Movies - TV
Bringing Dune 2’s Arrakis To Life ‘Traumatized’ Denis Villeneuve
By SANDY SCHAEFER
Filming outdoors can be difficult, and according to director Denis Villeneuve in an interview with Empire Magazine, filming “Dune: Part Two” in a desert was a huge challenge.
Since the green screens reflected off the sandy surfaces, Villeneuve and his crew relied upon beige-colored fabric or “sand screens” to make it easier to add CGI elements later.
With most of “Dune: Part Two” taking place deep within the deserts of Arrakis, they needed to spend even more time scouting for the perfect real-life dunes to film.
Villeneuve shared, “For my mise-en-scène, I'll want a particular shaped dune. But Greig Fraser, on the other hand, will need that same shape to be in a specific light.”
He continued, “So Patrice spent weeks and weeks casting sand dunes in the desert! We looked like madmen.” Villeneuve learned being in the desert for a long period takes its toll.
The director explained, “I still find [sand] every morning in my shoes. We’re sand-traumatized, for sure.” It was even worse for production designer Patrice Vermette.
Vermette said he spent most of the first “Dune” shoot carrying around bottles of desert grains just to ensure the dunes on Arrakis looked consistent.
He went on to do the same thing for “Part Two,” sharing, “We didn’t repeat a single location. We found completely fresh spots to tell our story this time around.”