Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542259
o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 c g w 7 T he wonderful world of Oz comes alive once more in Wicked: For Good, the epic conclusion to last year's first installment—a cinematic sensation that became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time. Jon M. Chu returns to direct a star-studded cast of new and familiar faces, including Academy Award nominated leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande reprising their roles as Elphaba and Glinda. This final chapter continues to unravel the untold story of the witches of Oz, following the estranged duo as they navigate new challenges amidst the consequences of their decisions. Demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba now lives in exile deep within the Ozian forest as she continues her fight to expose the truth about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Meanwhile, Glinda has become Oz's beloved symbol of Goodness, living a lavish life of fame and fortune in the Emerald City palace. Under the tute- lage of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), she assures the residents of Oz that they are in good hands under The Wizard's regime. As her high-profile marriage to Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) approaches, Glinda seeks to reunite with Elphaba to join forces and truly change Oz for good. With a dazzling array of new musical numbers, dynamic environ- ments, magical effects, and complex character designs, Wicked: For Good features more than 2,700 visual effects delivered by a team of over 1,000 artists from ILM, Framestore, and other studios from across the globe. The visual effects team vastly expanded the previously estab- lished geography of the Land of Oz by craing detailed digital forests, massive swaths of farmland, and even the terrain that lies beyond its borders. Aerial photography and other real-world reference materi- als aided the process of creating these new environments. Full CG characters requiring extensive VFX work and nuanced facial animation included Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), a goat employed as a history professor at Oz's Shiz University, and Chistery (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), the leader of Elphaba's fear- some army of flying monkeys, among many others. Elphaba's broom flight effects were fully redesigned to reflect her stronger command of gravity and expanded magical prowess. This included augmenting Erivo's practical stunt work and aerial motion choreography with more precise broom animations, digital cape simulation, environmental transitions, and atmospheric effects to showcase the confidence of her character. Elaborate storm effects were required for the sequence in which Madame Morrible conjures the fateful tornado that whisks Dorothy into Oz. The supernatural spiral materializes suddenly and embarks upon its path of destruction with calculated precision, a sequence that combines grounded practical effects with layers of digital ter- rain, debris, and wind to maximize the visceral impact. The film's visually dynamic musical sequences would not have been possible without VFX wizardry. "Girl in the Bubble" show- cases Glinda's iconic magical orb, which is revealed to actually be a mechanical device craed by The Wizard. The team designed a VFX-driven mirrored environment to achieve the illusion of a contin- uous 4-minute shot, including six mirror pass-throughs mapped out by extensive technical visualization with no motion control required. In "No Place Like Home," the VFX team craed hundreds of digi- tal animals to populate a vast forest environment, running the gam-