One of the ways in which a film immerses its audiences into another world is through sound.
While it can be easy to admire the cinematography of a film which can be a feast for the eyes,
sound is sometimes a facet we appreciate almost subconsciously.
When it came to the monumental task of adapting Frank Herbert’s Dune the production crew
had to carefully consider how this strange universe and the world of Arrakis would sound
in order for the audience to be fully immersed into the story.
As director Deni Villneuve has stated before Dune is a story that takes it power in its
details since the desert world of Arrakis is presented like a character itself the filmmaker
knew the importance of highlighting every aspect of this world so the audience could
understand what it would feel like if they were to step onto the desert sands themselves.
In this video I’d like to discuss several recent interviews with the Oscar nominated
sound team tasked with bringing Arrakis and its monstrous sandworms to life through sound.
The sound team includes Mark Mangini and Theo Green sound designers who worked together
on Bladerunner 2049 prior to Dune and re-recording mixers Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett.
In a recent article from IndieWire Mark discusses the direction they received from Deni Villneuve
as they embarked on this ambitious endeavor saying, “Denis wanted the sound to be gritty
and realistic, and if you landed on Arrakis this is what you’d hear or what a documentary
crew might’ve captured.
That initial framing of his goals informed everything that we subsequently designed and
created and that Ron and Doug would mix.
That was our aesthetic.”
I find it interesting that Villneuve emphasized grit and realism, one might think that simply
by filming on location in Jordan that they had the realism aspect figured out, this is
an intriguing part of the filmmaking process that it’s not enough just to film in a desert,
they had to make us believe that what we were seeing and hearing was another world entirely,
that this was Arrakis, Dune, the Desert Planet.
In a recent interview with the New York Times the sound team spoke about one of the most
important parts of the film, when Paul Atreides first steps foot onto the desert world.
This planet, though it may seem humble and desolate, contains the most valuable substance
in the known universe, Spice.
It is in the air, in the food, everywhere.
In order to convey in an audible way that something more than just sand was underfoot
the sound designers used rice crispies to dust the sand with in order for there to be
a distinct crunching sound.
It’s also worth noting just how much time went into the sound team’s process of investigation
and discovery in order to find the many different sounds used for the film.
As soon as Deni Villneuve was signed on to adapt Dune almost immediately he brought Green
and Mangini on board.
They had both worked with Villneuve previously on Bladerunner 2049 and even though sound
designers are often hired during the post production process Villneuve wanted them to
get to work as soon as possible saying quote “I wanted Theo and Mark to have the proper
time to investigate and explore and make mistakes.
It’s something I got really traumatized by with my early movies, where you spend years
working on a screenplay, then months shooting and editing it, and then right at the end,
the sound guy comes and you barely have enough time.”
This choice to bring in sound designers at the early stages of pre production makes a
lot of sense and it makes me wonder why this practice isn’t the norm in filmmaking.
Also because of their early sound collection and design some of their creations were used
as a part of Hans Zimmer’s score.
During pre-production the sound team went to Death Valley to record the dunes.
They buried mics deep in the sand and as they listened they discovered how much it sounded
like the ocean.
Doug Hemphill said quote, “We would end up using surf and waves to augment the size
of natural sand to give us the girth and weight that we needed.”
According to the article from Indiewire familiarity was an important part for the sound of Arrakis
and though this film may seem otherworldly it was important for Deni that it not feel
synthesized.
It’s interesting and surprising to know then that out of the 3,200 bespoke sounds
in the movie, less than half a dozen were electronically produced.
Mangini continued speaking about their creative process saying,“One of the ways we achieved
the success of making science fiction sound familiar was by utilizing acoustic sounds
as raw elements from the real world recorded with mics in real acoustic spaces.”
With the importance of familiar sounds, one can’t help but wonder about the sound team’s
process for the monstrous bellows of the planet’s signature Sandworms.
The development of sounds for creatures in science fiction has always fascinated me.
Seeing Jurassic Park as a child it has always remained with me how perfectly the film sets
up the introduction to the T-Rex, we hear the dinosaur’s presence long before we see
it.
The sound of its approach and roar is truly iconic and it's something I was so happy to
see realized in the awe-inspiring Sandworms of Dune.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly Sound editors Mark Mangini and Theo Green
spoke about their process for creating the sound of the sandworms.
Saying “You expect it to have a signature Godzilla roar or something.
But early on we realized that rather than being a gross monster with big teeth, the
worm is more like a god of the planet Arrakis.
It's an extraordinary being that isn't just there to scare us.”
And when speaking to the New York Times it was revealed that a dog’s gnashing teeth
and grumbling whale noises were used as the sandworm opened its enormous mawe.
And when speaking to Entertainment Weekly Green said, "We kept away from effects that
made the worms sound too wet.
We tried to make its mouth sound as ancient and dry as the sands themselves."
In the pages of Frank Herbert’s book an approach of a sandworm is akin to that of
an oncoming storm, when considering how the sandworm would move and what its biological
functions would sound like the team figured that the creature would vibrate their way
through the sand, so that when you feel the worm under your feet, you see and hear the
sand shaking with it turning almost to quicksand.
I must say I was particularly enthralled by this aspect of the sandworms, hearing those
vibrations made this creature of fiction that much more realistic.
It sounded truly massive and imposing and was a perfect marriage to a visual design
that made the sandworm seem ancient, like it had been roaming the desert for thousands
of years.
Using sound effectively also means knowing when to use silence.
When speaking about the moment Paul Atreides comes face to face with the mythological beast
Green said, “We wanted it to be a moment of silent contemplation rather than some huge
roar."
This is one of my favorite parts of the film here we are able to take a moment after experiencing
the terror of being discovered by a sandworm in the open desert, to contemplate the majesty
of these creatures, and why they are revered by the local Fremen as the physical manifestation
of god.
Villneuve stated that Sound is one of the tools that still makes the theatrical experience
worth going for.
And when reflecting on what’s ahead for Dune part 2 he simply teased that it’s as
much about sound as it is about images.
This first film accomplished something that I will always appreciate, in watching Dune
part one I truly felt like I had seen the world of Arrakis, that it was lifted straight
from the pages of Frank Herbert’s books.
I can’t wait to see Villneuve’s completed vision for Dune, to experience this strange
world in all its glory, and to be shaken by the sound of the sandworms once again.
But I’m curious to know what you think of the sounds of Arrakis and its iconic sandworms.
Do you think Villeneuve and company did a good job in presenting Frank Herbert’s creatures
on screen?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.