The filming process of the film was out of routine. Before the script was completed, the crew began to design and build the set, and set out to find a suitable location. Director Gore Wibinski produced the storyboard in advance, and exchanged ideas with production designer Brian Morris and several screenwriters.
The most important setting in the film is the cave where Barbosa hides his treasures. It was built in Disney Studios’ largest studio No. 2. The producer hired 100 craftsmen and took 5 months to build this setting, with 30 water injections. Ten thousand gallons took three or four days, and the final renovation took another three weeks.
The "Dreadnought" in the film was built based on the Victory ship in the British fleet that year. It was built on a floating barge in the Long Island Wharf. 150 craftsmen were employed and three were spent. In half a month, the hull was 170 feet long and 34 feet wide, using nearly 40,000 pounds of steel and 1,000 square feet of canvas.
The Black Pearl in the film took three months to complete. Part of the scene was shot in the studio and part of it was towed by a tug on the water.
The crew went to San Pedro Port in Los Angeles to shoot in November 2002. Some of the fierce naval battle scenes were shot in a studio in the South Bay, and some later were completed in the Caribbean.
