When Greig Fraser ASC ACS originally asked me to join him on Dune 2 I wasn’t available, much to my dismay. I had worked with Greig before on The Batman and it was a fantastic experience. He is an exceptionally talented DOP at the top of his game. I thought Dune: Part 1 was an incredible piece of cinema and I would have loved to have had the opportunity to do Part 2.
Unfortunately the dates didn’t work and I was resigned to missing out. Greig loves to operate and decided to operate himself, as he did on Part 1. But this film was much bigger and even more ambitious than the first, and as a result he had a lot on his plate having to manage many other units at once.
After they started shooting I became available and luckily I was asked if I would come and join them in Budapest and then onto Jordan and Abu Dhabi. I jumped at the chance and embarked on an amazing adventure on Dune: Part Two.
I’ve never joined a film after the beginning of principal photography and it was a little strange to walk onto a set that was already established and shooting. My first day in Budapest was the start of the big knife fight scene between Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler’s characters, which as it turns out is the climax of the film. It was honestly a little overwhelming walking onto that set, as there were so many big “A” list actors there that it felt like I was walking around Madame Tussauds— not to mention one of the best Directors in Hollywood. Luckily I had worked with two of the cast before and my relationship with Greig and our brilliant 1st AC Jake Marcuson helped, and after being thrown straight in, the nerves disappeared quickly.
What struck me from the start was the size and scale of the project. Denis and Greig had set out to build upon the foundations laid in Part One and deliver an even more captivating cinematic experience.
Jason Ewart
We shot mainly single camera and the majority of the film was captured on the Alexa 65 because of its IMAX capabilities and ease of framing for IMAX and 2:40. It is a bigger camera package than the Mini LF and the conditions we were shooting in were tough, but the results speak for themselves.
This film has a lot more action and as a result a lot more camera movement than Part 1. We did quite a bit of handheld for the action sequences and used a variety of different cranes, with the libra remote head in handheld mode to mimic this look. At first I was operating off a monitor on the mimic but then switched to an eyepiece which really helped, as it was like operating normal handheld and I felt connected to the camera again. As an Operator you always try to be precise and as smooth as possible of course, but when shooting for IMAX you need to consider the size of the screen and operate with this in the back of your mind. Sometimes the mimic isn’t as precise or responsive as you would like so I had to revert to using the wheels on some occasions. Steadicam in the sand was quite challenging as well but maybe my time running up and down the beach with it on Home and Away stood me in good stead.
After we completed the studio work in Budapest, we relocated to Wadi Rum in Jordan and then to the sand dunes of Abu Dhabi for the next few months. Wadi Rum provided the rocky locations in the desert and Abu Dhabi the rolling sand dunes. Shooting in these stunning locations was a treat. Denis made the point that Jaws wasn’t shot in a swimming pool and shooting on location in the desert was so important to him for the feel of the movie and for the character that it brings to the story. However these locations were tough to work in due to the sand and the heat; for what it can do to you physically, as well as the effect it has on the equipment. Logistically it took much planning and scouting to shoot in these locations at the correct time of day for the right light and also to preserve the sand dunes for when we shot on them so there were no footprints from a large film crew.
Luckily we had the best crew around us to make this movie. Jake and team were amazing, as was Guy Micheletti, the key grip, and his team. Guy enabled us to get the camera into some really tough spots, placing the camera in positions needed to help tell the story. He built many platforms on the side of sand dunes for us to work off and converted a mining vehicle into a mobile base to move the 75ft techno crane almost anywhere we wanted.
One such location was the opening scene in the eclipse when we see Paul for the first time. This was quite a tricky oner, with the camera moving between the cast on precise beats on head turns and following other actors to motivate the camera movement . We achieved this with the 50ft techno crane on top of a sand dune, arming down to the actors who were all laying on the side of the dune hiding from the Harkonnen. It’s a great shot, setting the tone for what follows in the story. And seeing the main characters in big closeups in IMAX was the perfect start to the film. Kudos to Jake for his amazing focus pulling not only in this scene but throughout the film.
In every film of this size there are a few shots that are quite nerve racking as an Operator and this film was no different. One that stands out is when Paul is running to get on the sand worm. The camera was behind him on a crane, chasing him as he runs on top of the sand dune. We had built a dune that could collapse right before he lands on the sand worm. This was done by four heavy duty trucks pulling barrels out from under the dune to make it collapse. But if it goes wrong it was a 12hr reset before we could try again, and due to this there were no rehearsals. That knowledge alone is enough to ramp up the pressure and heart rate, as you don’t want to be the reason that you have to go again. We attempted it at the start of the day around 7am. For one reason or another, things went wrong and it would collapse and we tried it around 5 times before we even got a chance to do the camera move. I find when you have to follow an actor falling, it can be quite tricky as you don’t know how fast they will fall and don’t want to be behind them, or tilt too soon and miss the fall. Thankfully when we did do a full take we all got it first go and the shot works incredibly well in that sequence.
The other thing being in such remote and tricky locations is that things can go wrong with the equipment. For one scene we were very deep in the desert and we were leading Paul, Gurney and the Fremen on the Steadicam and I was hard-mounted on a rickshaw due to the very rocky terrain. As we were rehearsing, a pin on my arm snapped. Luckily I caught the rig but the arm was broken and as we were so far away from base camp, there were no other options that could be on set within 2 hours. I was horrified to think that I was the reason that we couldn’t shoot the scene and asked Greig and Dennis if I could try it handheld on my shoulder. Thankfully it worked and it was actually the best thing for the story at that point of the film. Sometimes things work out for the best.
Working with Denis was one of the best experiences of my career. His vision and direction ensured that every scene was crafted with precision and depth. And Greig brought the world of Dune to life in such a visually stunning way, surpassing what he did in Part 1 in my opinion. The crew was amazing and this is so important, especially being away from home so long as the comradery is what keeps you going. And each team member played a crucial role in bringing the film to fruition.
Having recently seen Dune 2 in IMAX, I was completely blown away. It is genuinely one of the best films I have seen and having had the chance to work on it is one of the highlights of my career and something I will remember forever.