The Boat that Rocked - Production Notes from Program

 

CONCEPT



Richard Curtis

The idea for ‘The Boat that Rocked’ was an original one, written by director Richard Curtis.

Producer Eric Fellner then approached his company, Working Title, and persuaded them to produce the film.

Working Title is allied with Hollywood studio Universal Pictures, meaning they had plenty of financial backing. The link between the companies also provided a guaranteed means of distribution.

Eric Fellner, one of the producers of The Boat that Rocked is also a chief executive of Working Title. He ensured that there were minimum problems when making The Boat that Rocked, from beginning to end.

The director then begins to plan the filming, by creating a script.

The creative team is set up, and casting begins.

PLANNING

The script provides a blueprint

During the planning, the budget must be set.

A major part of the discussions is deciding on “what the audience will find believable”.

TBTR is set in the 1966 – 60s feel

-          People from this era are still alive, so the ‘look’ of the film must be accurate

-          Designers use archives to research

During planning, locations are found, most being 60s relevant in this case, for example government buildings, London streets, listeners’ rooms.

The production designer oversees this; while liaising with the costume department and director.

Sets are carefully planned, then built or altered accordingly. The crew spent 4 weeks filming on a boat in Portland for TBTR, so they had no factor in weather and tide.

Costumes were based on 60s fashion, and its rebellious nature, while taking into account the actor/character style.

FILMING

First, the director looks at the script and breaks it down, while liaising with the producer and cinematographer. Each scene is carefully planned.

A lot of things need to be taken into account – most of the footage is filmed on a boat, so the set size was an issue. Weather also had to be taken into account.

The director uses a CALL SHEET to make sure that the right people were on set at the right time. The call sheet also outlines what equipment is needed as well as what needs to be shot.

In TBTR, some scenes had to be cut as it was impossible to film them on the boat – not everyone could get aboard.

1^st unit and 2^nd unit filmed simultaneously.

EDITING

Putting the scenes together from the day filming begins, so that the director can see immediately what his movie is beginning to look like.

The editor works closely with the cinematographer and director.

Music is added, from the 60s

First cut of the movie is made, which was about 5 hours long. Scenes are cut and trimmed to finally achieve a movie 2 hours and 6 mins in length.