Dune 2: Why are some parts of the movie in black and white?

Much of the story in Dune 2 takes place on Arakis, a desert planet inhabited by the Fremen. However, the story also takes us to a less hospitable star: Gyedi Prime. This is the stronghold of the Harkonnens, the film’s brutal antagonists.

In this harsh and hostile world, Baron Harkonnen reigns supreme. In the second part of Dune, we are introduced to his nephew, Faid-Rauta, a man of unspeakable cruelty. In that sense, the arena fight sequence is very eye-catching.

To give the atmosphere a strong contrast with Araki, Denis Villeneuve and his team decided to make this world in black and white.

Fascist world

“Giedi Prime is a fascist world, a world without nuances, without subtlety, a very harsh world, a world in black and white. I told myself that color does not exist in this world, including sunlight, and that’s why I wanted to film it. In black and white and cinematography Greg Fraser I like this idea”explains Denis Villeneuve in the film’s press kit.

“Greig made changes to the infrared filters inside the camera and used a filter that creates a very disturbing black and white cast and gives a unique look to the skin and eyes of the characters. Hence this surreal tone in the lighting that I love. it’s so scary”specified by the director.

Infrared technology

Denis Villeneuve discusses the infrared technique already used by Greg Fraser in Zero Dark Thirty and Rogue One. “It’s the same light that security cameras use, and we can’t see it. My fascination with infrared comes from the fact that our eyes can’t see it, but a camera can.”emphasizes the technician at the microphone variety.

Greg Fraser had warned Denis Villeneuve in advance that Giedi Prime’s exterior was to be completely different from Arrakis and other sets already seen.

“We particularly noted the idea of ​​anti-light. Not a black hole of light, but a device that changes light as we generally know it. As a result, we used a technique that I “already used for visual effects and which uses infrared on the Alexa LF camera sensor”The director of photography confides.

“More specifically, we put a blocking filter on the lens, which means the camera can no longer capture visible light, and we remove the infrared blocking filter on the camera so the camera is no longer sensitive to ‘infrared light.’ We used Giedi Prime outdoor lighting.’

Who can be bald!

In addition, this eerie atmosphere is very well captured in the novels of Frank Herbert. The author explains that the planet Gyedi Prime orbits a very faint bright sun.

Thus, photosynthesis cannot reach its full potential and nature suffers. The inhabitants also experience this, which explains their pale complexion and lack of hair and eyebrows.

“One of the aspects of the novel that I love is that it explores the effect of an ecosystem on humans. The nature of the ecosystem affects the development of religions, techniques and modes of survival, the entire culture.

We are a product of our environment, and when you want to know about the Fremen, just look at their desert.”Denis Villeneuve points out in the columns MovieFone.

harmful world

“I love that idea, and for Guidry Prime, the Harkonnen world, there’s less information in the book and it’s a world cut off from nature. A world made of plastic. So I thought it would be interesting to have sunlight. It reveals their psyche.”he continues.

“Instead of bringing out the colors, the sunlight killed them and created a truly evil black and white world. That would give us information about how these people perceive reality, their political system, their primitive culture and brutalism.”concludes the Canadian film director.

In addition, due to their unwavering cruelty and greed, the Harkonnens quickly plundered the natural reserves of Giedi Prime, forcing them to conquer other planets in order to survive. To achieve their goals, they have established a dictatorial and military regime in which Baron Harkonnen has all the powers.