Wicked

For Universal Pictures’ global blockbuster, no expense was spared on the wardrobe. So when the filmmakers wanted to extend the crowds throughout both Munchkinland and Emerald City, they called Dimension to take advantage of our unique volumetric digital crowds pipeline.

It was important that both the care and attention put into the film’s lavish costume design, as well as the natural performances of the cast, could be presented on screen authentically, ensuring digital crowds seamlessly blend into live action shots.

Watch the Munchkinland reel below, where you can see our volcap Munchkins being dropped into the scene.

When you need to scale crowds in post, volumetric capture is a perfect option, providing a more efficient and cost effective approach than having to build characters using traditional VFX and animation approaches. Wicked benefitted from Dimension’s industry-leading pipeline which supports 10bit colour and has previously been successfully used on projects including Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Those About To Die.

For Wicked, Dimension used its Polymotion Truck – a mobile volumetric studio in partnership with Mark Roberts Motion Control – which travelled to Elstree Studio to capture the supporting cast while they were already in full costume and make-up. With this set up, Dimension captured pixel-perfect 3D versions of the actors from Munchkinland and Emerald City, without them needing to move locations or revisit the costume, hair or make-up departments.

Over the course of two days we volumetrically captured 76 of the supporting cast, including prop tracking the cast’s expertly-millinered hats, and then processed over 75 minutes - or 100,000 frames - of volumetric content for hand-off to the VFX team at Framestore.

Because volumetric capture provides a 3D asset it enables the filmmakers and VFX teams complete freedom to drop performers into whatever scene they need, wherever they need them, regardless of the angle or composition of the shot.

Wicked’s impressive visuals - including its VFX - have been applauded by audiences and critics, something backed up with leading industry award nominations. We can't wait for Wicked Part 2, due for release in November 2025.