American Cinematographer - December 2021 - 10

Shot Craft By Jay Holben
Creative Synergy: Cinematography
and Production Design of Dune
Production designer Patrice
Vermette's concept art for a
room called " the Nexus " on
the planet Arrakis.
The synergy between cinematography
and production design can
really set the look and style of a
film. The production designer is
among the cinematographer's most
significant collaborators on any
project, and the best of them have
a keen understanding of not just
color, texture, shape and space, but
of lighting and the camera's field
of view as well. With a thoughtful,
well-executed production design,
the cinematographer's job becomes
significantly easier.
During the preparation of this
month's cover story on the making
of Denis Villeneuve's Dune (see
page 16), it became clear that the
collaboration between cinematographer
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS
and production designer Patrice
Vermette should stand as a model
for any creative partnership. This
installment of Shot Craft features
Fraser and Vermette, who discuss
their work together on the
10 / DECEMBER 2021
ambitious project - and spotlight
the importance of cross-department
cooperation.
Inspiring Art
Vermette's work began in " soft
prep " (before official preproduction)
as he began sketching and modeling
possibilities for sets. " I start with
a small team, pulling references,
sketching up a bit, and sculpting
models to see what shapes
speak to me, " he says. " I have a
more sculptural approach, and
the physical really helps me think
about light when I design a set:
'Where would the light fall? Where
would the shadows fall?' When I'm
happy with that, it becomes the first
cornerstone of the design, and then
I'll bring in some conceptual artists
who rework the models and add the
right textures and lighting. Then we
start to refine. "
For Dune, Vermette enlisted
conceptual artists Deak Ferrand,
Aaron Morrison, Kamen Anev and
Peter Popken. " I like to have many
artists touch each drawing - it's
not just one artist's work, " says
Vermette. " There will be a main
artist on each frame, and then I'll
live with it for a while and eventually
have some additional thoughts. For
example, Kamen might do the main
drawing, and then I'll ask Aaron
to work on the texture or Peter to
add something else. It constantly
evolves so that everybody has their
fingerprints on everybody's work. "
Fraser says that he was " incredibly
inspired " by the results. " I was
astonished by the beauty, detail
and texture in the concept art, " the
cinematographer says. " Very often
as we were shooting, I tried hard to
light the sets to match Patrice's artwork;
I felt if I could do that, it would
be an extraordinary achievement.
There were a couple of moments
when I felt a little ego twinge, like I
was serving the artwork, but then
I would check myself and think, 'It
would just be silly not to!' "
Says Vermette, " I was deeply
humbled by Greig's response to
the conceptual art. We first worked
together on Vice and have become
like brothers. "
Color Choices
Vermette's inspiration for color in
Dune came from nature. In designing
the home of Paul Atreides
(Timothée Chalamet) on the planet
Caladan, the production designer
was inspired by the Canadian
coastline in autumn. " I think of fall
as the end of something and the
beginning of something new, and
that's what Caladan represents, "
he says. " Caladan is also an ocean
planet, so I took inspiration from
Canada's water, mountains, tall
Norfolk pines, and this gray mist
that is always in the air. I took inspiration
from the gray rock formations
with fungus and green moss, and I
IMAGES COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. AND LEGENDARY PICTURES.
American Cinematographer - December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2021
