Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea

A revealing reconstruction of the events surrounding the 2012 Costa Concordia cruise ship crash.

We created 3D maps to convey the situation aboard the Costa Concordia during its final moments before the crash and during its sinking. As well as pinpointing key locations such as crew quarters, bars and restaurants, the maps also identify the crash impact on the hull and the emergency generator, which suffered a critical failure.

It was crucial that we retain accuracy for this work, so we worked from real-life floor plans as well as information released during the public trial. Our work was informed by information decoded from the ship’s black box, which had been corrupt and un-useable until recently, allowing us to understand timelines and locations of key events.

To give geographical context, we also made a series of 2D maps to show the liner’s location in relation to the land, in the style of a ship’s radar, aligning the visuals in a thematically compelling way.

Lux Aeterna  

VFX Creative Director: Steve Burrell

Producer: Dan Elston

FX Artists: Joe Hockney, Steve Burrell

RAW

Production Manager: Louisa Reid