The 2022 Academy Award-winning film for Best Sound is Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve, Dune presents a mysterious and touching hero’s journey. A gifted young man, Paul Etradi, is guided by fate to a thrilling adventure on the most dangerous planet in the universe to defend his family and his people. At the same time, various forces join the battle for a precious resource on this planet that can unlock the greatest human potential. In the end, only those who can overcome their fears will survive. As with director Denis Villeneuve’s previous film Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve weaves sound design and music into a fluid sonic experience that feels cohesive and unique.

I watched several interviews with Dune’s numerous sound designers, and Mark Mangini and Theo Green show how the sounds in the dunes propel the plot along, the ambiance of the place, and the sound of the sandworm. Mangini claims that when they were designing the sandworm sound, director Dennis proposed that it be the driest sound on the globe. They originally attempted employing genuine animals from Earth, beginning with the roars of lions, tigers, and elephants, but they all sounded sloppy and nasty. The sound of a sandworm, according to the filmmaker, has to be the driest sound that sprang to mind. They ended up employing a dry brush and some dry twig noises as one of the sandworm sounds sources. This intrigued me since it was difficult for me to envision an object with such a loud sound being made from these components. It also demonstrates the importance of constantly experimenting with sound design.

Another sound design in the film clip that really struck me was the spice in the sand, a valuable hallucinogenic substance, which Mangini sprinkles with crispy rice crackers and stomps on with her work boots. The sand then makes a subtle crunching sound. And in another Dune example of sand sounds, Mangini buries a microphone in the sand. It’s an underwater microphone, a hydrophone. In the Dune film, the characters use a device called a “pounding machine” to rhythmically tap the sand and summon giant sand worms. To obtain this sound, Mangini and Green bury their hydrophone microphone at various depths in the sandy sea of Death Valley and then use a mallet to tap the sand above the microphone.