Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1529668
W I C K E D | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 1 1 The Emerald City Express: Not Quite a Train Wicked hinges on getting the characters from Shiz to the Emerald City quickly—"One Short Day" needs to begin with their departure. Water travel felt too slow, and didn't capture the modern spirit envisioned for this Wizard. He'd surely have brought some advanced technology from his world, but replicating the hot air balloon wouldn't do either. A train seemed ideal, but not one powered by the familiar steam engines of the Industrial Revolution. That wouldn't mesh with the fantastical, colorful essence of Oz. I've always been captivated by the intricate, beautiful mechanical figures—automatons—built during the reign of Louis XV. The famed illusionist and watchmaker Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin's mechanical orange tree further fueled my fascination. What if the Emerald City Express ran on clockwork, a marvel of complex, synchronized mechanisms? The challenge became designing a vehicle that embodied both romance and hope, powered by this fantastical technology. The Emerald City: A daunting task loomed before us. Designing a city for film is fraught with peril—so many fall into the trap of generic, forgettable landscapes. But this wasn't any city. This was Oz, a land of fantastical whimsy. The Emerald City had to be the embodiment of that whimsy; a dream conjured by a powerful Wizard. It had to rise from the landscape like a singular emerald jewel, a profile etched in the memory of every Ozian, a myth they whispered about with longing. Tricky business indeed! We knew from the outset that the city's exterior would be crafted through the magic of CGI. This meant getting a head start on the design process. Detailed illustrations were paramount, capturing every curve, every flourish, every emerald facet of this fantastical metropolis. These illustrations would be our blueprint, the foundation upon which the VFX team would weave its digital magic. But the Emerald City wasn't solely a digital creation. A significant portion would be built as a physical set on our backlot. Seamless integration between the physical and digital realms was crucial. The design had to ensure the CGI architecture perfectly complemented the structures reaching up a formidable forty- five feet, creating a cohesive whole that would transport audiences to the heart of Oz. D. THE EMERALD CITY EXPRESS. PHOTO BY CHRIS PETERS. E. THE EMERALD CITY EXPRESS. PHOTO BY JON CHU. D E