In the whimsical world of “Wicked,” we meet Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, a young witch-in-training who faces exclusion from her fellow Ozians due to her striking green skin and innate magical abilities. However, on the bustling set of a Hollywood blockbuster, which relies more on high-tech visual effects than magical spells, Elphaba faces another challenge: the dreaded green-screen technology.
These vibrant green backgrounds, or “chroma green” as they are known among VFX specialists, play a crucial role in modern visual effects. The reason this particular shade is so prevalent is its notable contrast from any human skin tone, enabling VFX artists to effortlessly separate the green and replace it with any scene they wish, effectively transporting actors to new locations. But here’s the kicker: if Elphaba were to stand against a green screen, she’d risk vanishing entirely, leaving only her hat, eyes, dress, and cape floating in mid-air—a rather surreal take on the Wicked Witch of the West.
As Pablo Helman, the visual effects supervisor from Industrial Light & Magic, shared in a chat with Polygon before the film’s release, Elphaba’s unique color meant returning to an older VFX staple. “It immediately became a blue-screen show,” Helman explains. “In the preparation phase, we quickly realized we needed to switch to blue screens.”
With a portfolio boasting work on everything from the magical worlds of “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” to the nuanced realism in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Helman typically prefers to minimize the use of such screens. “The thing about using these backgrounds,” he points out, “is that they spill their color across the set, changing the lighting.” Such a spill could dull the vivacity of key scenes, like Fiyero’s upbeat musical number, where he and Glinda (Ariana Grande) sing about the simpler joys of life.
“For examples such as the ‘Dancing Through Life’ scene at the library, we might have relied on a blue screen since all backgrounds were digitally crafted,” Helman notes. “But I collaborated closely with Alice Brooks, our director of photography, suggesting that instead of a screen, we should light it white and incorporate backgrounds later. This approach ensures the lighting captures the scene’s true atmosphere.”
This balance between director Alice Brooks’s desired bright white light and the blue light from a traditional VFX setup illustrates the kind of dilemma Helman often navigates on set, where creative visions can clash.
Looking back on the origins of green and blue-screen techniques, Helman reflects, “In the early days, we in visual effects loved these methods because it gave us control. Everyone—directors, production designers—strives for their own level of control.”
Despite all the groundwork laid by Helman, director Jon M. Chu, and the rest of the crew, it wasn’t until filming began that they realized sidestepping the Elphaba-green problem introduced another hiccup. “While shooting scenes at Shiz University, it hit us that every character was dressed in blue,” Helman says with a laugh.
