<P> Principal photography began May 2, 1974, on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, selected after consideration was given to eastern Long Island . Brown explained later that the production "needed a vacation area that was lower middle class enough so that an appearance of a shark would destroy the tourist business ." Martha's Vineyard was also chosen because the surrounding ocean had a sandy bottom that never dropped below 35 feet (11 m) for 12 miles (19 km) out from shore, which allowed the mechanical sharks to operate while also beyond sight of land . As Spielberg wanted to film the aquatic sequences relatively close - up to resemble what people see while swimming, cinematographer Bill Butler devised new equipment to facilitate marine and underwater shooting, including a rig to keep the camera stable regardless of tide and a sealed submersible camera box . Spielberg asked the art department to avoid red in both scenery and wardrobe, so that the blood from the attacks would be the only red element and cause a bigger shock . </P> <P> Three full - size pneumatically powered prop sharks--which the film crew nicknamed "Bruce" after Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer--were made for the production: a "sea - sled shark", a full - body prop with its belly missing that was towed with a 300 feet (91 m) line, and two "platform sharks", one that moved from camera - left to - right (with its hidden left side exposing an array of pneumatic hoses), and an opposite model with its right flank uncovered . The sharks were designed by art director Joe Alves during the third quarter of 1973 . Between November 1973 and April 1974, the sharks were fabricated at Rolly Harper's Motion Picture & Equipment Rental in Sun Valley, California . Their construction involved a team of as many as 40 effects technicians, supervised by mechanical effects supervisor Bob Mattey, best known for creating the giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea . After the sharks were completed, they were trucked to the shooting location . In early July, the platform used to tow the two side - view sharks capsized as it was being lowered to the ocean floor, forcing a team of divers to retrieve it . The model required 14 operators to control all of the moving parts . </P> <P> The film had a troubled shoot and went far over budget . David Brown said that the budget "was $4 million and the picture wound up costing $9 million"; the effects outlays alone grew to $3 million due to the problems with the mechanical sharks . Disgruntled crew members gave the film the nickname "Flaws". Spielberg attributed many problems to his perfectionism and his inexperience . The former was epitomized by his insistence on shooting at sea with a life - sized shark; "I could have shot the movie in the tank or even in a protected lake somewhere, but it would not have looked the same," he said . As for his lack of experience: "I was naive about the ocean, basically . I was pretty naive about mother nature and the hubris of a filmmaker who thinks he can conquer the elements was foolhardy, but I was too young to know I was being foolhardy when I demanded that we shoot the film in the Atlantic Ocean and not in a North Hollywood tank ." Gottlieb said that "there was nothing to do except make the movie", so everyone kept overworking, and while as a writer he did not have to attend the ocean set every day, once the crewmen returned they arrived "ravaged and sunburnt, windblown and covered with salt water". </P> <P> Shooting at sea led to many delays: unwanted sailboats drifted into frame, cameras got soaked, and the Orca once began to sink with the actors on board . The prop sharks frequently malfunctioned owing to a series of problems including bad weather, pneumatic hoses taking on salt water, frames fracturing due to water resistance, corroding skin, and electrolysis . From the first water test onward, the "non-absorbent" neoprene foam that made up the sharks' skin soaked up liquid, causing the sharks to balloon, and the sea - sled model frequently got entangled among forests of seaweed . Spielberg later calculated that during the 12 - hour daily work schedule, on average only four hours were actually spent filming . Gottlieb was nearly decapitated by the boat's propellers, and Dreyfuss was almost imprisoned in the steel cage . The actors were frequently seasick . Shaw also fled to Canada whenever he could due to tax problems, engaged in binge drinking, and developed a grudge against Dreyfuss, who was getting rave reviews for his performance in Duddy Kravitz . Editor Verna Fields rarely had material to work with during principal photography, as according to Spielberg "we would shoot five scenes in a good day, three in an average day, and none in a bad day ." </P>

What body of water was jaws filmed in