Genius Titanic filming trick that saved producers 'millions' during iconic film

13 July 2023 , 19:38

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James Cameron revealed a secret during production (Image: CBS via Getty Images)

The story of the Titanic has gripped the world for over 100 years - and even more so since the devastating events on the Titan submersible which saw five divers killed.

The sub had attempted to take the passengers to the wreckage of the famous vessel, but is thought to have imploded during its descent, killing all onboard.

However, almost 30 years prior, James Cameron produced an iconic cinematic version of events on the fateful 1912 voyage - and the production team managed to "save millions" thanks to a filming trick.

The movie became the first to gross more than $1billion worldwide at the box office. Its level of success was matched by the painstaking detail which went into producing the film, including the huge undertaking of creating a replica of the ship to 90 per cent scale.

James Cameron's Titanic wowed the audience

But producer Jon Landau let viewers into a secret previously when he explained that the team decided they would only build one side of the ship in the tank to be used for exterior shots of the passenger liner. It was decided that the starboard side would be constructed, forcing the crew to build Southampton dock on that side to film the sequence of passengers boarding the ship.

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In reality the Titanic actually docked on the port side, which meant the images weren't really an accurate representation of how the scenes had looked in history. To overcome this problem, the scenes were filmed and then then images flipped - but that too brought several issues to the team.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic (CBS via Getty Images)

To make it all work, each and every tiny detail on set had to also be reversed so it appeared normal. That mean text had to be written backwards, driver's steering wheels were switched the left, costumes were altered, and actors swapped positions.

It even meant leading lady Kate Winslet' s hat had to be lifted on the opposite side so the film could maintain continuity.

Speaking about the challenge, James Cameron previously said: "Let's see, if I have a scene that takes place on the port side but I only have the starboard hull then I have to shoot the scene on the starboard side and then turn the film around mirror image later.

"It gave us a little bit of a brainteaser trying to figure out exactly how to cheat these things so that they would look right.

"Where were you standing again? Who was on your right? Okay well if they were on your right, they're going to be on your left. And you were holding hands with your right hand, oh turn your hat around'."

Despite calling it a "nightmare" and something you "want to do" he confessed the decision not to build the other side of the ship "saved millions".

Jamie Roberts