Back to Titanic: Film Information: Behind the Scenes: Scene Facts: Ghost Ship

Today in Titanic History - with Searching

Today in
Titanic History
Friday, May 9, 2025

1861 - 1st class passenger Mr Henry Forbes Julian was born to Henry Julian (coach builder) and Marie Julian in Cork, Ireland.

1875 - 2nd class survivor Mrs Ada E. Ball was born to William Hall and Laura M. Powell Hall in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.

1917 - 2nd class survivor Mrs Mary Dunbar Hewlett died of septicaemia in Naini Tal, India at the age of 61.

1912 - Day 15 of the American inquiry into the Titanic disaster in Washington, D. C., USA. Witness called that day: Maurice Farrell of Dow, Jones & Co.

1912 - Day 5 of the British inquiry into the Titanic disaster in Westminster, London, England, UK. Witnesses called that day: First Saloon Night Watchman James Johnson, Trimmer Thomas Patrick Dillon, Greaser Thomas Ranger, Trimmer George Cavell, Fireman Alfred Shiers, and Leading Fireman Charles Hendrickson.

1866 - Stewardess and survivor Mrs Emma Bliss was born to the Junod family in Rolle, Switzerland.

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Behind the Scenes: Scene Facts: Ghost Ship

Mir One and Mir Two are Russian deep submersibles from the science vessel Akademik Mistislav Keldysh.
For some wreck interior shots, a set was constructed and submerged.
Anatoly Mikailavich is portrayed by Anatoly Sagalevitch, Senior scientist of the Keldysh. Anotoly has been to the wreck numerous times. Cameron wrote him in as a thank you to the man that took him down to the wreck.
This was the first section of the movie filmed. First the underwater glimpses of Titanic, then the modern day story.
The bathtub is from Rose's stateroom.
When Cameron decided to include real footage of the Titanic's remains on the seabed, he did not want to simply shoot from inside a submersible, as had been done for the IMAX documentary Titanica (1992). To allow filming from outside the sub, Cameron's brother Mike Cameron and Panavision developed a deep-sea camera system capable of withstanding the 400 atmospheres of pressure at that depth.
Snoop Dog, the ROV, was an accidental discovery. He could go further into the wreck than they could in the Mirs and he had a camera. Snoop Dog ended up going 90 feet into the wreckage, farther than any previous Titanic expedition.
The piano and numerous other "artifacts" that are seen in the wreck were torched to achieve the waterlogged look.
The doll head, glasses and boots are on the sea floor near the Titanic. However, salvage expeditions have raked most of the debris field clean. James Cameron re-created the scene in a tank in California.
The deep-sea camera held only 12 minutes worth of film, but each dive took many hours. To make the best use of his resources, Cameron had a 1/33 scale model of the wreck constructed and used it to rehearse each dive. The Russian sub operators would walk around the model ship holding model subs in their hands as Cameron explained the shots he wanted. However, these rehearsals proved largely futile.
A majority of the wreck scenes are real, including the bow, various parts of the ship, the fireplace, the doors, and the chandelier. If there are two subs or snoop dog visible, it is not "real," but if there is less than two subs, it is most likely real. A clue is that the "grainy" film is the real footage.
Things that are believed to be real but AREN'T are the fish (digitally added into scene) and Cal's room.
Most of the wreckage shots were filmed in September 1995 during twelve different dives James Cameron and the Keldysh crew took to the wreck site.
A majority of this scene was filmed in a 45 foot model of the ship, suspended from a ceiling, never actually touching water.
The effect of the water was replicated by throwing dust into the air right before Cameron would film the models.
A majority of the interior shots were full scale models that had been used for the 1912 scenes.
Cameron went on the dives to the real Titanic himself, and found it an overwhelming emotional experience to actually see it. He ended up spending more time with the ship than its living passengers did.

Film Info

cast and crew
characters
scene facts
reaction
script
movie timeline

Scene Facts
opening sequence
ghost ship
pay day
the woman in the picture
distant memories
boarding
lucky hand
paintings
king of the world
lunch
first glance
suicide
heart of the ocean
sketches on deck
dining in the snakepit
a real party
confrontations
flying
portrait
chased by lovejoy
the car
the iceberg
rescue
'not without you'
sinking
vertical stern
the promise
carpathia

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