The visually impressive “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” continues the Maleficent story modernizing characters and improving upon the world many fans know.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” comes to Blu-ray and DVD on January 14.
Visual effects supervisor Gary Brozenich took charge of making sure the film became the visual success it did.
Preparation wasn’t easy as the fantastical world of Maleficent is full of surprises.
“You have to try to prepare as much as you possibly can and talk about everything as much as you possibly can in advance,” Brozenich said. “When you do get surprised on the day, which happens every day, you got a well thought out plan b.”
Collaborating with crew members, actors and the director can come together well can ensure a very motivated, inspired story.
To improve upon a well known story and present it in an entertaining, respectful manner takes close examination and preparation.
“I think that the main thing is that making sure anything that we do, relating to that character or those characters, is respected,” Brozenich said. “So that anything that we change, enhance or that we do to make that a more up-to-date, or what we consider to be a better version, is done in conjunction with the actor or actress.”
The characters and scenery weren’t always something that could be captured on camera, much of what was captured on camera was able to be improved through post production visual effects.
The entire movie benefited from the passion and dedication Brozenich and his team put into the project.
“I had a really good team, a really great production team,” Brozenich said. “I had a lot of support, had a great second unit supervisor, who worked with me and I’ve known for years. We had a lot of on-set support.”
Much of what was such success was carefully planned out and executed by the entire team that worked on the movie.
Brozenich has had much success as part of many Disney projects.
“I love working on these kind of movies. To me just throw me in the middle of it and it’s sort of a sink or swim and I kind of enjoy that process,” Brozenich said.
Disney is able to continue making advances in stories because of the support and risks they take.
Being able to explore new ideas isn’t something many storytellers or filmmakers are allowed to explore.
“I have been very lucky to have done a whole string of Disney movies. They are not shy on taking risks, doing big things and trying new things,” Brozenich said. “They have the sizable company to support that.”
As a artist, Brozenich is constantly evolving his skills and learning new ways to do the absolutely best work.
The technology is also constantly improving, which can make an artist constantly look back at a project and think how they could have improved upon it.
“I feel much more confident about the ability for the visual effects teams and artists all over the world to do much more than we use to,” Brozenich said.
