Unique On-Set Challenge: The Green Makeup of Wicked

In the world of Wicked, the tale of Elphaba — the future Wicked Witch of the West, played by Cynthia Erivo — the young witch finds herself shunned by the citizens of Oz due to her unique green skin and magical abilities. But on a modern film set, where visual effects replace the magical, she faces another challenge: green screen technology.

These vivid green backdrops, known in the industry as “chroma green,” are a staple in visual effects work. The reason? They’re dramatically different from human skin tones, making it easier for visual effects teams to digitally swap out the backgrounds. However, if Elphaba were to be filmed against a green screen, she’d likely disappear, leaving only her hat, eyes, dress, and cloak floating in mid-air, much like some of her classmates might wish.

Pablo Helman, a visual effects supervisor from Industrial Light & Magic, shared his insights with Polygon as they prepped for Wicked’s debut. Elphaba’s iconic green shade compelled the team to switch gears and utilize an older method of digital replacement.

“It ended up being a show that relied heavily on blue screens,” Helman explained. “During pre-production, you have to gather all the necessary screens, so we quickly realized blue screens were our go-to.”

Helman is a seasoned expert in visual effects, with work ranging from the epic Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones to contributions on Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. He doesn’t favor using these screens extensively: “The problem I find is they cast a particular hue over everything on set, altering the lighting.”

He emphasized that this could drain the vitality from elaborate musical numbers, especially ones like where Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) leads Glinda (Ariana Grande) and others in a buoyant tune about “Life’s more painless / for the brainless.”

“For example, with the ‘Dancing Through Life’ scene in the library, we could have easily resorted to a blue-screen set since the backgrounds were mostly composed digitally,” Helman mentioned. “However, collaborating with Alice Brooks, the director of photography, we aimed to embrace natural lighting. We lit it white, choosing to manage the actor extraction and background placements differently. This approach ensured the white light retained the true essence of the setting.”

The tension between the bright, natural lighting Brooks and Helman envisioned, contrasted with the blue glow from a typical digital backdrop, highlights challenges frequently faced on set. Differing requirements for a single scene often create conflicts between departments.

Reflecting on the history of green and blue-screen techniques, Helman pointed out that in visual effects, the aim is always to maintain control over each element. But this desire for control isn’t limited to the effects team; directors and production designers also have their own visions for the set.

Despite the meticulous planning by Helman, director Jon M. Chu, and the entire crew, once they began filming, another hiccup arose in avoiding clashing with Elphaba’s green.

“We hadn’t considered everyone in Shiz [the university scene in Oz] was dressed in blue,” Helman chuckled, reminiscing about the unexpected hurdle they encountered on set.