Cinematography is a key tool in any film production. Villeneuve pitched a new adaptation of Dune with emphasis on putting the audience of protagonist Paul Atreides' shoes as his house is tasked to take control of the desert planet Arrakis. The director stressed accomplishing this visually, for example replacing long internal monologues in the book with shots crafted to convey those feelings instead. Cinematographer Greg Fraiser was able to execute Villeneuve's ideas perfectly and elevated the adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve revealed the single frame he would choose to represent Dune.
Instead of being a still from a big setpiece or action shot, he chose the image above. This is a prime example of putting the audience in Paul's shoes. During this scene, Paul joins his father the Duke and his mentor the War Master alongside the Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis to see a spice harvester for the first time. Instead of introducing the landscape with an environmental shot, Villenueve opts to show Paul's reaction to the landscape reflected through the window of the ornithopter.
The end of the scene results in a worm devouring the spice harvester as seen in the shot above. As the harvester is pulled into the depths of Arrakis, Paul watches on after barely making it to the ornithopter. Villeneuve said "Greg and I were obsessed with the idea of natural light and the movement of sunlight on characters as the ornithopter spins around the worm." To achieve this shot of the ornithopter swirling around the worm, they lifted the ornithopter (weighing around 11 tons) 30 feet from the ground using a crane. The effect simulated the flight pattern and the crew used giant fans for wind.