The Boat that Rocked

The boat that rocked is a film written and directed by Richard Curtis, the film is about a radio station called

Pirate radio, they talk and play all of the different varieties of songs in the 60’s and create a film filled with fun, laughter and also controversy involving the

government.

The Pre-production issues for the production company when making films?

• The idea of the film was from Richard Curtis, there was about five ideas but The Boat that rocked was the best idea and was most liked.

• Richard Curtis also was involded producing the film.• The idea was not from a book, comic, magazine, it was a unique idea.• The original script was written by Richard Curtis and as the production progresses, little changes was made but

some aspects were tweaked by the productions producers, overall the script was almost the same.• The financial backing of the film was from Working Title films, Richard Curtis once with a script and idea went

and proposed it the working titles film production, they then like or dislike the film and decide whether to produce it, in this case they did.

• Casting was taking into lots of consideration because the Producer wanted to make the characters seem realistic and give the film a good set of characters who suit their various roles in the film. All the characters were a mixture of American and British actors so it was a good mix .

• The producers of working title films and taken the role of the Boat that rocked was Hilary Bevan Jones.• The music for the film was from the 60’s to give it a realistic film of the time and the sort of music played.

What were the issues for the production company during the production phase

• The shoot for the boat that rocked was set on a boat and therefore the only problem for the shooting is weathering because some days the sea was quite rough, he had to be re-edited and was critisied.

• So many actors were on the set it produced a lively atmosphere, also to get a feel of the setting the actors and producers involved stayed on the boat to get a feel for it and therefore putting them in the right realism of staying on the boat. As for personnel, only being Richard Curtis there were no arguments.

• There was some locations they used, they used London Streets, and also the Boat (main setting throughout the film). Location of London was to give the film the same realism and therefore the streets chosen reflect the setting of the boat having a 60’s feel to it.

• The budget of the film was 30 million pounds. Most of the budget went to the cast• Co producer Ronald Basconvelqueles broke down all of the different sections of the pro0duction such as

costume, music, setting, cast ensuring everything is well within the budget and paid for.• The main script was kept other than a few changes which were very minor, the script writer Richard Curtis

was always and stay on board of the production.• Key people were:• Hilary Bevan Jones- Producer• Adam Richards- Location manager• Mark Tildesly- Production designer • Eric Fellner- Production team• Ema Freud- Script editor 2nd unit director• James Biddle- Production Manager• Emma Hickkox- Editor• Danny Cohen- Cinematography

•Distributing was done through Universal, a big well known organisation, almost guaranteed to be successful through a link to universal through Richard Curtis

Convergence and new technologies in production, distribution and marketing and its importance for

institutions and audiences

• Distribution of the film was through Universal, therefore it had a worldwide platform for success.

• Also when reseaching I found a convergence with mobiles because there was an iphone app.

What was the impact for marketing and consumption from the following aspects of

distribution for your film?

•London's Leicester Square was where the premiere was of the film, 23rd March 2009.

•It was distributed to digital cinemas, such as Odeon Cineworld for some examples.

•Date of release, DVD: 07 Sep 2009Blu-ray: 07 Sep 2009Production year: 2009

•YOUTUBE was used to publicises and preview trailers for the film, good for the public to view trailers for free.

•Downloads are helpful because it helps with the convergence In technology.

•There was not an official film website for the film but it some pages on the working title productions website giving information on the film giving it marketing.

What was the impact for marketing and consumption from the following aspects of distribution for your film

The film poster to the right shows the Boat that rocked had a number of various actors with a mix of younger and older ones, thus therefore it shows that the film appeals to a younger audience as well as a older one too. In the poster it also shows the different facial expressions of the characters giving a quick review of their characters personality. The poster advertises the large amount of main cast members and therefore because there is so many it is well worth viewing due to the big names it has on show.

Different outlets of the film were T.V, Internet, Magazines such as Empire. And newspapers.

Merchandise is few, but I did find an I phone App.

As for giving more publicity, promoting it in lots of other countries for therefore giving it publicity through another name.

Press reviews of the film were a mixed bunch, some saying it was too long and some of the shot sequence did not make sense, there were also good reviews of it but the dominance was on the long timing of the film and also how some shots jumped creating confusion.

What were the issues during the exhibition and consumption/ audience phase of your

film?• The film was released 1st April 2009 in the United Kingdom.• The prints to distribute to the various countries is very expensive, especially adapting the print

for the every different one, therefore it was very good to be distributed by universal because they are a very successful company in the film industry therefore having enough money for the amount of prints for the different countries.

• The film is rated and classified as a certificate of 15 by the BBFC this is due to the sexual scenes throughout and also due to lots of swearing.

Below are some film reviews in the film and therefore giving a detailed analysis of it:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/sukhdevsandhu/5095034/The-Boat-That-Rocked-review.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/03/boat-that-rocked-film-review

Overall I believe the film did make a debate, the film made the pirate radios in reality become apparent and therefore it may of made the government more aware of these.

What were the issue during the exhibition and consumption/ audience phase of your film?

• Overall the film made Gross revenue $35,166,683 overall worldwide.• The film lasted in the cinema for a good number of weeks until following it up with the DVD sales

and Blu-ray.

Questions for a survey:Have you seen the film, The boat that rocked?What overall rating would you give the film 1 being poor and 10 being excellent?When did you hear about the film? e.g advert on TV Did you understand the story?Overall through all aspects give a rating for all aspects of the film with idea, story, cast, setting and

music? (out of 5)The genre of the film is a comedy, when researching the idea came apparent from a cross of Titanic

and Animal house.The Working Title production company have produced a variety of films due to different ideas through

genre. In this case the film was a comedy.

Overall, I believe the audiences of today like to watch a new type of film, therefore a different film with originality and being unique is the key to a new successful film.