Let’s be honest, Dune 2 was made magic by Hans Zimmer. The way he has captured sounds is reminiscent of his experience, compositional skill and balance he brings. In the latest soundtrack for Dune, he has gone above and beyond to make a world outside our own happen. A lot of things have been brought into existence. We dive into this sandy paradise, and how he has been able to conjure the elements with sound alone.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the movie (released: March 2024) has brought a whole level of excitement to Frank Herbert’s fantasy. It is detailed, brought to life with the kind of visuals not everyone can create. Though the composer for the movie is Zimmer, sound designer Richard King has to be credited with creating a lot of the sound as well. How you experience it, is a matter of a lot of spatial work and creativity.
The Academy excluded Hans Zimmer from this year’s Oscar nominations list for Best Original Score as the rule dictates over 80% of the score to be original. While Dune 2 boasts a beautiful tracklist, a lot of it is also borrowed from the first instalment of the sci-fi series, which was released in 2021.
Hans Zimmer and his team’s effort enhances the visual experience of this Sci-Fi adaptation with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya in the lead
The Context
Creating the context itself was amazing in itself. Now, the world of Dune is a sandy dystopian hellscape in many ways. It is similar to the deserts of our very Earth, so a lot of the environment you hear is field recordings of sand to make Arrakis (the world of Dune) very real. King talks about different trips to Death Valley and Kelso Dunes that were taken to record the low-frequency sounds.
Sound designer George Vlad was sent to the Sahara to record the movement of gentle winds to gale force or to sandstorm force. The amount of passion for the film is incredible to find out about.
For the Fremen language and the arena scene, punk rockers were brought on loop to create that gritty feeling of sound as well.
The Characters
On the planet of Arrakis, there are creatures like Ornithopters and Sandworms. Checking through evolutionary traits and characteristics of the world, threshers, sweeteners and harvesters were used to create the helicopter-like sound. Pitch and frequency were played with to make the sound more believable, and bring more mass and volume.
The entire recording sequence was done just over 2 ½ months, which meant long days and nights. The worm ride sequence remains a highlight of the movie, and the sound design is a must-listen. The 7.1 experience is recommended to hear the movement and dynamics being played with.
The Moments
Now come the emotional interactions. Though the sound design has its own special place, Hans Zimmer makes the composition stand out. Some of the music is from the first part, for a connect. Ancient instruments, welding sounds and flutes along with strings made for the gritty, exciting scenes of the movie. Metal shredder and guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan also lent his skills to the film. Hans Zimmer is a great admirer of his playing style, calling him for several live shows as well.
What Zimmer and the sound design team led by Richard King have developed is something tailored to a world beyond ours. By manipulating moments of sound from our own, an otherworldly sound has been achieved. Here is Hans Zimmer explaining some of the composition processes:
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
