Beyond Sand and Spice-The VSFX of Dune by DNEG

During the 94th Academy Awards, Dune won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and several other categories. After going over the DNEG Visual Effects Breakdown hosted on March 2, there is no wonder Dune earned the award. During this event, hosted by Ian Failes, the invited panelists Kanet Yale, Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, and Robyn Luckham went over the successful and challenging effects of Dune. This article will share the most significant aspects of this virtual panel.

One of the most successful and unique techniques to provide the best visual effects for the film was creme-colored screens, or as the panelists called them, sand screens. This technique helped with the final composite since the neutral interactive light was more realistic and supported the story’s environment more than if they had used a bright green or blue screen. This screen was also suitable for blending edges, hair detail, and cloth detail. Even though composting is a lot of work, the sand screen made the process much easier because, for example, they did not have to deal with blue or green suppression. In addition to these technical advantages, these screens’ earth or sand color provided a positive psychological effect on the actors. Since this neutral color is far less distracting than the bright blue or green colors, the actors would increase their performance. Filmmakers treated the screens as part of the set, part of the Dune environment. However, even though this technique was very successful, it was a brand new challenge. Compositors had to learn a different approach to blend the assets since the blue/green screen approach would not work the same with this neutral color.

The panelists in this event provided a lot of information on creating the Ornithopters of the film. The wings of this vehicle are similar to that of a Dragon Fly; therefore, they were more potent and produced more wind than a regular helicopter. To enhance the sand effect when the wind of the Ornithopters hit it, the visual effects artists combined the practical wind of a traditional helicopter with digital particles. Animating the Ornithopter wings was a very challenging process. To make the wings as real and believable as possible, many details need to be kept in mind. The rotation and movement of the wings had to be accurate. Also, when moving up and down at a fast speed, the blades produce a lot of motion blur. This effect was recreated digitally and involved a lot of rendering. 

The artists created digital and practical Ornithopters. The practical ones were used as set pieces, and they would have CG wings. The digital ones were primarily used for the shots where the aircraft was flying. This was the perfect harmony between practical and digital effects. The practical ornithopters and helicopters were used as references for lighting the digital ones. The more references on set for the artist to use, the better it was for them to recreate digitally.

The dunes and sandworms of the film were very challenging. Figuring out the movement of these worms was hard; snake and worm references were not enough. Artists had to replicate “giant seas” of sand to make a sand whale effect. The animation tests went hand in hand with the effects tests because they had to see how the worm’s movement and the sand’s movement interacted together. The artists took different approaches when animating the worm hidden within the dunes versus when it was exposed. 

In addition to this, the panelists explained that creating the worm’s mouth was a very challenging process. However, the amount of detail that was integrated was incredible. As the host, Ian Failes said, the mouth was so natural that “It could almost talk.” The muscles would behave in a particular way; some parts would relax while at the same time others would contract. The sound of this worm was so unique that it helped the artist design the mouth. Another challenge that the artists faced when creating the worm was the composition and framing of the shot when the worm was fully visible. It was hard to figure out a frame that would look good on both IMAX and regular screens.

Paul’s vision of a fight scene was entirely CGI. The panelist mentioned that Covid changed the original approach they were going for with motion capture. However, the pandemic gave the crew enough time to analyze the scene and redo it remotely. The stunt choreography was a puzzle piece combined with motion capture footage. They had a 15-week schedule to achieve this. The panelist emphasized that nothing could have been achieved without the Motion Capture team.

For the city buildings, the speakers emphasized that they worked for eight months in pre-production to develop the visual effects for the environment; the virtual worlds were built based on the concept designs. They would also take photography with drones of real-life settings to replicate the city accurately using the photogrammetry technique. Small details were crucial in creating these cityscapes; for example, they had to keep in mind that the citizens of the desert city in the story would not be seen because they would not be exposed to the sun if they didn’t have to.

During the attack on the city shots, the artist used a mixture of practical miniature models and digital versions of it, which also involved a lot of money to destroy them in the end. To enhance the story of this attack, they used fireballs on set for interactive lighting, which was then pushed forward in post-production with explosions. The fundamental goal of these shots was to get the best light so the foreground could match the background perfectly. In the end, both explosions (practical and digital) matched real-world explosions.

After analyzing the visual effects of Dune, it is evident why this film deserved the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The harmony between practical and digital techniques to produce a natural effect within the movie was outstanding. The best films provide significant realistic effects to the point that they are invisible to the viewers. The effects are there to support the plot and not distract the audience from its primary purpose: the story. The artists and whole crew of Dune did an excellent job with this, which led the film to its incredible success.