019ve entered a different place.<\/p>\n One other case, which was not my experience but Jaehyun\u2019s experience, was with Paul Thomas Anderson on One Battle After Another. We normally avoid expressions for sexual things, but he wanted to add sexual movements for Sean Penn.<\/p>\n Did he want the chair to rumble? What did he want?\u00a0<\/strong> I imagine it\u2019s difficult sometimes, because even though filmmakers are experts at shooting movies, they\u2019re not 4DX experts, so their notes may not always make sense.<\/strong> J.Y.: <\/strong>When the character is farting, directors want to add the smell of a fart or something like that.<\/p>\n A sampling of the scents 4DX producers choose from to set the mood.<\/p>\n Flower: <\/strong>Fresh and fragrant floral scent. Romantic, hopeful, bright. Evokes an image of a colorful flower field filled with white, yellow, orange, and other vibrant flowers.<\/p>\n Mountain: <\/strong>Fresh scent of trees and forest. Refreshing, free, open. Evokes lush green nature and the scent of wet leaves after rainfall.<\/p>\n Ocean: <\/strong>Fresh, crisp seaside scent. Refreshing, hopeful, confident, open. Evokes the image of a wide-open blue ocean and coastline.<\/p>\n Sweet Food: <\/strong>Pleasant, sweet fruity scent. Lovely, romantic, joyful. Evokes sweet cotton candy and a pink, magical fantasy atmosphere.<\/p>\n Gunpowder: <\/strong>Smoky scent of gunfire and explosives. Tension, danger, threat. Evokes dark environments filled with gray smoke and the atmosphere of a battlefield.<\/p>\n Burning Rubber: <\/strong>Strong scent of burning rubber. Urgency, tension, danger. Evokes fire, smoke, and black ash.<\/p>\n Barbecue: <\/strong>Seasoned, grilled-meat aroma. Abundance, appetizing, satisfying. Evokes a fully prepared dining table or meat grilling outdoors.<\/p>\n Burning Wood: <\/strong>Smoky scent of charred wood. Warmth, relief. Evokes a warm fireplace and slowly burning wood.<\/p>\n Wet Soil: <\/strong>Earthy scent of wet soil and stone. Mysterious, fresh, stable, comforting. Evokes damp brown soil, grass, and a mysterious cave environment.<\/p>\n Wait, did you actually get that note specifically?\u00a0<\/strong> Can you tell me about a specific 4DX effect you\u2019ve added to a movie that you\u2019re particularly proud of?\u00a0<\/strong> How did you create the smell of an alien? That\u2019s really interesting.<\/strong> How long does the theater smell like that after the movie is finished playing?<\/strong> How about you, Jaehyun? Do you have something you\u2019ve worked on that you\u2019re really proud of?<\/strong> How about the opposite? Have you ever tried out an effect and had it go really wrong?<\/strong> J.Y.: <\/strong>For horror movies, we try to not use any effects for the jump scares normally. Early on, I was doing 4DX on this title, Halloween, and I used a lot of wind effects, and the filmmaker said it caused a lot of spoilers of what was coming.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen that you work on a lot of anniversary rereleases. If you could pick any movie from history to convert to a 4DX title, what would you choose?<\/strong> J.J.: <\/strong>French Connection, directed by William Friedkin. I remember the car-chase scene in the film, and I think that film would be very nice with our format.<\/p>\n By the time you\u2019re done working on a movie, are you still able to enjoy it as a fan?<\/strong> Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n
Jaehyun Jeong: <\/strong>I studied filmmaking and philosophy at university, and I joined this company around five years ago. I\u2019d tried our format a few times before I joined this team, but not this much. But I\u2019ve noticed that this is a very interesting way for an audience to enjoy a film at the theater, and I think the theatrical experience is the most important thing for the cinema.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>We have around 20 producers working on the 4DX format. Usually three or four producers work together for each title, and we try to spend around two or three weeks on each one.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>We use our own tool that our company established for this format, so we had to learn that. It almost looks similar to Pro Tools and video-editing tools: We have a timeline for the film, and we put in all the effects. We needed to spend more time learning motion movements, because making movements for the motion chair is a little bit harder than putting in any of the other environmental effects. It\u2019s really similar to the way you\u2019d move a ship or aircraft. We have to design a graph of the movement for how we want to control the motion chair. We spent around three months learning how to use all these tools.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>The motion chair has various ways it can move. The first way is similar to left and right \u2014 we call it \u201croll movement.\u201d Back and forth is called \u201cpitch movement,\u201d and up and down is called \u201chip movement.\u201d So we draw a graph for how they can move back and forth, and left and right, and up and down. We can control how much we want to move the motion chair, and combined together in all these ways, it gives more complexity to the movement.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9fe1246f31bcb6a39832c8b12cb46dd232-1-Concept-Design.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n Photo: Courtesy of the subjects\n <\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>We did a lot of movies together, like Super Mario Bros. and Avatar. I remember working on one title, Titanic. It was a very old movie, and we had released it in 4DX before. But they were trying to rerelease it, and we opened up the code that they had used before, and there was basically nothing there. So we tried to re-create it in a better and more fun way, and we didn\u2019t have much time. We probably had two or three days to work on it.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>The main thing is the event that causes the action. For Titanic, when the boat is sinking, people are screaming and running, and the boat is leaning, so we\u2019ve got to lean the chair so the audience can feel how the boat is sinking. We try to find that kind of moment, or a part where the sound is very loud, and an effect.<\/p>\n
