<P> The scene depicting the first appearance of the Tripods was filmed at the intersection of Ferry Street, Merchart Street, and Wilson Avenue, in Newark, New Jersey . Later, Spielberg filmed several scenes in Virginia . The continuous scene was filmed in California . </P> <P> The ferry scene was filmed in the New York town of Athens, and Mary Ann's parents' house was located in Brooklyn (but was featured in the film in Boston). For the neighborhood plane crash scene, the production crew bought a retired Boeing 747, with transportation costs of $2 million, destroyed it into pieces, and built houses around them . The destroyed plane was kept for the Universal Studios back - lot tour . Ray's house was filmed in Bayonne, New Jersey (with a soundstage doubling the interior); meanwhile, the valley war sequence was filmed in Lexington, Virginia and Mystery Mesa in California . The scene where the tripod is shot down and crashes through a factory was filmed in Naugatuck, Connecticut at the since dismantled Naugatuck Chemical . The scene of the bodies floating down the river was filmed on the Farmington River in Windsor, Connecticut by a second unit using a stand in for Dakota Fanning (the back of her character) with the portion showing the faces of the credited actors cut in later . Some filming was shot on the Korean War Veterans Parkway in Staten Island, NY . The film used six sound stages, spread over three studio lots . </P> <P> Principal photography began on November 8 and Principal photography wrapped ending on March 7, 2005 . </P> <P> Industrial Light & Magic was the main special effects company for the movie . While Spielberg had used computers to help visualize sequences in pre-production before, Spielberg said, "This is the first film I really tackled using the computer to animate all the storyboards ." He decided to employ the technique extensively after a visit to his friend George Lucas . In order to keep the realism, the usage of computer - generated imagery shots and bluescreen was limited, with most of the digital effects being blended with miniature and live - action footage . </P>

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