Jaws shark fin effect?

DarkHelmet

DarkHelmet

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Geez, you'd think I'd know this. Jaws has been a part of my life since 1975 when I was 11. I read everything I could about that movie, being especially fascinated with Bruce the shark.

But recently I wondered about that fin. It seems pretty straight forward but does anyone know EXACTLY how they did it?
 
Yes, I'm assuming that was the core of the effect but I'm interested in the details.

Ive done google searches with different word phrases and NOTHING comes up regarding the subject. Shark fin soup seems to be the top hit.


ZeroSum said:
Probably just towed it, I guess. A weighted object under water with a towing point, and a fin on top?
Click to expand...
 
I had read that they did tow a fin (pretty predictable, I know), but whether or not it was attached to one of the full sharks I can't say. I thought they said thatthe Bruces were having a lot of problems with their pneumatics and electronics, so it was another deciding factor in just 'fin' scenes early on. Any ways, there's a book by Edith Blake about the making of that covers a TON of stuff that I had never read about anywhere else, it's worth picking up if you can find it (and likely cheap, I found a copy on a whim at a flea market)
 
Is this the book?

IMG_1730.JPG


frasic said:
The book “Tales from Martha’s Vineyards “ details it and also has quotes from the locals involved. It’s an amazing book!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
In one of the bloopers on the DVD IIRC (been a while since I last watched it), they had the fin on some sort of rig that was pulled by a boat. In the bloopers on the DVD, they had a take they did of the scene in the pond, and while filmming, the rig floated too hight o reveal some of the metal frame below the fin.
 
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