A 90% to-scale replica of the actual Titanic was assembled in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, using a steel frame and plywood shell.
James Cameron’s epic, Titanic, is another prime example of a movie set that was built to mimic reality as closely as possible. The total cost to develop Waterworld’s set skyrocketed into the tens of millions of dollars. With a circumference of a quarter mile, the set demanded so much material to build that it created a steel shortage in Hawaii, with the remainder of the steel shipped in from California. The movie’s biggest expense did not come from paying the actors’ high salaries, but from having to build a giant atoll off the coast of Hawaii for the movie’s setting. The 1995 action movie, Waterworld, led by Kevin Costner, had one of the most famous movie sets ever constructed. Often, filmmakers must build their sets to accurately represent the story’s true environment, with some set designs requiring much of the film’s total budget to construct. Camera equipment makers, set builders and gaffers rely on one particular metal day in and day out for the durability needed in getting the perfect shot – steel.Īcting and directing can only take a film so far, so the rest of the way needs to be paved by the setting and the environment. Set designs, camera and lighting equipment, and other heavy machinery are needed to achieve this effect.
To make a decent film, directors and producers must use the best techniques to procure a sense of authenticity that can convince an audience that what they are watching is realistic. It is what they don’t see, or don’t realize they are seeing, that makes the magic of movie-making so incredible. What they see on screen are elaborate sets, costume designs, beautiful cinematography and hopefully some strong acting.
When movie-goers head to the cinema, they are expecting to be transported into a different world full of thrills, drama, excitement, or comedy.