Can we recreate JAWS?
When Steven Spielberg directed Jaws, he was only 26 years old.
That fact alone is wild. I’m almost 26, and I can barely imagine managing a shoot bigger than a weekend project—let alone one of the most influential films in cinema history. With Jaws celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, I thought it would be fun (and educational) to recreate three iconic shots from the movie and see what it might have been like to walk in Spielberg’s shoes at that age.
Spoiler alert: it sucked.
The Original Jaws Problem: Sharks
The biggest issue during the original production of Jaws was, unsurprisingly, the sharks.
Spielberg’s team built three full-scale mechanical sharks, each 25 feet long and each costing about $500,000 in 1975—roughly $3 million per shark today. All three were named Bruce (yes, Spielberg named the shark after his lawyer).
We did not have that kind of money.
Whatever shark we built had to fit in my garage, fit in my truck, and not bankrupt us in the process. That meant cutting corners—lots of them.
Shot One: A Tiny Bruce
Our first shot was a recreation of the Jaws movie poster, one of the most iconic images in film history. Luckily, this didn’t require a full-sized shark. We stumbled across a miniature “Bruce” that was perfect for the shot, and just like that, we were one scene down.
Two to go.
The Dolly Zoom: Spielberg’s Visual Panic Button
The second shot involved one of Jaws’ most famous techniques: the dolly zoom.
A dolly zoom happens when you physically move the camera forward or backward (dollying) while zooming in the opposite direction. The subject stays the same size, but the background stretches or compresses in a deeply unsettling way. Spielberg used it to visually represent fear—and it works because it feels wrong.
To recreate it accurately, we needed a lens similar to the one used in Jaws. Research led us to something close: a 28–300mm lens, which we rented.
That’s when we discovered the problem.
Instead of twisting to zoom like every other lens I’ve ever used, this one required you to physically pull it in and out. Smooth dolly zooms suddenly became… very not smooth.
Desperation, Fishing Reels, and a Miracle Fix
We tried everything.
Zooming by hand (impossible to make smooth)
Using a fishing reel to control the zoom (the line snapped)
Panic
Eventually, using parts we already had, we taped a follow-focus ring along the lens barrel and rigged a motor to physically pull the lens in and out. It was janky. It looked ridiculous.
And somehow—it worked.
By the end of the day, we had a controllable, smooth dolly zoom solution. Against all odds, we got the shot.
Shot Three: Building a Shark (What Could Go Wrong?)
The final shot required a much bigger shark.
The real Bruce was 25 feet long, but since the shot only shows the front half, we could cut that in half. Then we cut it in half again so a person could safely operate it in the water.
That still left us with a 6-foot-long shark.
We built the body from trash bins and PVC, shaped the head with wood and chicken wire, added movable jaws, and waterproofed everything. Teeth were 3D printed. The skin was fabric sealed with caulk and spray paint. Eyes were handmade from plastic globes.
After a month and a half of work, it finally looked like a shark.
A pretty cool one, actually.
The Buoyancy Problem (History Repeats Itself)
Fun Jaws trivia: the first time Spielberg tried using the shark, it sank straight to the ocean floor.
Naturally, ours did the opposite.
It floated.
Too well.
We added inflatable tubes inside for buoyancy, then had to remove them one by one because the shark refused to sink. Eventually, someone had to physically hold it underwater while freezing.
As the sun went down and the water got colder, we ran out of time.
We didn’t get the shot.
Final Thoughts: Was It Worth It?
This was supposed to be a one-month project.
It took three.
And honestly? I completely underestimated how hard this would be—exactly like Spielberg did on Jaws. But that struggle is part of why the original film works so well. Limitations forced creativity, and problems shaped the final result.
The shark isn’t perfect.
The process was brutal.
But I got to make something ambitious with friends—and that alone made it worth it.
Now I just need to figure out where to put a six-foot shark.
One Last Chance
By early October, we had one final weekend left—unseasonably warm weather and a new lake location. We built a platform for the actor (me), mounted the camera high over the water, and brought the shark out one last time.
It was heavy.
The water was cold.
Everyone was exhausted.
But just like Spielberg at 26, we pushed through.
CREDITS
Ethan Gough: Producer & Videographer
Matthew Baker: Shark Building
Anna Peerbolt: Shark Building
Additional Crew: Jacobb Leyva, Selena Norihn, Andrew Samuelson, Paul Koning, Evan Wierda, MH Sterling, Jake Morgan, Devin Martin
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