Definition May 2024 - Newsletter

DUNE: PART TWO PRODUCTION

sandworm. “I don’t know the last time you rode a sandworm, but it’s actually really fun, fast and scary!” grins Fraser. “We were rolling on that before we even started principal photography – it was clear we’d need a lot of time to film the sandworm ride sequence. “It’s important to Paul’s journey, but more than that, it’s critical to the Dune story in general. If it didn’t quite work, or wasn’t as visceral as it needed to be, it could have let the movie down. Everybody felt that pressure.” Given that Steven Spielberg called the sequence one of the greatest things he had ever seen, it’s fair to say the team succeeded. Getting the right quality of light was crucial in seamlessly integrating the different locations into a singular environment. “In Budapest, we built the back of a sandworm for Paul to ride on. But around it, we also built a dome that was made out of a sand-coloured wood in a similar colour to the sand dunes. Not dissimilar to what we did on Dune: Part One with the ornithopter scene, where the sandworm eats the harvester. If we had a different-coloured bounce, it would have affected the look significantly.” Most of the footage was captured using a single ARRI ALEXA 65, with the ARRI ALEXA Mini LF also deployed for action sequences. “For the Baron’s box and exterior, we used a 3D rig because we shot with one camera in colour and one camera in infrared, so we could transition between normal colour and infrared seamlessly. The Mini LF was good for that,” explains Fraser. IF THE SANDWORM RIDE WASN’T as visceral as it needed to be, IT COULD HAVE let the film down ”

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