Certification
Under the BBFC Certification, we decided to rate our film a certification a 15.
The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.
'The British Board of Film Censors was set up in 1912 by the film industry as an independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally. Statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions, passing films we reject, banning films we have passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones, or altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction.' - Quoted from the official BBFC website.
Case studies where guidance from the BBFC was necessary:
Under the BBFC Certification, we decided to rate our film a certification a 15.
The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.
'The British Board of Film Censors was set up in 1912 by the film industry as an independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally. Statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions, passing films we reject, banning films we have passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones, or altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction.' - Quoted from the official BBFC website.
Case studies where guidance from the BBFC was necessary:
1) The Women in Black
The BBFC considered the film to be on the border between the 12A and 15 categories, because of the number of scenes of supernatural horror and threat in which the ghost of the 'woman in black', plus the ghosts of her victims, appear to and threaten the central character and others. Therefore several factors needed to be considered by the BBFC before a decision on the final category for the film could be made. A 15 rating with no cuts was available to the distributors, however they elected to cut The Woman In Black to achieve a 12A. In total they removed six seconds of stronger horror from the film. They also darkened certain shots and reduced some sound effects, to lessen the impact of some of the scarier ‘jump’ moments. With these changes the BBFC concluded that viewers aged 12 and above were likely to find the scary moments thrilling rather than upsetting or disturbing. |
2) Hunger Games
There were 43 complaints made to the BBFC by members of the public about the film’s violence, theme and about the cuts that were made. Some correspondents criticised the decision to cut the film for 12A, particularly young fans of the book who believed the film should remain intact, and that any cuts to the violence would sanitise its impact. A revised version of The Hunger Games was submitted to the BBFC for formal classification in February 2012, and four further cuts were required to remove some remaining sight of blood and injuries that breached the terms of the 12A/12 Guidelines. Some of these involved the further reduction of shots that had already been reduced at the advice stage. In total, approximately seven seconds of material was digitally altered during the formal classification of the film. |
Comparing the certifications from the BBC, we wanted to feature scenes of mild violence, possibly bad language (one swear word said by Becki's brother). This means we could not set our age below 15, however we were undecided whether to set it as an 18, or 15.
How our film obeyed the guidelines of a 15:
Discrimination
"The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language." - There are no references to discrimination.
Drugs
"Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable." - There is no references to drugs.
Imitable behaviour
"Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting." - No references to imitable behaviour
Language
"There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification." - The only use of strong language is one swear word (Sh*t), however this is said once, and so is not 'frequent', supporting the guidelines.
Nudity
"There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail." - No reference to nudity
Sex
"Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable." - No reference to sexual activity
Threat
"There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable." - There is threat of the main protagonist being killed whilst kidnapped, however no sense of sadism or sexual threat.
Violence
"Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context." - There is minimal violence. A gun is used, and pointed at the main protagonist's head. She is also thrown into the back of a car, and is tied up. There is also proof of her being abused due to the bruising around her eyes and small cuts after being kidnapped. However, there are no scenes of her being physically abused, and so the inflicton of pain and injury is not 'dwelled' on, supporting the guidelines for a 15.
Summary:
We chose 15 because we felt the thems were appropriate for this age, they were not 'explicit', as BBFC states a 15 can't be. In addition, our most popular age of respondents who's favorite genre was thriller, were under 17, and so we would be excluding 23.3% of a potential audience, from watching the film as they would not be old enough to watch it if it was an 18. Loosing such a large percentage of possible viewers would decrease potential sales revenue that would not have been necessary if we enssures our narrative did not exceed guidlines for a 15.
How our film obeyed the guidelines of a 15:
Discrimination
"The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language." - There are no references to discrimination.
Drugs
"Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable." - There is no references to drugs.
Imitable behaviour
"Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting." - No references to imitable behaviour
Language
"There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification." - The only use of strong language is one swear word (Sh*t), however this is said once, and so is not 'frequent', supporting the guidelines.
Nudity
"There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail." - No reference to nudity
Sex
"Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable." - No reference to sexual activity
Threat
"There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable." - There is threat of the main protagonist being killed whilst kidnapped, however no sense of sadism or sexual threat.
Violence
"Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context." - There is minimal violence. A gun is used, and pointed at the main protagonist's head. She is also thrown into the back of a car, and is tied up. There is also proof of her being abused due to the bruising around her eyes and small cuts after being kidnapped. However, there are no scenes of her being physically abused, and so the inflicton of pain and injury is not 'dwelled' on, supporting the guidelines for a 15.
Summary:
We chose 15 because we felt the thems were appropriate for this age, they were not 'explicit', as BBFC states a 15 can't be. In addition, our most popular age of respondents who's favorite genre was thriller, were under 17, and so we would be excluding 23.3% of a potential audience, from watching the film as they would not be old enough to watch it if it was an 18. Loosing such a large percentage of possible viewers would decrease potential sales revenue that would not have been necessary if we enssures our narrative did not exceed guidlines for a 15.