Principal photography began on August 15 , 2016 , in Toronto and Hamilton , Ontario , and wrapped on November 6 , 2016 . In an interview with IndieWire about the film , del Toro said , " This movie is a healing movie for me . ... For nine movies I rephrased the fears of my childhood , the dreams of my childhood , and this is the first time I speak as an adult , about something that worries me as an adult . I speak about trust , otherness , sex , love , where we 're going . These are not concerns that I had when I was nine or seven . " According to an interview with '' The Wrap '' , Guillermo Del Toro was torn between making the film in color or in black and white , and was at one point leaning toward the latter . Fox Searchlight Pictures offered Del Toro either a $ 20 million budget to make the film in color or a $ 17 million budget to shoot it in black and white . " That was honestly a battle I was expecting to lose , " Del Toro said to '' The Wrap '' . " I was of two minds . On one hand I thought black and white would look luscious , but on the other hand I thought it would look postmodern , like I was being reflective rather than immersed . It 's good , because it got me three million more . " Alexandre Desplat is the composer of the film 's score . The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 90th Academy Awards
90th Academy Awards
90th Academy Awards
The Shape of Water