‘I Couldn’t Find A Sound Effect For It’: The Weird And Honestly Shocking Story Behind How Dune’s Sound Designer Created The Giant Sandworm

'I Couldn't Find A Sound Effect For It': The Weird And Honestly Shocking Story Behind How Dune's Sound Designer Created The Giant Sandworm

As a connoisseur of cinematic masterpieces and a dedicated fan of Denis Villeneuve’s work, I have to express my utter admiration for the intricate details that go into creating such visually stunning and immersive films. The sandworms in Dune are not only a testament to the film’s grandeur but also serve as a fascinating glimpse into the creative process behind these creatures.


Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies are an impressive spectacle. This is thanks to the hard work of Villeneuve and his team, who painstakingly brought Frank Herbert’s vision into reality. A notable aspect of these films is the colossal sandworms, which are both awe-inspiring to watch and unsettling to hear. Interestingly, when they appear on screen, these creatures produce an unusual sound that has a shocking backstory in its creation.

In the creation of films like “Dune”, sound designers and editors often face challenging tasks, particularly since they have to invent sounds for non-existent creatures. For instance, when it comes to the sandworms in these movies, Mark Mangini, a veteran sound editor who won an Oscar for his work on the first film, had to get creative. He revealed that he couldn’t find a suitable natural sound for the moment a worm sucks something up, so he decided to create the sound himself.

Isn’t this the entrance of the giant worm you’re talking about? Denis was always fascinated by it, describing it as being over 400 meters long and four stories high. He loved imagining the sound of its powerful suction pulling everything into its cavernous belly. I couldn’t find a suitable sound effect for that, so I decided to create one myself. I grabbed my lavalier microphone (similar to the one I’m wearing now) and mimicked the sound of it being swallowed, like this [acts as if mic is going down his throat and makes sound]. Then, I lowered the lavalier mic into my mouth, and that’s how I managed to produce the sound you heard.

As a gamer, I’ve always been amazed by the intricate work of sound editors. To be honest, hearing about how they created that spine-tingling suction sound in a particular game left me even more impressed. Frankly, I never would have thought of producing it like that. It worked flawlessly and definitely added an eerie touch to the game. For more insights into the process, including how they tweaked the sound for the final product, check out the Instagram video below!

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The sandworms are huge parts of the Dune universe, both figuratively and literally. While they serve as threats hidden beneath the sands of Arrakis, they also serve as modes of transportation, particularly for the Fremen. 2024 movie release Dune: Part Two also sees one of the worms involved in a major scene involving Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides. At one point in the film, Paul rides a worm as a mark of acceptance amongst the Fremen’s rank, and that ride sequence took a lot for it to be put together as well.

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'I Couldn't Find A Sound Effect For It': The Weird And Honestly Shocking Story Behind How Dune's Sound Designer Created The Giant Sandworm

Denis Villeneuve Explains Why His Dune Movies Won’t Really Be A Trilogy

It’s been made known that Denis Villeneuve is penning a third film titled Messiah, which could potentially bring back the iconic sandworms. The specific plans for them are yet to be revealed, but there are several theories that might apply. Previously, sound designer Mark Mangini suggested creating sounds for a sandtrout – a sandworm larva – for the first film, although it didn’t appear in either of the initial films. It’s possible that this concept could be utilized in the third installment.

In the near future, it’s quite likely that Mr. Mangini, who previously won an Oscar for Best Sound Editing on Mad Max: Fury Road, could be nominated again for his work on Dune: Part Two. The movie impressively expands upon the first film in terms of visuals and audio, which is quite remarkable. We’ll just have to wait and see, but if he does win, I can’t help but imagine him sharing a story about sandworm suction as he accepts his golden statue on stage.

Both of the Dune films are available to stream now with a Max subscription.

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2024-10-27 02:37