Revealing The Titanic as it has never been seen before for over a century, the Titanic has stood as a symbol of ambition, tragedy and enduring mystery. Now, through groundbreaking deep-sea exploration and innovative technology, this project presents a detailed, in-depth and immersive look at the Titanic. Rather than simply documenting the wreck, the goal was to transform raw scan data into a visually compelling and scientifically accurate digital twin, one that could be explored through cinematic storytelling and interactive environments. Through a combination of advanced visual effects, virtual production and meticulous design, Atlantic Studios offers a deeper understanding of the ship’s story and reveals new perspectives on one of history’s most infamous maritime disasters. Lou Doye, Virtual Production Producer.
Experience
Atlantic Studios leveraged the power of virtual production to transform deep-sea data into a fully explorable cinematic environment. Beginning with 715,000 images and 16 terabytes of scan data, the team reconstructed the Titanic’s wreck inside Unreal Engine, creating a full-scale, volumetric model for immersive use on an LED stage.
The volume itself, a curved 8-metre-high by 23-metre-wide LED wall with a resolution of 8096 x 2816 pixels, became the stage for real-time interaction. With a 465 sq metre footprint, it enabled historians, filmmakers and VFX teams to walk through the wreck as if physically present. This environment allowed lighting, camera movement and virtual effects to be adjusted live and captured in-camera.
A multidisciplinary team of around 50, including filming crew, VP operators, VFX artists and historians, worked in unison, integrating visual effects into the production phase rather than post. The ability to incorporate live feedback and visualise the Titanic with such scale and depth marked a significant leap in documentary storytelling to explore the wreck with clarity like never before possible.
Impact
Press
“Titanic scan reveals ground-breaking details of ship’s final hours”
BBC
“1st Look at Nat Geo’s ‘Titanic: The Digital Resurrection”
Good Morning America
‘Visiting the Titanic is suddenly a lot easier than you think‘
National Geographic
‘Titanic: The Digital Resurrection’ premieres on National Geographic Friday, April 11 9/8c‘
ABC News
‘Could Titanic have survived? Digital scans show how close it came‘
The Times
‘Titanic crew sacrificed their lives to save passengers, new images reveal’
The Telegraph
‘New Titanic scan reveals ground-breaking details of ship’s final hours | BBC News‘
BBC News
‘Titanic like you’ve never seen it: Researchers have new insight into ship’s final moments‘
USA Today
‘Proof of engineers’ ultimate sacrifice on the Titanic: Key detail on 3D scan reveals how crewmen chose to die to keep the lights on as ocean liner sank’
The Daily Mail
‘New Nat Geo Titanic Doc Believes It Has Exonerated First Officer William Murdoch (Video)‘
The Hollywood Reporter
‘3D scans reveal new details of Titanic’s final moments‘
CNN
‘Unlocking The Legacy Of The Titanic With A Digital Twin’