Dune: Part Two cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC

Cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC doesn't see Dune: Part Two
as a sequel, but as simply the second half of the Dune story.
Shooting the second movie made Greig feel “emboldened, to make
decisions that we may not have made in the first instance. We
weren't necessarily considering how to outdo ourselves. I think the
fact that we were kind of riding a wave- no pun intended- but a
wave of success for that last movie.” Dune: Part Two was shot
digitally on the ARRI ALEXA 35, the ALEXA 65 and the ALEXA Mini LF
then printed to 70 mm film in post production for the final print.
Greig prefers the look of film to that of raw digital, but he
doesn't feel like he has to shoot on film. He used a small set of
spherical lenses that were easily transportable. Lighting for the
movie included plenty of hard light and open shade, since most of
Dune: Part Two takes place in the harsh desert sands of Arrakis.
Greig chose to uplight in order to illuminate faces, because harsh
sunlight would naturally bounce off the ground and reflect upwards
onto the characters. “I think that the most important thing in this
movie is that everything feels honest. When you're going to
extremes in a story, if you're running a thousand foot long
sandworm in the middle of the movie, which is obviously fantasy,
then you've got to also fill it with reality and honesty. You can
tell Denis' direction with the actors was absolutely honest. I
needed to make sure that I had the same kind of approach for the
lighting.” The production featured a massive crew, shooting in four
countries: Budapest, Italy, Jordan and Abu Dhabi. The second unit
was essential for staying on schedule. Greig also relied on his DIT
to help him match shots across different locations, sometimes
months apart. He often had to choose whether to shoot on the sound
stage or outside on location for the desert sequences. Though
filming outside was best for daylight, the reality is that real
sand is messy, uncontrolled, and harsh on equipment. The huge
sandstorm sequence was shot on the soundstage, which was pumped
full of atmospheric haze and color graded in post to be sand
colored. Greig enjoyed testing and using infrared black and white
film for the gladiator-style fight scenes on Giedi Prime. He used a
modified ARRI ALEXA 65 to shoot infrared. Since the people there
have very pale white skin, he imagined that Giedi Prime has only
infrared light from the sun, and no visible sunlight. Greig
partnered with actor Josh Brolin to create a beautiful art book of
photography called Dune: Exposures. It features photos he took on
the set of Dune and Dune: Part Two, with prose written by Josh
Brolin. You can find it at Insight Editions or on Amazon. Find
Greig Fraser: Instagram: @greigfraser_dp Sponsored by Hot Rod
Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by ARRI: www.arri.com/en
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