Model Ships in the Cinema

[Ed Gordon]

This website mainly concerns itself with the technique of photographing model ships in real water, whether it be in a specifically constructed studio tank with a painted backdrop, out upon a real sea with the real horizon and sky or a combination of specially constructed tank using a real horizon and sky. This is a process that is increasingly rare in these days of digital filmmaking. The golden age was seen in the films of the 1940's and 1950's and there are still some strikingly effective examples seen in films right up to the end of the twentieth century. It will also cover model ships that have been built and photographed dry, with various methods for integrating either photographically shot plates of water, CG simulations of water surfaces and fogged in studios representing underwater scenes.

Full steam ahead!

The website is: https://www.modelshipsinthecinema.com/

[Brian Fretwell]

Both the models above were in films that had a Super 8 release. The top one (Shout at the Devil) by Iver Films and second (Raise the Titanic) by Derann.