How Was The Film Titanic Made?


There is nothing like introducing the Titanic film to the reader newly. How was the Film ‘Titanic’ made?- It can be appraised for some group of people. Film lovers who didn’t watch this film may not be found.

However, many people may not know the details of making this film. This article is for them. If you are one of them and truly interested to know about this then read till the end. The artistic style and technical strategies behind making Titanic is well described here. Let’s read.

Basic Information

Titanic is a 1997 epic romance and disaster film. James Cameron wrote the script, directed and co-produced the film. The main characters are Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) and Kate Winslet (Rose Dewitt Bouquet). Jack, the protagonist of the lower class, falls in love with Rose, the daughter of the upper class, on the Titanic ship. The film depicts the tragedy of the Titanic in 1912. Although the love story and the main characters are fictional, many of the side characters are based on historical facts. Gloria Stewart plays the character of old Rose. Old Rose narrates the story that happened in Titanic ship.

Making Details

Filming for the Titanic began in 1996. At the time, Cameron started principle photography of Titanic’s original ruins on the Atlantic. He portrays the love story to evoke the tragedy of the Titanic through human being real life tragedies. The film shot in modern times on the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, an ally of Russia’s Mir expedition, and the old Titanic rebuilt for the ancient Titanic. The Titanic rebuilt at the Playas de Rosarito in Baha’i, California.

Some Interesting Facts

Some interesting facts while making Titanic film are given below:

1. The Scene of Sinking Titanic

Cameron used scale modeling and computer animation to capture the scene of sinking Titanic.

2. Use of Green Screen

The film Titanic has a lot of green screen works. Recall some famous scene of Titanic. Such as, When Jack ran to the deck of the ship and looked out to sea and shouting for joy with his friend, when rose wanted to jump out from the ship and wanted to commit suicide and then Jack saved her, one of the most beautiful visuals in the film when Rose and Jack kissed each other standing on the pick of the deck. Green screen used in many other places including these scenes. They set up a green screen and that basically created more of the surrounding ocean and the sky.

3. Skillful CGI

There is skillful application of CGI in the entire film. Both CGI and practical effects combined to create this movie. Although the effects are mainly practical. For example actual miniatures of the ship created and broken in half for the sinking scene/ for the parts where you could see the whole ship. The biggest miniature was at 1:6 and the others were in the range of 1:30. The ice that falls on the deck during the iceberg impact is practical, although the actual iceberg is CG, and a half of the actual ship created at 1:1 scale and sunk into a water tank. The CGI mostly used in the background. Some of the extras that can be seen in certain shots are also done with CGI.

4. Change of an Important Scene after Release

A comment from Neil de Grasse Tyson prompted James Cameron to change an important scene in the film after it released. After receiving an email from astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson, the director decided to do that. Tyson informed the director that the star field that Rose sees as she gazes up at the sky while floating on the door isn’t actually the one she would have seen in real life at that location and time. In response, Cameron re-shot the scene for the 3D release of the film in 2012.

5. That Famous Nude Sketch

The iconic drawing that DiCaprio’s character produces of a naked Kate Winslet wearing only the Heart of the Ocean necklace actually sketched by James Cameron. The original prop sketch sold at auction in 2011, with the highest bid revealed to be $16,000.

6. James Cameron Spent More Time on the Actual Titanic

In an interview with NPR, Cameron revealed he was so dedicated to capturing the feel of the original vessel that he actually descended to the bottom of the ocean multiple times in order to study the sunken wreck of the Titanic. As a result, the director actually spent more time on the ship than any of the actual passengers.

7. Use of Ice Cold Water

Ice cold water practically used in order to bring out the true feeling and expression in the eyes and faces of the characters.

Budget and Earnings

At the time, the Titanic was the world’s highest budget film. The film cost a total of about 200 million US dollar. Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox co-sponsored the film. Though it supposed to release on July 2, 1997, due to delays in the making process, the Titanic finally released on December 19,1997. After hearing about the postponement of the release date, many thought that the film would not be released and Fox and Paramount would face huge losses. As a result, the hopes weren’t high but after its release, the Titanic received huge acclaim from critics and viewers from all over the world. The Titanic has grossed a total of 2.187 billion US dollar. However, considering inflation, Titanic is the 7th highest grossing movie in North America.

Achievements

The Titanic’s two biggest achievements are: winning the Academy Award in 11 from the 14 nominations and earning the most money as all time favorite film. Excluding the issue of inflation, no movie has made more money than Titanic. Moreover, no movie has won more than 11 Academic Awards. Apart from the Titanic, only Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King have won 11 Oscars.

Final Words

The Titanic is one of the most popular films around the world. The highest budget is not only the reason, but also the artistic and efficient making process of the film made it immortal among film lovers. Through the film, the director was able to highlight the living history. No one can deny the magical direction of James Cameron in making Titanic one of the most successful films in world film history.

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