The Dune films have some of the most visually stunning effects in modern cinema, so when I saw Dune: Part Two nominated (and winning!) Best Visual Effects at the Oscars, I knew I had to make something inspired by it.

Armed with a few simple materials, a green screen, and some assets from ActionVFX, I created my own Dune-inspired shot in my at-home studio. Here’s how I did it.

Step 1: Building the Filt Plug for the Stillsuit

If you’ve seen Dune, you’ll recognize the Filt Plug— the small black tube that connects from the back of the head to the nostrils in the stillsuit. You can buy them for cosplay, but I wanted the challenge of making one myself.

So, I took a trip to Lowe’s and found exactly what I needed: flexible tubing and a 90-degree connector. Back at my workspace, I:

• Cut the tubing a little longer than necessary.
• Trimmed the sharp point off the connector.
• Heated and molded the tubing to fit my face (without burning myself, thankfully).
• Adjusted the fit by bending it over my ear and trimming the excess.

With that, the Filt Plug was done! Next, I grabbed my shemagh from my airsoft days, and it was time to set up the shot.

Step 2: Lighting and Filming

Lighting plays a massive role in selling the illusion. To match the Dune aesthetic, I set up:

• A strong light over my shoulder to mimic the harsh desert sun.
• An LED panel with a softbox in front of me for subtle fill lighting.
• Tube lights to evenly light the green screen.
• A box fan to add a little movement for realism.

To create the effect of dried skin from the desert air, I relied on my lack of a skincare routine—finally, a benefit! With everything in place, I recorded multiple takes, eventually choosing the most natural-looking performance.

Step 3: Keying and Compositing the Shot in After Effects

Once filming was done, I moved into After Effects to composite everything together. Here’s how I built the scene:

• Pre-composing – The footage was shot in 6K, but working at that resolution isn’t practical or fast. I pre-composed it so After Effects would treat it as 2K when applying effects.
• Keying the Green Screen – Using the built-in Keylight plugin, I removed the background and adjusted the alpha contrast.
• Flipping the Background for Lighting Consistency – Since my highlights were on the left and the background’s were on the right, I flipped the desert plate horizontally to match.

Adding the Sandstorm

To create the iconic dust storms of Arrakis, I had to get creative. By repurposing Blizzard Snow assets from ActionVFX, I got exactly what I was looking for. With a few adjustments:

• I flipped them horizontally to match the wind direction.
• Used Unmult to remove the black background.
• Tinted the snow an orange-brown hue.
• Staggered multiple layers with different scale, color, and luminance to add depth.

To maintain visibility of the dunes, I duplicated the background, brought it above some of the Blizzard Snow layers, masked only the bottom, and feathered it. This helped blend everything seamlessly.

Creating the Spice Particles

No Dune-inspired shot is complete without spice floating in the air. I used ActionVFX Dust Particles and:

• Tinted them red-orange to match the look of spice.
• Set the blending mode to Add for a glowing effect.
• Adjusted speed and opacity for a more organic look.

Step 4: Enhancing the Shot with the Blue Eyes Effect

In the Dune universe, exposure to spice turns a person’s eyes blue. To achieve this, I:

• Motion-tracked my eyes to keep the effect locked in place.
• Used an eye texture from ActionVFX to enhance the vibrancy.
• Created a blue solid layer and set it to Color blending mode.
• Masked and feathered the eyes for a natural transition.

This process required a lot of manual tracking, but the result was worth it!

Step 5: Final Touches – Noise, Lens Flares, and Camera Shake

To make the shot feel even more immersive, I added:

• Organic Dust Motion – Using directional blur and noise textures, I made the foreground Blizzard Snow layers feel more like sand particles, and simulated the chaotic movement of dust particles in the wind.
• A Lens Flare – I used an Icon: Anamorphic Lens Flare from ActionVFX, tweaking the contrast and hue for a warm, cinematic glow.
• Subtle Camera Shake – Added a slight handheld effect for realism.
• Final Color Grade – Using DaVinci Resolve, I fine-tuned the colors for a more cohesive desert look.

The Final Result

After all these steps, the shot was complete! What started as a small room with a green screen became an intense, cinematic sandstorm straight out of Arrakis.

If you’re working on a project and need high-quality, ready-to-use VFX assets, ActionVFX has you covered. Whether it’s fire, rain, debris, or even spice-filled sandstorms, you can find the right assets to bring your vision to life.

Now go make something awesome! And if you use any of these techniques in a project, drop a comment in the video—who knows, maybe you will be the next ActionVFX user accepting an Oscar. (P.S.You wouldn't be the first!)

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