See how Elphaba’s green skin was created in ‘Wicked’

“Wicked” continues to be successful in cinemas around the world! A box office success, the film starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo has already accumulated more than 358 million dollars internationally, being the biggest Broadway adaptation in the United States, according to information from Deadline, surpassing the classic “Grease: Nos Tempos da Brilhantina”.

The success of the plot, however, is not for nothing. This is because the film, directed by Jon M. Chuhad a huge behind-the-scenes production, with every little detail carefully thought out to make the film great.

In a video released by Universal Pictures, the distributor responsible for the adaptation, it is possible to see a little more of how “Wicked” was prepared. To make the story even more immersive, Chu stated that he needed to build Oz, and featured scenes with around 9,000 real tulips planted, in addition to the grand train that takes Elphaba and Glinda to the Emerald City, which weighs 16 tons.

In addition to the setting, the characterization of each character was also thought out in detail, to be perfect on the big screen. A great example of this fact is the choice of green that would be used in Cynthia Erivo to bring Elphaba to life, which took months to be selected.

In an interview with NBC Insider, Frances Hannonmakeup and hair designer for “Wicked,” reported that she started working on Elphaba’s makeup even before Erivo performing on set in the United Kingdom, carrying out tests on models, and that he needed to develop a personalized product, as he could not find any on the market that met his needs.

“It was easy with models, before we didn’t have Cynthia on board at that time; she was in America”, he explains. “It was easy for me to work with the models to find the right green color — it wasn’t too difficult because there are so many products you can mix [disponíveis] on the market. But finding the right green color that works on your skin tone [de Erivo] It was a very difficult thing, because it didn’t work on anything I tried.”

For People, Hannon says that lighting became one of his main challenges in finding the right tone, as, depending on the light, it could directly affect the color tone.

“Every time I tested [os óculos]I couldn’t get them to work in all the lights I knew Cynthia would need to go through. In dim light or shade, they turned gray. I didn’t want everything to be done in post-production, even though that was an option,” he said.

With that, the makeup artist found a discontinued neon-based cream eyeshadow originally produced in Canada and, with the help of the SFX makeup professional, David Stonemancreated the name “Cynhtia Green”, or simply “Verde Cynthia”, in free translation, which worked for all environments.

However, the characterization of Erivo During the daily recording sessions they were not so simple either. This is because it took the actress around two hours or more to complete, with the green being applied using a brush, sponge and airbrush.

Hannon also highlights to People that, in addition to finding the perfect green for any setting and lighting, his team also managed to make the paint highly durable, and not smudge on his costumes or co-stars during the scenes.

“We didn’t want anything to transfer to Ariana’s skin, transfer to other costumes, or transfer to her own costumes. We’ve never had that problem [com a sombra]even with her flying, singing, running”, concludes the makeup artist.