InterviewsDune Prophecy: Mike Enriquez (Production VFX Supervisor) & Terron Pratt (Production VFX Producer)By Vincent Frei - 16/01/2025 In 2021, Mike Enriquez shared insights into the visual effects teams efforts on the inaugural season of Foundation. He later contributed to the second season before transitioning to work on Dune: Prophecy.After breaking down the visual effects of Stranger Things: Season 4 in 2022, Terron Pratt is now setting his sights on the epic world of Dune: Prophecy.What was your feeling to enter into the Dune universe?Mike Enriquez, VFX Supervisor: As a huge sci-fi fan, I was a bit incredulous when I was offered this show. I had just come off of two seasons of Foundation, and the opportunity to go from one sci-fi classic to another was massively exciting. Of course, after the excitement came the pressure of having to make sure the VFX in Dune: Prophecy properly carry forth the amazingly grounded yet fantastic look the Dune features have.Terron Pratt, VFX Producer: I had been following this project for a while, since around the time that the first feature was released, so I was very excited when I realized that the timing was going to work out for me to be involved in the project. Having spent 5 years with another beloved sci-fi series prior to Dune: Prophecy, I was looking forward to the challenges that a new sci-fi series would bring.How was the collaboration with the showrunner and the directors?Mike Enriquez: Alison Schapker was great to work with. She always made time for VFX and the discussions that needed to happen to dial in the feel of major shots and scenes. I was always amazed at her ability to go from one facet of the show to another and give her all, especially when our sessions would go for hours on end. Working with the directors was also a pleasure. Each had their own way of working, but all made sure VFX were able to do our jobs on set.Terron Pratt: Its one of the things I love most about working on series in VFX; we have a very close working relationship with both the directors and the showrunner. With a show like Dune: Prophecy, there is a lot of opportunity for VFX to be involved so when a director pitches an idea, we quickly get to work thinking about what that idea might look like in our world. How are we going to achieve this? Lets get previs going or additional concept art to flesh out the idea.Our showrunner, Alison Schapker, loves the filmmaking process but especially post. She understands the technical side of what we do but allows our team the freedom to run with an idea to make it great. Its a huge plus when your boss is also your biggest fan.How did you choose the various vendors and split the work amongst them?Mike Enriquez: Terron and I have a pretty good sense of the strengths of various VFX vendors, and thankfully we were able to lock down the vendors pretty early on for this show. That allowed us to use who we really wanted to use for the various parts of the show. The work split was a bit tricky, as there is a lot of crossover in terms of the effects in the show.Terron Pratt: All of the vendors that were involved in Dune: Prophecy have worked on several, if not all, of my previous projects. As such, I was very familiar with each teams strengths. Additionally, there seemed to be a natural split of the work by environment, which ended up being the perfect amount for each vendor while not overwhelming anyone on back-to-back episodes or overloading them with work on any one episode. For example, Important Looking Pirates (ILP) has done a tremendous amount of amazing organic environments for me in the past, so it was natural that theyd take on everything involving the Sisterhood Complex and the surrounding environment. As well, there is a great deal of comfort working with the team at ILP and I know that we can award them pretty much anything so they also took on all space shots, the burning flesh along with the Agony sequences. Rodeo FX brought the grandeur to the work around the Imperial Palace while my history with Accenture told me that theyd be the perfect fit for the extensive hard surface work at the spaceport as well as a number of one-off creative challenges. Image Engine had a wide variety of work this season since their workload did not include any one major environment that we returned to over and over. That said, theyve done a great deal of animation and simulation work for me in the past on Lost in Space, so they were a great choice for ALL of the Shai Hulud work as well Anirul amongst many other effects in the series. Our icy planet, Lankiveil, was masterfully brought to life by the team at Raynault VFX.What is your role on set and how do you work with other departments?Mike Enriquez: Working as a VFX supervisor on set can be tricky. You need to have an understanding of all the other departments and how they affect the work you need to do. You have to interface with the various departments and discuss the needs for the day, and then keep a constant eye on things to ensure that they dont deviate from the plan. That said, I very much enjoy being on set. I learn something new on every show I work on.My on-set team is an important part of working with other departments. Our data