Cameron worked with 20th Century Fox and convinced the production company to enhance the film's historical authenticity through physical photography of the Titanic's wreckage.
He convened scientists, photographers, sailors and historians from Russia, the United States and Canada to organize 12 dives in 1995. They used the largest deep-sea research vessel in the world at the time, the Russian "Mstislav Keltysh Academy". The two Mir submarines on board were two of the only five submarines in the world at that time capable of diving to a depth of approximately 4,000 meters to the ruins of the Titanic.
In addition, there is also a remotely operated submersible specially built for film photography on board. Cameron used these submarines to film the wreckage of the Titanic. ROVs can even go inside the wreckage and photograph places that no one has been able to access since the Titanic sank. Since the special camera on the submersible can only film for 12 minutes at a time, each dive must be carefully planned. After these on-location shoots were completed, Cameron began writing the script.
Production began on September 1, 1995. Harlan Wolff, the shipyard that built the Titanic, has opened up its private archives, allowing the photography team to see blueprints that were thought to have been lost. The team led by art director Peter Ramon collected objects from around 1912 for the ship's interior decoration, and these objects all had to be in new, or at least look new, condition because the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
There is almost no other movie with such meticulous props. Clothes, boxes, dishes, interiors and sinkings are all very carefully organized as they were or as they actually happened. Even so, "Titanic" made some mistakes. For example, filtered cigarettes were used in the movie, but such cigarettes only became available in the mid-1940s.
In order to shoot real location scenes, 20th Century Fox purchased a 160,000-square-kilometer area on the Pacific Coast of Baja California, Mexico, and set up a complete cinematography facility there on May 31, 1996. field. Within four months a studio the size of a small city was built in northern Rosarito, complete with infrastructure and multiple studios.
By blasting they created two huge water tanks. One that can hold 64 million liters of water houses a realistic reconstruction of the Titanic. This model can rotate 270 degrees. Another 22-million-liter water tank houses a first-class luxurious interior. Although the model in the large tank was completely to scale, Ramon had to make some compromises.
For example, the lifeboats and chimneys were reduced by one tenth. Some deck facilities were omitted, as was a foredeck. These omitted parts were later replaced by models. The lifeboat deck and main deck are both movie stages. The other parts are all steel structures with a device hidden inside that can tilt the model when filming the sinking scene.
There is also a 50-meter-high crane next to it that can travel on a 120-meter-long track. The crane was used not only as a construction tool when building models, but also for lighting and photography. After the filming of the corresponding scenes was completed, the model ship was dismantled and sold as scrap metal to supplement some filming funds.
Filming began in July 1996, with the film beginning and ending in the present day. These scenes were filmed onboard the Mstislav Keltysh Academy, which has been used for underwater exploration. During filming, a person who has yet to be found mixed phencyclidine into the food, and many members of the filming crew, including Cameron himself, were sent to the hospital. Filming began in September 1996 at the new Fox filming location.
The poop deck scene was shot using a special technique. The entire stern can be raised upright via a joint. To ensure the safety of stunt performers, many props are made of plastic foam. The scene of boarding the ship was filmed on November 15, 1996.
The model of the Titanic only has the starboard side because the local wind mostly blows from the north, so the smoke in the chimney looks like the ship is sailing. But this created a difficulty because Titanic was docked on the port side when setting sail from Southampton.
In order to solve this problem, the filming team used a very strange method: the words written on all props and costumes were written upside down.
If it is written in the script that someone walks from left to right, then during filming he walks from right to left. All the scenes shot were mirrored during post-production.
Actress Kate Winslet planned to shoot for 138 days, but actually used 160 days. Because they had to spend hours filming in cold water, many actors, including leading lady Kate Winslet, came down with colds, flu and kidney infections. Some actors quit and three super performers suffered broken bones. The Screen Actors Guild later investigated and determined that the entire venue was safe.
Cameron himself has never apologized to his actors for being so strict with them. But he admitted that he was very strict this time: "I am very strict with myself and my team. I firmly believe that when dealing with thousands of accidents and such a large shooting location, in order to ensure that no one has an accident, I must take Some military measures.