Not only for The Odyssey, but for all titles, my first viewing is very similar to any other audience. I try to feel the movie first and experience the story and emotion. The Odyssey has a three-hour-long run time and it\u2019s an epic-scale movie, so I thought that, for this title, finding a balance is the most important thing. A three-hour experience in 4DX format is quite tough for some audiences. So we focused on following the journey of Odysseus and tried to express the 4DX experience of that, so the audience can be Odysseus or his crew and experience his epic story together.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>I think sometimes the hardest decision is deciding not to add any effect. Some filmmakers really want to express themselves only by image and sound, and that\u2019s enough for the film, so we don\u2019t need to put any other effects. Other times \u2026 I remember I worked on Minions & Monsters a few months ago, and I put a lot of effects for that title, because it really fit. The original scriptwriter attended the quality-control screening in L.A. and he really enjoyed it. I also worked on Sam Raimi\u2019s Send Help, and when the producer attended a QC for that title, he wanted more effects! Some people think putting more and more effects is the best way to express ourselves for the audience, and some filmmakers just want to keep the balance without disturbing the original movie. It\u2019s very interesting when we work together with the filmmaker and get feedback. We can never predict how they\u2019ll feel about it, but it\u2019s the most important part of our work.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/a98e06131d6a2860c7b662de45f2048416-4-Internal-QC.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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J.J.:<\/strong> Yeah. A very tiny rumble movement when Lockjaw and Teyana Taylor\u2019s character met for the first time. <\/strong>He wanted to express their first meeting because it\u2019s the most important part of the narrative. Actually, he sent us a lot of notes for our 4DX work before we started working on the film. He gave directions for how we should understand and express the important checkpoints of the movie.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>Yeah. In some cases, filmmakers and studios want to add a different type of scent that we\u2019ve never had and never used. But we don\u2019t have all types of scents all the time.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>I don\u2019t recall the title, but I did! You\u2019ve got to understand the technical things, too. When the filmmakers want to add a lot of effects, but the technical effects we use \u2014 like the fans \u2014 can cause loud sounds, we try to regulate that as much as possible.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>It\u2019s not in the U.S. market yet, but the most recent one I did is a Korean movie called Hope. I really loved that movie; it\u2019s the most expensive budget for a Korean movie ever. It\u2019s basically about people back in the \u201980s fighting with aliens in the DMZ area, so it\u2019s a very fun story, and we used a lot of effects. For the alien attacks, we used water effects for the expression of blood splatter and for things that were coming out of the aliens\u2019 mouths and dripping on people. We also tried to create the aliens\u2019 smell. In the film, there\u2019s a lot of vengeance, so we tried to create a weird smell for the audience to feel it. It was very popular in Korea about two weeks ago, and even BTS\u2019s Jung Kook watched it and recommended it!<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>In the movie, they say it\u2019s more like the smell of fish, but they don\u2019t really define it, so we were trying to imagine what that smells like by using a bunch of smells and mixing them together. Normally you don\u2019t want to mix smells, but for movies like this you\u2019ve got to mix them together to confuse people.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>It needs time to air out. We add three bursts of fresh air for ten seconds so that we can clear out the rest of the smell during the end credits.<\/p>\n
I especially really like using the strobe effect for lightning. In The Odyssey, I saw the audience really enjoyed the storm sequence during the movie, and the strobe felt exactly like lightning and thunder. It\u2019s there for a very short time, but it\u2019s very powerful, and it feels more physically impressive in the moment.<\/p>\n
J.J.: <\/strong>Yeah. We always notice that some people really don\u2019t want to get hit with water from the chair at the theater, so we always keep that in mind, and we control the water more carefully compared to the other effects. For The Odyssey or other movies with the ocean where water is a main part of it, we can use it very well. But we don\u2019t only use water to express water. We\u2019ll also use the water effect for blood, like Jaesang mentioned they did in Hope. I remember one time we used a bunch of water effects on one Japanese action movie to express blood, and the director and producers thought it was not working well, so we revised and erased it.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>True Lies! I remember the one scene with the aircraft beside the building, and that would be a really cool scene in 4DX.<\/p>\n
J.Y.: <\/strong>It\u2019s different depending on the movie. Some movies, I really like don\u2019t like them when I first see them, and it\u2019s kind of painful that I have watch them like 100 times by the end of the project. But some movies, like The Odyssey, you finish it and you still love it. I\u2019ll personally pay for the ticket and go to a 4DX theater to see how people are liking it in real time.
<\/strong>J.J.: <\/strong>Today is actually the first release date for The Odyssey in Korea, so we\u2019ll see if Korean audiences also love it in 4DX format like in America!<\/p>\n