It’s a Dune sweep! At last night’s Oscars ceremony, we saw Dune walk away with six awards, one of which went with Greg Fraser for Best Cinematography. 

Cinematography is the art of capturing a story through motion-picture photography. Different elements like shot size, lighting, camera placement, movement, and more help create visually appealing shots that add to our understanding of the story. 

Last night's nominees included Greg Fraser (Dune), Dan Laustsen (Nightmare Alley), Bruno Delbonnel (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog), and Janusz Kaminski (West Side Story). This year was an immense achievement for cinematography with gorgeous films such as Rebecca Hall’s Passing, Mike Mill’s C’mon C’mon, David Lowery’s The Green Knight, Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. Each of those stunning visual showcases could have earned a nomination and won over all of the nominees. The Worst Person In The World would have been a worthy winner for that scene where the world pauses as Julie seeks out Aksel. 

Nonetheless, Dune was an absolute marvel from a technical standpoint and my choice of a winner from the nominees. The film's sweep reminds us that below-the-line categories are still essential elements of good cinema.

When crafting the shots for Dune, Fraser, previously nominated for Lion (2016) and known for his work on Rogue One, Zero Dark Thirty, and more recently The Batman, worked with Villeneuve to craft shots and stories that emphasized character. He selected lighting that emphasized the planet they were on with grays and a monochrome palette. For Fraser, it was important that he shoot outside for natural lighting and insist on using set designs that were practical rather than relying on VFX.

A Dune sweep also tells us the value of the artform of below-the-line categories. With the producers of the ceremony cutting and editing the acceptance speeches into the live broadcast, and a recent “who cares” online echo chamber online during discussions of more nuanced or subtle aspects of filmmaking, Dune’s triumph emphasizes the importance of celebrating and acknowledging the technical aspects of film.

It is also important to note that all of the nominees in Cinematography were also nominated in Production Design, another reminder of the pertinence of a film’s technical elements working in harmony with one another. In a world where indie filmmakers and cinematographers are told that their craft is useless, overhyped, or misunderstood, the most important thing about last night’s nominees (and all the worthy films that were not nominated) is their commitment to upholding the craft of cinema above everything else.