The BBFC
The BBFC, which stands for British Board of Film Classification, is an organisation funded by the film industry which is the responsible for the classification and censorship of films in the UK. Before the film is released, the BBFC have to watch the film through in order to give it an age rating, and an insight telling the viewers something about the film which may make them not want to watch it. There are seven different classifications in which every film in the UK falls into, each film is given a certificate, this determines which age they find appropriate to watch the film. This is in order to protect younger people from watching certain content.
One of the seven certificates is "U", this stands for universal and means the film is suitable for everyone over 4, however it is impossible to predict what can upset a child at such a young age, because the U is made for four and over some films are given the special BBFCinsight which says the film is suitable for 4 and under, for example Teletubbies and In The Night Garden, however they are still given the U certificate.
The second of the seven certificates is the "PG" certificate, this stands for parental guidance, this is given to films suitable for general viewing except some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. They should not upset children 8 and over. Some films are given "PG" however are not made with younger audiences in mind, except all of the content in the film are suitable for audiences of eight and over.
The 12a certificate is given to films, this certificate is only used in cinemas, this is used for films the BBFC find unsuitable for very young people. This means people under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult of at least the age of 18 throughout the whole film, although they recommend that you should be 12 to watch. Anyone over the age of twelve are allowed to watch the film unaccompanied.
There is also a 12 certificate given to films however they are only used for home entertainment, for example DVDs. The majority of 12a films in the cinema are given the 12 certificate, as they have the exact same guideline rules, however are sometimes given a higher certificate because they have added content.
The fifth certificate is the 15, meaning no one under the age 15 can watch at the cinema, buy or rent the film. There is no theme prohibited in any 15 films and they can contain strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal refences to violence, discriminatory language or behaviour, and drug taking, however the BBFC do not allow films to dwell on the details of dangerous behaviour as the harm it may cause to impressionable teenagers e.g. hanging, suicide and self harming.
The next certificate up is the '18' certificate, this means you have to be 18 or over to watch it, meaning that you need to be an adult in order to watch it. Consequently there are no themes prohibited, some adults may even find some of the themes touched in the work offensive. Films with the 18 certificate can have the use of very strong violence, frequent strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, real sex, discriminatory language and behaviour, aswell as strong horror, blood and gore. The only things which are cut from films with the 18 certificate is material that could damage the public's morals e.g. promoting drug use and making rape look appealing, the material is in breach of criminal law or explicit sexual scenes which cannot be justified by context. For example the SAW series of films were given tghe 18 certificate because they are strong horrors, having a lot of gore and blood, as well as strong violence.
We are going to make our thriller opening have the 15 rating, this is because it means more people can watch it, making the film more availible for the target audience. Also our sequence will not include the content in order to make it an 18 rated film. However it will contain brief strong language and implications of strong violence.
The BBFC, which stands for British Board of Film Classification, is an organisation funded by the film industry which is the responsible for the classification and censorship of films in the UK. Before the film is released, the BBFC have to watch the film through in order to give it an age rating, and an insight telling the viewers something about the film which may make them not want to watch it. There are seven different classifications in which every film in the UK falls into, each film is given a certificate, this determines which age they find appropriate to watch the film. This is in order to protect younger people from watching certain content.
One of the seven certificates is "U", this stands for universal and means the film is suitable for everyone over 4, however it is impossible to predict what can upset a child at such a young age, because the U is made for four and over some films are given the special BBFCinsight which says the film is suitable for 4 and under, for example Teletubbies and In The Night Garden, however they are still given the U certificate.
The second of the seven certificates is the "PG" certificate, this stands for parental guidance, this is given to films suitable for general viewing except some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. They should not upset children 8 and over. Some films are given "PG" however are not made with younger audiences in mind, except all of the content in the film are suitable for audiences of eight and over.
The 12a certificate is given to films, this certificate is only used in cinemas, this is used for films the BBFC find unsuitable for very young people. This means people under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult of at least the age of 18 throughout the whole film, although they recommend that you should be 12 to watch. Anyone over the age of twelve are allowed to watch the film unaccompanied.
There is also a 12 certificate given to films however they are only used for home entertainment, for example DVDs. The majority of 12a films in the cinema are given the 12 certificate, as they have the exact same guideline rules, however are sometimes given a higher certificate because they have added content.
The fifth certificate is the 15, meaning no one under the age 15 can watch at the cinema, buy or rent the film. There is no theme prohibited in any 15 films and they can contain strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal refences to violence, discriminatory language or behaviour, and drug taking, however the BBFC do not allow films to dwell on the details of dangerous behaviour as the harm it may cause to impressionable teenagers e.g. hanging, suicide and self harming.
The next certificate up is the '18' certificate, this means you have to be 18 or over to watch it, meaning that you need to be an adult in order to watch it. Consequently there are no themes prohibited, some adults may even find some of the themes touched in the work offensive. Films with the 18 certificate can have the use of very strong violence, frequent strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, real sex, discriminatory language and behaviour, aswell as strong horror, blood and gore. The only things which are cut from films with the 18 certificate is material that could damage the public's morals e.g. promoting drug use and making rape look appealing, the material is in breach of criminal law or explicit sexual scenes which cannot be justified by context. For example the SAW series of films were given tghe 18 certificate because they are strong horrors, having a lot of gore and blood, as well as strong violence.
We are going to make our thriller opening have the 15 rating, this is because it means more people can watch it, making the film more availible for the target audience. Also our sequence will not include the content in order to make it an 18 rated film. However it will contain brief strong language and implications of strong violence.
This post demonstrates a basic understanding of what age certificate are and their purpose within the film industry. You have identified the correct certificates, but you need to ensure that you have referenced you research.
ReplyDeleteWithin each age certificate, you also need to refer your points to various examples from films, to demonstrate further understanding of the age certificates and the role of the BBFC.
Finally, you need to explain what age certificate your thriller will be and why, by relating back to your narrative in more detail