[ wicked-film ] The sets were actually there!

Author: CodingCellist

content/en/post/wicked-film-is-surprisingly-good/index.md

@@ -57,14 +57,36 @@ probably have done something along the same idea on stage, but not as nicely.
 
 Then there are more "classical" uses of CGI as well: Dr Dillamond, the goat
 professor who teaches history at Shiz, has been CGI'd as a real goat (and the
-other talking animals as well); and the gold and emerald-green, steampunk train
-to the City of Oz. The film mixes green screen and CGI with an abundance of real
-(as in, physically constructed) sets, which I felt was a welcome breath of fresh
-air. Speaking of...
+other talking animals as well). The film mixes green screen and CGI with an
+abundance of real (as in, physically constructed) sets, which I felt was a
+welcome breath of fresh air. Speaking of...
 
 ### The Sets
 
-(there are about 2-3 pages worth of carpenters and plasterers in the credits)
+It is very refreshing to see a film where the sets have so clearly been
+constructed with care, including larger structures, and not just green-screened,
+or otherwise edited in. The Munchkin houses, the university towers and
+corridors, the ballroom, are all obviously physically there, and the film looks
+_so good_ thanks to it. The same goes for the water fountain in the Emerald
+City: the water flows and pools off it in an imperfect way which could only have
+been done by building the thing.
+
+On a brief side note: hats off to the extras who were dressed in
+beach-ball-like costumes and had to roll around in the fountain basin! It looks
+incredible, but it must have been a weird and challenging role to fill (the
+costumes do not have arms). Same goes for the at least 3 metre tall,
+green-bearded officials in the Emerald City who are clearly dancing around on
+stilts.
+
+The instructor also apparently has some Tim Burton energy: the crew planted 9
+million tulips for the tulip fields around Munchkinland (I just thought they'd
+gone to the Netherlands to film or something) and the green and gold steampunk
+train to the Emerald City was actually built!
+
+So yes, the physical sets are noticeable and make a huge difference in terms of
+realism and immersion. They clearly invested in physical sets -- there are about
+2-3 pages worth of carpenters and plasterers in the credits -- and the film is
+much richer for it.
 
 
 ## The Actors and Characters