A recent fan-made digital recreation of the “flying” shot in James Cameron’s hit film Titanic is practically indistinguishable from the original.
A recent fan recreation of the “flying” shot in James Cameron’s hit film Titanic looks almost, if not just as good as the original. Cameron’s Titanic originally premiered in theaters back in 1997 and very quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The film follows the tragic story of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) as they fall in love during one of history’s most famously doomed voyages. Titanic was an instant success, and even nearly 25 years after its release, it still lives on as a major staple of the pop-culture zeitgeist.
When Titanic was first released, it was hailed as visual marvel for it’s time (a trend that Cameron would continue with his film Avatar). It swept the Academy Awards that year, winning eleven awards in total, including Best Picture, tying the all-time wins record. The film also won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, which isn’t much of a surprise, given that the massive, sweeping shots of a digitally recreated HMS Titanic alone are still impressive today.
In somewhat of an homage to the original VFX team of Titanic, Jealouse Statement, a YouTube channel strictly dedicated to all things related to the original ship, releases a video in which one of the film’s most famous shots has been digitally recreated. Anyone who has ever seen a movie has almost certainly seen at least a parody of the Titanic scene in which Jack holds Rose as she stands on the front of the ship saying, “I’m flying!” Jealouse Statement has flawlessly recreated this famous digital shot, albeit with no characters standing on the nose of the ship. In the video, viewers can see the Titanic digitally rendered in great detail as it sails through the seas. The camera sweeps up and around from the left side to the right of the ship to focus on where Jack and Rose would normally be standing, mimicking the exact movement shown in the film. See the full video here:
What is most impressive is how similar the two shots truly look. It’s interesting to think that what was groundbreaking CGI for 1997 is now something that a YouTuber now has the tools to recreate in their own home. While this may be shocking for some to see just how far digital effects have come in such a short amount of time, for many, this means that its never been a more exciting time to be a budding filmmaker.
Cameron is known for revolutionizing film technology every time he sets out to helm a new blockbuster, and from Jealouse Statement’s video, its easy to see that even a film of his from 25 years ago is still able to inspire VFX artists. It certainly makes one wonder what tricks Cameron will have up his sleeve when Avatar 2 is released later this year. Until then, fans can still return to Titanic to be blown away by visuals of the massive ship as it was before that fateful night.
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