wranglers are always interfacing with other departments to ensure we have all the data we need to do our VFX work.Terron Pratt: On set, Im there to support my team and facilitate their needs so I try to focus my attention on the days or weeks leading up to the shoot; attending location and tech scouts as well as concept & bidding meetings, to make sure that we can find a good blend of VFX in support of production design, props and even the camera department.How did you approach designing the diverse ecosystems and terrains for the planets featured in Dune: Prophecy?Mike Enriquez: The general design and concept for the planets all came from descriptions in the books. Wallach IX is cold and rainy, with a blue-white sun. Salusa Secundus is sunny and temperate, at least before it is destroyed far in the future. Lankiveil is bleak and frozen, and Caladan is wet and lush.What were the biggest challenges in making each planet feel unique while staying cohesive within the Dune universe?Mike Enriquez: The main challenge in this regard was Zimia city on Salusa Secundus. It was tricky getting a sunny, temperate environment to feel like it belonged in Dune. We explored skies, color temperatures, various types of haze and atmosphere until we found something that felt right.How did the collaboration between the VFX and production design teams shape the look of the planets?Mike Enriquez: We worked closely with production designer Tom Meyer who provided designs for the various locations. On Salusa, Tom provided concepts of the Imperial Palace, the general coastline, the space port, and parts of the city. We then took those concepts and fleshed out the overall city layout, spaceport, and Zimia docks with Mackevision while we worked with Raynault to give life to our tighter aerials and ground level Zimia city scenes. In terms of the palace and Imperial Gardens, our friends at Rodeo tackled that task.For Wallach IX, the concepts from Tom were based on a quarry in Budapest and were brought to life with very little adjustments as it took shape. The final looks of Caladan and Lankiveil were also very close to the concept art.Which planet was the most technically complex to bring to life, and why?Mike Enriquez: Id have to say Salusa Secundus, as we not only had to build the massive palace and the dense gardens that surround it, but we also had to build out how that connects to Zimia city. The city itself required a build that was used for our distant skyline shots, and a separate build for our in city shots, along with the suspensor cars and foot traffic that goes with it. Additionally, we had to flesh out the spaceport and Zimia docks as several scenes took place there. This planet had a lot of moving parts and was tricky to parse in a way that would give us what we needed without overbuilding and wasting time and money.How did you balance practicality and imagination when designing the planetary environments?Mike Enriquez: Every location in this show needed to feel grounded. No matter what sci-fi component needed to be present, each place had to feel like somewhere you could go with materials you feel like you could reach out and touch. Many times, our aerial shots and establishers would just end up too pretty and idealistic, so wed pull back and try to find the right balance for each location.What role did lighting and atmosphere play in setting the tone for each planet?Mike Enriquez: Id say they played the most important role. Light quality and type of atmosphere were our main tools in differentiating the various planets. While we had structural differences between them, we needed a visual language for the planets. Wallach IX always has a blue tint and is often foggy or raining. Salusa Secundus has warm sunlight and fluffy clouds, with a steamier feel in the night scenes. Lankiveil was always soft, cold light with overcast skies and snow in the air. Lastly, on our brief visit to Caladan we leaned on the wilderness aspect, leaning towards filtered light and a more natural atmosphere.Were there any specific visual references or concept art that were pivotal in defining the planets environments?Mike Enriquez: I cant speak to the inspirations of Tom Meyer and his art department, but while figuring out where I wanted the finished look of our environment shots, I mostly turned to landscape photography. I really wanted our shots to feel natural. Of course, we always kept in mind the vibe of the recent Dune films since we wanted the show to feel like an extension of that world.Desmonds ability to burn people with his thoughts is visually striking. How did you conceptualize and execute the effects for this power?Mike Enriquez: We decided pretty early on that we didnt want any visible effect on Desmond while he was triggering the burning aside from the toll it takes on him we see in later episodes. However, the effect on the people was heavily discussed, and we went back and forth a bit on the progression of the effect on the victims as well as the severity at the peak of the effect. Each burning scene started with tracking the motion of the camera and actors so we could place a rudimentary burning effect on their skin throughout the scene to test out the progression and