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DUNE www.postmagazine.com 34 POST JAN/FEB 2022 family in Dune," says Connor. "We made sure we matched the practical effects created by Gerd [Nefzer, special effects supervisor] and the SFX team exactly so we could convey the arid, vast expanses of the spaceport." To this end, the production team built a mas- sive box that encased the ornithopter that Paul and Jessica used to escape the Sardarcaur, the emperor's elite military force. The ornithopter was mounted and animated on a motion base that was blasted by the SFX team with different types of sand, which the VFX team emulated and added scope to all the interior shots of the huge sandstorm itself, Connor notes. The Dneg team separated the sandstorm into three different sections: front facade, interio and top. "We came up with methodologies that were the most efficient for each and blended betwe them when needed," says Connor of their work. "For the big, wide exteriors, we referenced the massive sandstorm photography we found in a National Geographic documentary. The sand- storm can be almost a kilometer high and several kilometers wide and deep. This required exten- sive R&D to design and render all the shots we see above the sandstorm itself. Each shot seen from above had to be simulated and designed to work with the sequence, as the amount of sand required huge amounts of processing time and disk space." CG Craft/Vehicles…and More Dune is filled with arious craft, from the spaceport in the Arrakis capital of Arrakeen, to the Atreides spaceships, to the dragonfl -like helicopters (orni- thopters), to the huge spice harvesters and more. Once again, scale was a major hurdle for the Dneg teams. The ships were huge, and the spaceport had to be massive to house those ships. And, the CG models had to be destructible in such a way that enabled pieces to fly off when t y exploded during the attack. "Building to that scale was quite tricky, and then there are the heavy simulations on top of that, too," Myles points out. Aside from the CG ornithopters, a partial model was used, with the wings and other augmentation added in post, while another partially-built physical model mounted to a hydraulic rig (giving it full 360-degree rotation) surrounded by the sand screen was used, as well. For the most part, Dneg Vancouver built the giant CG spice harvesters, strictly adhering to designs from Villeneuve. Meanwhile, the Dneg Montreal studio built the flagship seen in th early part of the film, the Bene Ge serit shuttle, the Atreides spaceships, and more, in addition to harvesters and ornithopters. The group further orchestrated the attack on Arrakeen as enemy spaceships are descending and explosions are occurring all around. Dneg Vancouver assembled two so-called super teams in effects. One handled the sand, which is detailed earlier in this piece, and one handled all the explosions and destruction — small craft, large craft and those in between. In Suspense When Villeneuve signed on to direct a new version of Dune, he decided to go big — from the set pieces and stages to the visual effects. However, as Connor points out, there were no visual effects for visual effects' sake. "Villeneuve was not interested in having some- thing flas y. He wants it to feel integrated and part of the story. It all had to make logical sense," he notes. So, the big question on everyone's mind is: Is there a Dune part two? The film — which as held for more than a year before it was released amid the pandemic — certainly left the door wide open to that, covering just half the book. It has even been called Dune: Part One in the opening. And indeed, Warner Bros. has greenlighted Part Two, expected in the fall of 2023. At a production cost of an estimated $165 million, Dune: Part One was an ambitious project, although it brought in a reported $387 million (and counting) at the box office, even with a simulta- neous limited streaming release on HBO Max. And you can bet that Part Two will be just as ambitious. Karen Moltenbrey is the chief editor of Post's sister publication, CGW. Massive software was used to create digital crowds.