I guess if you're going to direct people like that you have to take strict measures." Winslet nearly drowned, injured her elbow and suffered from the flu, she later said. , she was unwilling to work with Cameron again unless she got "a lot of money." She admits Cameron is a "nice guy" but "too irritable"
Stunts
The small 22 million liter water tank contains a huge hydraulic device that uses it It can make the first-class restaurant and its large staircase sink into the water at a speed of 30 centimeters per minute. During the first test the large staircase broke away from its anchors, but no one was injured. The 223-meter-long bow of the Titanic was found to be too large when it was sunk into the water. It acted like a shock absorber in the water.
In order to make it sinkable, Cameron ordered it to be emptied of its contents and broke some of the ship's windows himself. After the restaurant was completely flooded, the crew spent three days filming Treasure Hunter Lovell's ROV inside the modern exploration vessel. The scenes after the sinking of the Titanic were filmed in a 1.3 million liter water tank.
It is the smallest water tank on the set. A special powder was used on the dead bodies floating in the water. These powders crystallize when exposed to water. The powders and the use of wax in their hair and clothes made the actors look like they were frozen to death.
Cameron wanted to push the capabilities of visual effects with this film, so he let his own company Digital Domain build on what it had already accomplished with The Abyss and Terminator 2: Judgment Day . Especially realistically simulating the functionality of water.
So far, the sea has generally been simulated by shooting a small water surface and then enlarging it in slow motion, but the effect is not very good. Cameron asked his camera team to use motion capture to shoot a 13-meter-long model. Water and smoke were added digitally. They used military computing algorithms to make digital analogies.
To round out the authenticity of the entire result, there were other things shot and added via motion capture. Visual effects supervisor Rob Legato digitized the faces of the actors, himself and his children to enhance the realism of the digital sims. In addition, there is a 20-meter-long model of the Titanic that can be disconnected in the middle. This is the only model that can enter the water.
The scenes in the engine room were taken from the engine room on the Jeremiah O'Brien, and were then supplemented by models and actors photographed in front of a blue screen. To save money, the first-class lounge was just a model, and later added actors' performances filmed in front of a blue screen. The simulation process used 60 computers, which used the Linux operating system, which was still rare at the time.
Extended information:
"Titanic" is a romance film produced by American 20th Century Fox Film Company and Paramount Pictures, directed by James Cameron. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
The film is based on the incident in 1912 when the Titanic cruise ship struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. It tells the story of two people from different walks of life, Jack, a poor painter, and Rose, an aristocratic woman, who abandoned their worldly prejudices. Falling in love, Jack finally gives up the chance of life to Ruth.
The film was released in the United States on December 19, 1997, in mainland China on April 3, 1998, and re-released in a 3D version in mainland China on April 10, 2012.
Plot summary
On April 15, 1912, the luxury ship Titanic, carrying Passenger 1316 and 891 crew members, collided with an iceberg and sank. This shipwreck was considered It is one of the top ten disasters in the 20th century.
In 1985, the sunken remains of the Titanic were discovered two and a half miles under the sea in the North Atlantic. American explorer Lovett personally dived into the seabed and saw a painting on the wall of the cabin. Lovett’s discovery It immediately caught the attention of an old woman. The 102-year-old Rose claimed that she was the girl in the painting. In the diving cabin, Rose began to narrate her story.
On April 10, 1912, the Titanic, known as the miracle in the history of world industry, sailed from Southampton, England, to New York, the United States. Rich girl Rose boarded the ship with her mother and fiancé Carl. , on the other side, the unruly young painter Jack won a boat ticket by gambling on the pier. Rose had long seen that Carl was a complete snob, and she was unwilling to marry him from the bottom of her heart, and even planned to commit suicide by throwing herself into the sea. .
At the critical moment, Jack hugged the girl Rose, and the two young people got to know each other.
In order to relieve the girl's sorrow, Jack leads Rose to constantly discover the joy of life. Soon, the beautiful and lively Rose fell in love with the handsome and cheerful Jack. Rose took off her clothes, put on the necklace Carl gave her, and asked Jack to paint her portrait as a witness to their love. While they were having sex, the Titanic hit an iceberg.
A tragic tragedy occurred, and chaos arose on the Titanic. In the crisis, the goodness and ugliness, nobility and despicability of human nature became more clear. Jack gave up his chance of survival to his lover Rose, and froze to death in the sea of ??ice.
After the old Rose finished talking about this love that mourned the world, she sank the priceless jewels into the seabed, letting it sleep with Jack and this love at the bottom of the sea.