For Jaws (1975), cinematographer Bill Butler had Panavision build a waterproof box so the camera could float at water level, with the swimmers. He said it got the audience thinking the shark was just out of sight. Dip the lens just under and you see what the shark sees; the dangling legs, Butler said, looked like dinner.

On the boat, about 90 percent of the shots were handheld: a new 34-pound camera riding the swell, not a 400-pound gimbal. Spielberg wanted the Atlantic, not a tank, so you would feel the men were cast adrift. And the shark kept failing: Spielberg called that a godsend, and rewrote the film to show less of it. Butler disagreed: when it worked, he said, the shark did amazing things.

The sea, the swimmer, the boat and the shape in the water are our own models, built and lit in code.

So where would you rather be?

Sources: Bill Butler to MovieMaker (2005); American Cinematographer (March 1975); Steven Spielberg to Ain't It Cool News (2011).
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