Obviously, the stark, monochromatic look of Giedi Prime is a sharp contrast to the rest of “Dune: Part Two,” which takes place largely on the desert planet of Arrakis. Characterized by sweeping sands and beautiful, pink-hued sunsets, Arrakis is where Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) trains to be a Fremen warrior alongside his fellow fighter Chani (Zendaya), who becomes his romantic partner. Watching training sequences of Paul and Feyd-Rautha in completely different environments is a stunning way to set the stage for their eventual showdown. As Greig Fraser revealed, a lot of consideration went into this crucial contrast.
“We need to know that we’re not in a gladiator environment in Arrakis. So the sun had to be different.” Enter the infrared effect, which Fraser says he and Denis Villeneuve both really loved: “It’s that sort of ghoulish look that you get from that light at night from security cameras, but it’s happening in the middle of the day.” Fraser also told the outlet that only the extended areas of the Giedi Prime arena are computer-generated; the field, most of the walls, and the Baron’s box were all real sets.
“Dune: Part Two” isn’t the only major release in recent memory to use infrared, actually. And in one Oscar-nominated A24 film, infrared is used to indicate a feeling of total surveillance.