intensity. That allowed us to make the most of the effect in each scene to best play into the vibe Alison wanted. Each instance of burning was tailored to the scene to have the greatest impact.What inspired the visual style and intensity of Desmonds psychic energy during those scenes?Mike Enriquez: Given that the burning was driven internally, we tried to figure out what it might look like if someone was superheated from the inside, without any external heat source. We wanted to avoid anything that would take it into comic book superhero territory, or anything over the top like an internal light source. There isnt really any magic in Dune, so it had to have a scientifically grounded feel.The sandworms are iconic to the Dune universe. How did you reimagine their design while paying homage to the original material?Mike Enriquez: They really are iconic. I dont think you can say Dune without people thinking about sandworms. Given that we want to be in the same universe as the features, and sandworms are ancient beings that live for thousands of years, we stayed true to the sandworms portrayed in the feature. The sandworms in our show are the same design as what fans are accustomed to.Could you share the process of integrating the sandworms into their environment and making them feel alive?Mike Enriquez: We had to approach the Arrakis scenes in our show a bit differently than the features did. Since we did not shoot in the deserts of Jordan, we had to recreate the dunes of Arrakis in CG. Though that allowed us to completely integrate the Sandworm and the FX from the interaction with the sand with the environment. It was a lot of work, but Martyn Culpitt and his team over at Image Engine did a fantastic job.There is no real shortcut to creating shots of the sandworm in the sands of Arrakis. The desert environment had to be built first, so we had a photorealistic environment to place the worm into. The worm itself was quite an undertaking, as the way it needed to move required a rather unique rig to most creatures done in VFX. The way it bends, how the skin moves, how the mouth opens and closes, all of it needed to be sorted out given how featured the worm was going to be in our shots.Were there any unexpected technical or creative challenges encountered during the production?Mike Enriquez: Every production has its issues and unexpected challenges, and this one is no different. The intro sequence in episode 1 went through some creative changes that were challenging for VFX. The Agony ended up a bit different from the idea we had when we shot it, so it required a full CG replacement. Anirul was also quite a challenge, but perhaps that wasnt really unexpected. We knew visualizing the breeding index would be a mountain to climb.Terron Pratt: I think one of the biggest creative challenges that weve had this season was living up to the impressive visuals in the recent features along with the worlds that all of the fans have envisioned in their heads for so long. Creating something unique to our world but living up to those expectations puts a lot of pressure on the team and the creative process. We knew going in that wed be compared to the features but really hoped that wed carve our own path in the Dune Universe.Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of?Mike Enriquez: Im really happy with how Wallach IX turned out. You cant differentiate the full CG shots from the shots using location photography at the quarry. Kudos to Philip Engstrom and his team at Important Looking Pirates.The Agony especially stands out in my mind. Im very happy with how that scene turned out. Additionally, the sandworm shots were very successful, as was Valyas vision in episode 6.Terron Pratt: There is a lot to be proud of this season and ALL of our creative teams around the world did a fantastic job so its hard to pick favorites. That said, seeing Shai Hulud breaching in the first few minutes of the series was a special treat and kind of set the tone for what was to come. But, as Mike mentioned, Wallch IX is amazing, and you cant tell where the practical environment ends, and the CG begins.The Agony was so creepy and a bit of a pivot in post so its a sequence that everyone was very excited to see come together, especially once sound design and music was added!The Zimia spaceport set was stunning in its own right, and Tom & team really did an incredible job with that build. Once the CG set & environment extension was complete, it really felt so expansive. I think it was one of the best collaborations between production design and VFX in the series.How long have you worked on this show?Mike Enriquez: I came onto this show in May of 2023, so about a year and a half.Terron Pratt: Ive been on the project since July of 2022Whats the VFX shots count?Terron Pratt: We ended up around 2800 shots over the 6 episodesA big thanks for your time.WANT TO KNOW MORE?Image Engine: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Image Engine website.Important Looking Pirates: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Important Looking Pirates website.Rodeo FX: Dedicated page about Dune: Prophecy on Rodeo FX website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025