 After 25 months of pre @-@ production , filming began on August 24 , 1992 , on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi . While Costa Rica was considered as a location given it is the story 's setting , Spielberg 's concerns on infrastructure and accessibility made him choose a place where he had already worked before . The three @-@ week shoot involved various daytime exteriors for Isla Nublar 's forests . On September 11 , Hurricane Iniki passed directly over Kauaʻi , which caused the crew to lose a day of shooting . Several of the storm scenes from the movie are actual footage shot during the hurricane . The scheduled shoot of the Gallimimus chase was moved to <unk> Ranch on the island of Oahu and one of the beginning scenes had to be created by digitally animating a still shot of scenery . The opening scene was shot in Haiku , on the island of Maui , with additional scenes being filmed on the " forbidden island " of Niihau . Samuel L. Jackson was to film a lengthy death scene in which his character would be chased and killed by velociraptors , but the set was destroyed by Hurricane Iniki . By mid @-@ September , the crew moved back to California , to shoot the raptors in the kitchen at Stage 24 of the Universal studio lot . Given the kitchen set was filled with reflective surfaces , cinematographer Dean <unk> had to carefully plan the illumination while also using black cloths to hide the light reflections . The crew also shot on Stage 23 for the scenes involving the power supply , before going on location to Red Rock Canyon for the Montana dig scenes . The crew returned to Universal to shoot Grant 's rescue of Tim , using a fifty @-@ foot prop with hydraulic wheels for the car fall , and the Brachiosaurus encounter . The crew filmed scenes for the Park 's labs and control room , which used animations for the computers lent from Silicon Graphics and Apple . While Crichton 's book features Toyota cars in Jurassic Park , Spielberg got a deal with the Ford Motor Company , who provided seven Ford Explorers . The Explorers were modified by ILM 's crew and veteran <unk> George Barris to create the illusion that they were autonomous cars by hiding the driver in the car 's trunk . Barris also customized the Jeep Wranglers featured in the production . 
