Posted in: HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: dune, dune: prophecy

Dune: Prophecy Production Designer on Cinematic Feel, Long-Term Plans

Dune: Prophecy production designer Tom Meyer discussed the scale of the prequel series and long-term storytelling being ideal for television.

While production designer Tom Meyer's spent his entire career in film, Dune: Prophecy represents a break as HBO's first spinoff of the Denis Villeneuve films of the Frank Herbert franchise for Warner Bros, but the epic nature and scale of the series is on par with all his cinematic work. The series, based on Great Schools of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is set 10,000 years before the events of the 2021 film that centered on Timothée Chalamet's character Paul Altreides, follows sisters Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) as they struggle to maintain the power and influence of the Sisterhood, and combat forces that threaten the future of humanity. Meyer spoke with Bleeding Cool about how he transitioned into the Alison Schapker and Diane Ademu-John-created series, the changing landscape of television to streaming, and the long-term planning involved with the sets.

Dune: Prophecy Production Designer Tom Meyer on Denis Villeneuve Films Sets Up Long-Term Storytelling for HBO Series

Since come from more of the world of film, I was wondering, what does a franchise like 'Dune' allow you to do as far as world building, and did it ever become feel like it was like overwhelming as far as the wealth of source material in regards to what Warner Bros is trying to achieve for this franchise, that you haven't been able to do?

Well, it's two things. I started to realize this, especially in the age of streaming, where we got away from 22- to 23-episode seasons, and seasons are around 6-10 episodes. Ultimately, what I think a series does that's different from a film is it gives you time, and that serves, and I think, it goes back to what I was talking about, what Denis established in his first film, which is time and space. The first six hours allowed us to really explore several planets, characters, and clans of families to understand and get more deeply involved than we would have been able to in two hours. The stories were so complex, and this sets up what I think is going to be really an exciting series two or season two, which sets up all these storylines we can actively explore and go crazy in the next year coming up.

I would say it is much more expansive than a film. You build and do more on a streaming series than you do on a film in many respects, because you are making that investment in time. So, you do commit more, you build things a little bit more robust to last, because we want to come back to what we're building in the next season. We don't want to rebuild necessarily what we already had. We want to explore more, and just those eight hours, you need more things to fill up that time.

You have more worlds, planets, and sets to go to, so it's pretty exciting. I would say it's a great challenge. It certainly is not any easier or any less expansive than a film. I would also add this one last thing in the age of everybody having a giant screen on their home wall. You've got to have the fidelity; everybody's got 4K or 8K somewhere. There's no detail in turn, so I always say, "I don't design any differently for a series than I would for a film. I approach it with the same thing."

You start with the story, identify the characters, and what world they occupy, and you build out from there. That approach doesn't change whether it's a television show or a movie. You must have the same seriousness and scope, and when I watch something, I don't infringe; I want a great story, and to be just as believable. Like I said, "With everybody's home theaters being so advanced, you can't hide." You've got to be out there, be bold, and go for it.

Well, Tom, I want to thank you for your time. Love your work on the show.

I really appreciate it, and I appreciate the time you're giving me to platform and talk about it. The last thing I'll just say is, I don't do this alone. We had a crew of over 1200 people build this world, and I'm indebted to all the artisans and craftspeople who made this possible. Without them, I would say to everybody, which includes my producers, I'm only as good as my team. You can have all the wonderful ideas, but it's a great collaborative effort, and I love how everybody comes together to do this, and 'Dune' brings that passion out of people to work together to achieve something great.

I look forward to seeing what you guys have cooking for season two.

I think you'll like it. I'm looking forward to you seeing it. Thanks so much.

Season one of Dune: Prophecy, which also stars Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Chloe Lea, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, Edward Davis, Josh Heuston, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, and Mark Addy, is available on HBO Max with season two underway.

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