This movie is one of my all time favorites. I must have watched it 100 times, I have it on VHS and DVD, both the original version and the directors cut as well at the making of the Abyss and I never heard James Cameron say anything about lake Jocassee in any of the interviews he's given on how the movie was made. As Jamiei said it was filmed in an abandoned nuc plant. They built several sets in an unfinished plant, filled it with water and covered surface with black ping pong balls and a tarp to keep out the light.
Some Abyss Trivia for ya...
Cast members had to become certified divers before filming began.
The masks were specially designed to show the actors' faces, and had microphones fitted so that dialogue spoken at the time by the actors could be used in the film. The noises made by the regulators in the helmets were erased during sound post-production.
Most of the underwater filming took place in a half-completed nuclear reactor facility in Gaffney, South Carolina, including the largest underwater set in the world at 7 million gallons.
The crew frequently spent enough time underwater to force them to undergo decompression before surfacing. Cameron would often watch dailies through a glass window, while decompressing and hanging upside down to relieve the stress on his shoulders from the weight of the helmet.
The tank was filled to a depth of 40 feet, but there was still too much light from the surface, so a giant tarpaulin and billions of tiny black plastic beads were floated on the surface to block the light. During a violent storm the tarpaulin was destroyed, thus shifting production to night time.
Fluid breathing is a reality. Five rats were used for five different takes, all of whom survived and were given shots by a vet. The rat that actually appeared in the film died a few weeks before the film opened.
During the rigorous and problematic shoot, the cast and crew began calling the film by various derogatory names such as "Son Of Abyss" and "Life's Abyss And Then You Dive."
For financial reasons, the "Deepcore" set was never dismantled. It stands in the abandoned (and drained) nuclear power plant in South Carolina where the film was shot. 20th Century Fox has posted signs around the set informing any potential photographers that they still own the them (and the designs) and that any photographs or video shooting of the set is prohibited by copyright law. Their official copyright information is on the Deepcore rig itself.
Scott
Bud "Virgil" Brigman: When you're hanging on by your fingernails, you don't go waving your arms around.
Some Abyss Trivia for ya...
Cast members had to become certified divers before filming began.
The masks were specially designed to show the actors' faces, and had microphones fitted so that dialogue spoken at the time by the actors could be used in the film. The noises made by the regulators in the helmets were erased during sound post-production.
Most of the underwater filming took place in a half-completed nuclear reactor facility in Gaffney, South Carolina, including the largest underwater set in the world at 7 million gallons.
The crew frequently spent enough time underwater to force them to undergo decompression before surfacing. Cameron would often watch dailies through a glass window, while decompressing and hanging upside down to relieve the stress on his shoulders from the weight of the helmet.
The tank was filled to a depth of 40 feet, but there was still too much light from the surface, so a giant tarpaulin and billions of tiny black plastic beads were floated on the surface to block the light. During a violent storm the tarpaulin was destroyed, thus shifting production to night time.
Fluid breathing is a reality. Five rats were used for five different takes, all of whom survived and were given shots by a vet. The rat that actually appeared in the film died a few weeks before the film opened.
During the rigorous and problematic shoot, the cast and crew began calling the film by various derogatory names such as "Son Of Abyss" and "Life's Abyss And Then You Dive."
For financial reasons, the "Deepcore" set was never dismantled. It stands in the abandoned (and drained) nuclear power plant in South Carolina where the film was shot. 20th Century Fox has posted signs around the set informing any potential photographers that they still own the them (and the designs) and that any photographs or video shooting of the set is prohibited by copyright law. Their official copyright information is on the Deepcore rig itself.
Scott
Bud "Virgil" Brigman: When you're hanging on by your fingernails, you don't go waving your arms around.
