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Behind-the-Scenes: Production Design and the Grand Staircase in Titanic

4/9/2014

8 Comments

 
Picture
The Grand Staircase, as portrayed in James Cameron's Titanic.
After doing a director profile on James Cameron, I feel it’s appropriate to include at least one behind-the-scenes blog post on his most well-known film: Titanic. It’s an undeniable fact that the 1997, 11 Oscar-winner is an incredible technical achievement. Supported by a $200,000 budget (the largest film budget in the 20th century--co-financed and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount),  James Cameron’s Titanic sported a spectacular set, almost rebuilding the infamous ship to full length, and employed impressive special effects. One of the most impressive interior sets was the recreation of the famed Grand Staircase--- the most famous room Titanic contained. Indeed, the Staircase, as mentioned by one of the film crew personnel, ended up acting almost as a character in the film, due to it being the location of several pivotal scenes, including the ending scene. Interestingly, the staircase presented in the film is slightly larger than the one on the real ship. The reason for this was because people in 1912 were shorter than they are today. As a result, the staircase was scaled up to make the actors look smaller (IMDB).

Ultimately, in constructing the Grand Staircase, the film crew didn’t see it as a set at all. The staircase was built out of solid oak in Mexico City. As a result, it looked and in actuality was a legitimate room. Art Director Martin Laing quotes, “We’re actually building this as they built it on the Titanic. We’re not building it as a film set; we’re building it as a real staircase that can actually take quite a bit of damage with water and things like that” (Making of Titanic).

Picture
Construction of the Grand Staircase for Titanic.
Finally, the time came for the destruction of the beautiful set. For the exterior shots of the ship sinking, the almost full-scale ship was placed in a 3 foot deep, 17 million gallon tank and tilted using a crane. For the interior shots of the sinking ship, the sets were enclosed in a 5 million gallon tank and again tilted in the water using a crane. This was the method used for the Grand Staircase. However, to make the destruction of the Grand Staircase more dramatic, Cameron and his team dropped 90,000 gallons of water onto it. Because the Staircase would be destroyed, there would be only one attempt to get it right. Unexpectedly, the massive volume of water ripped the Staircase from its steel-reinforced foundations, collapsing certain sections of it. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the take (IMDB).
In the end, I think it’s incredible how much work went into the production design of Titanic. Most of the interiors of the ship were constructed to the exact measurements and looks of the rooms in the real ship. Millions upon millions of gallons of water were used. It’s no wonder the film ended up needing a $200 million budget. But ultimately, this massive budget allowed James Cameron to fully fulfill his vision of the beautiful, ill-fated luxury liner. 


Written by Anthony Watkins
Above is a brief behind-the-scenes clip of the "Staircase Implosion" scene from Titanic.
The Grand Staircase Implosion as presented in the film. The Grand Staircase destruction is at 1:12.
WORKS CITED
IMDB. 2014. 29 March 2014. <http://www.imdb.com>.

Titanic. Screenplay by James Cameron. Dir. James Cameron. Prod. James Cameron. 1997. Special Edition Blu-Ray. Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. 2013.
8 Comments
DG
10/31/2015 03:38:06 am

Just wanted to point out that the budget was 200million not 200thousand. Also the tank that the model ship was sunk into was 40ft deep not 3ft, 3ft wouldnt make for very good watching.

Reply
Eric
8/31/2017 06:27:21 am

I noticed that one too. I thought yeah maybe $200,000 in 1997 on the staircase alone , I think it was likely even more expensive than that to build and was only somewhat accurate as a replica . It still had major differences which were done due to of the technical aspects of filming in that space .

Reply
Jisk
3/2/2016 08:11:02 am

Hi,

The pictures there is from a behind the scenes look from the staircase from the Titanic Belfast museum, note the platform in the middle of the staircase :)

Reply
Eric
8/31/2017 06:38:07 am

James Cameron's set was at least worthy of being called a replica . That thing they built in Belfast in the convention halI, the word replica is more than pushing it . It's more like a cheesey titanic themed room. like the jungle theme room in an hourly motel lol. That may be harsh but it's the truth . They clearly used items of convenience rather than recreate what they couldn't find on eBay .

Reply
Adrian link
1/23/2021 02:05:48 am

Totalmente de acuerdo contigo, ya que para ser el museo oficial mas importante del TITANIC, se quedaron cortos en cuanto hacer una replica decente y fiel del trasatlántico.

Reply
Giestshdhd
10/19/2017 11:55:01 am

Dude.... Get rid of the share bar on mobile. You can't read shit.

Reply
Reeva Mills link
12/3/2020 01:27:38 am

Great blog you hhave

Reply
Here link
5/31/2022 07:16:25 am

You can see that the process of making the staircase took a lot of time. I think that in total the creation of the scenery for the film required enormous resources.

Reply



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