Take a look at this video showing the visual effects made by ILM.
from thedaily.com:
Water, water everywhere — and gigantic alien cruisers to sink.
Getting the watery battlefield just right is key to Peter Berg’s “Battleship,” a movie based on a board game and opening in theaters this weekend. That’s where the veteran visual effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic came in.
Computer-generated ships needed to blend in believably with real-world military vessels that Berg filmed during a 2010 maritime exercise. This required simulated wakes, waves and watery explosions — lots of explosions.
In one pivotal scene dubbed the “You sank my Battleship!” moment, the USS John Paul Jones takes critical damage from an alien attack, breaking apart in fiery pieces as it sinks to the ocean floor.
Pacific Rim - Official Trailer April 4th, 2013 RodeoFX is super thrilled to work with Director Guillermo del Toro, VFX Supervisors John Knoll and Lindy DeQuattro and their Industrial Light & Magic team on Pacific Rim.
Star Trek Into Darkness - Trailer December 6th, 2012 J. J. Abrams returns to direct the twelfth installment in the popular and enduring film franchise based on the long-running television series.