Jaws is one of the most iconic and influential films in history. Directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1975, it helped invent the summer blockbuster and sparked a worldwide fear of sharks. But despite being set on the ocean and featuring frequent scenes of people swimming and shark attacks, some viewers wonder if the movie was actually filmed on the open sea or if it relied more on special effects produced in controlled environments.
Brief Summary of Jaws
Jaws is set in the fictional town of Amity Island during the summer season where tourists flock to enjoy the beaches and water. When a young woman goes missing while skinny dipping at night, police chief Martin Brody wants to close the beaches but is overruled by the mayor who wants to protect the town’s summer economy. More attacks occur, and a shark hunter named Quint is hired along with marine biologist Matt Hooper to pursue the killer shark. The three men set out to sea in Quint’s boat, the Orca. After clashes between Quint and Hooper, the shark attacks the boat and kills Quint. Brody and Hooper must improvise to try and kill the shark, with Brody finally shooting an air tank that the shark has swallowed, blowing it up.
Filming Locations Overview
Jaws was primarily filmed in three main locations:
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts – Used for the town and beach scenes set in Amity Island
- The open Atlantic Ocean – Used for some shark attack scenes and fishing boat sequences
- Pools at Universal Studios Hollywood – Used for shark footage produced through mechanical effects
In addition, some secondary filming occurred in South Australia to capture additional open water shark footage. So while a good portion of the movie was shot in the real ocean, the filmmakers relied heavily on pools, mechanical sharks, and special effects to produce much of the shark action central to the film.
Martha’s Vineyard Filming
The primary setting of Jaws is the fictional town of Amity Island in New England during the summer tourist season. To portray this, the movie was predominately shot on location in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Real towns like Edgartown and Menemsha were used to represent the village and harbor of Amity.
Steven Spielberg felt Martha’s Vineyard was an ideal choice because it allowed ocean filming as well as shots on a quintessential New England island. The production team spent nearly three months on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974 to capture all the footage needed on land. Locations included:
- Edgartown Harbor
- Oak Bluffs Harbor
- Menemsha Dock and Harbor
- South Beach
- Gay Head Cliffs
- Chappaquiddick Island
- Katama Airfield
These diverse island locations provided the setting for Brody’s house, beaches, the town hall, harbor, and airfield as seen on screen. Land-based filming on Martha’s Vineyard accounts for a significant portion of the movie’s running time as it establishes characters and storylines before moving offshore.
Ocean Filming
In addition to Martha’s Vineyard, some shark attack scenes and fishing boat sequences were also shot on the open Atlantic Ocean. The filmmakers staged ocean filming along the Massachusetts coast and waters near Martha’s Vineyard.
Specific ocean filming locations included:
- Menemsha Harbor – Quint’s wharf and the Orca departure point
- Just off Martha’s Vineyard – Initial shark hunt scenes
- Gray seals island – Used to represent Amity area waters
- Ocean between Martha’s Vineyard and Monomoy Island – Fishing boat and swim scenes
Working on the unpredictable open ocean provided realistic looking ocean footage but also presented challenges. Bad weather could ruin schedules and staging shark encounters proved difficult. Cranes and platforms were mounted on boats to allow cameras to get in the water and capture below surface views of swimmer attacks.
While the open Atlantic provided authentic ocean scenery and settings, much of the detailed shark action was created using special effects in controlled environments.
Universal Studios and Artificial Environments
The filmmakers relied heavily on mechanical effects and controlled environments to produce the most impactful shark scenes seen on screen. This included extensive use of the Jaws shark platforms constructed at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Universal Studios effects facility designed and built three mechanical sharks labeled Bruce after Spielberg’s lawyer. The sharks measured 25 feet long and weighed over 3 tons each. Combining hydraulics, motors, and precisely timed movements, the Bruces allowed realistic looking shark footage to be captured from many angles in controlled conditions.
The Bruces were used to film shark sequences against bluescreens which allowed compositing underwater or ocean settings behind. In these controlled environments, the filmmakers could stage close up shark attacks, get tracking shots from underwater or surface views, and experiment with light rigging to achieve desired shadows and menace from the shark footage.
In addition to the Bruces, a miniature version was built to create the scene of the shark popping up and attacking the occupied Orca fishing boat. And for below surface views, a raft with a flexible fin was designed which allowed divers with cameras to get tight shots from the shark’s perspective. Some of the most recognizable shark footage was created through these innovative effects rather than open ocean filming.
Key Shark Scenes Using Controlled Environments
- Underwater shots of the shark approaching swimmers
- Shark fin circling and tracking swimmers
- Underwater shots looking up at swimmers legs from the shark’s viewpoint
- The shark biting the Orca at water level
- Hooper in the shark cage with shark attack
- Hooper discovering Ben Gardner’s severed head
- The shark slowly approaching the Orca crew as they try to fend off attacks
Without the ability to carefully frame and light shots using the Bruces in tanks and stage areas, many of these iconic scenes could not have been realized on the open ocean. The artificial environments provided the control needed to integrate the real-looking mechanical sharks into key sequences.
Live Shark Footage in South Australia
Along with the Bruces, the filmmakers wanted actual footage of live, biologically accurate great white sharks. Some of this supplemental shark footage was captured off the coast of South Australia near Dangerous Reef by Australian diver Ron Taylor and his wife Valerie.
The live shark images added more realistic contrast to balance out the mechanical Bruce footage. Valerie Taylor herself doubled for the swimmer in some scenes interacting with real sharks. The Australia underwater scenes contributed to the illusion of the shark acting independently with no visible platforms or cables.
Final Film Blends Diverse Environments
Examining how Jaws was filmed reveals a diverse blend of filming locations and techniques. The final movie combines:
- Martha’s Vineyard island settings
- Live ocean swimming and boating footage
- Controlled Universal Studios environments using mechanical Bruces
- Supplementary live shark footage from Australia
Through careful editing and transitions between this range of elements, Spielberg and his team brought the shark convincingly to life for audiences while keeping production feasible. The combination of effects, pools, ocean, and island settings is crucial to selling the believable fictional seaside town of Amity Island and presenting the terrifying shark attacks needed for the story.
Conclusion
While Jaws takes place almost entirely on or near the ocean and involved some open sea filming, examination of the full production process shows substantial use of special effects and controlled environments in bringing the film to life. The mechanical Bruces, designed and operated in pools at Universal Studios, provided the capacity to frame shots from desired angles and safely recreate complex shark sequences integral to the story. Live ocean filming off Martha’s Vineyard offered important realism but could not provide the close-up control needed for many of the shark’s key scenes. The final film cleverly blends both natural settings and artificial effects to create an absorbing fictional world centered around the terrifying shark.
