British Board of Film Classification

The BBFC stands for ‘The British Board of film classification’ and is an ‘independent, non-governmental organisation’ which classifies films. This means that they decide on what the certificate of a film is and who the film is suitable for. The BBFC has been classifying films for cinema 1912 and has been classifying DVDs and Videos since the video recordings act was passed in 1984.

The key role of the BBFC is to protect the public from harm and from content that may not be suitable. For example: Something that is suitable for 18 year to watch may not be suitable for a 12 year old to watch. Their role is also to empower the public to make informed viewing choices.

The organisation is solely funded by fees that it receives for its services. These fees are based on how long the film is and just there to cover the costs of the service.

The people that are in charge of making the classification of films are the senior examiners. The decisions are based on the policies, reports and the guidelines of each certificate.

The levels of certification in are U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18, R18.

U stands for universal and films that are classified this are suitable for those for years and above. In a U there must be no issues of discrimination, drugs, sex or violence. In these films only infrequent mild bad language can be used. E.G. damn.

PG stands for parental Guidance and films that are classified this are suitable for children 8 and above but can be seen by those who are younger but some scenes may be unsuitable. Issues like bulling and racism can be explored in films classified PG and there may be mild bad language but the contents is important and if it’s used towards someone then it may be passed as a higher category.

A film that is classified a 12A is suitable for viewers age 12 and above but can be seen by children under 12 in a cinema if they are accompanied by an adult. However a 12 may only be seen by a viewer if they are age 12 or above. Strong language can be used in a 12 e.g. f***, depending on the contexts that it is used in and who or what it is towards. Racist or homophobic views are not classified as a 12 or a 12A. Only moderate violence can be used and cannot be done in detail.

A film that is a 15 can only be seen by someone who is age 15 and above.

The BBFC says that a 15 may include:

1.   strong violence
2.  Frequent strong language (e.g. ‘f***’).
3.   portrayals of sexual activity
4.   strong verbal references to sex
5.   sexual nudity
6.   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
7.   discriminatory language or behaviour
8.   drug taking

 

 

A film classified an 18 can only be viewed by someone 18 and above.

The BBFC says that an 18 may include:

 

1.   frequent strong language (e.g. ‘f***’) and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
2.   strong portrayals of sexual activity
3.   scenes of sexual violence
4.   strong horror
5.   strong blood and gore
6.   real sex (in some circumstances)
7.   discriminatory language and behaviour
8. very strong language

 

Thriller films are most likely to be given the certification of a 12, 15, or an 18. This is because they are likely to include violence and bad language. Also the films are most likely to be given these certification as some scenes may be seen as quite dark and may be unsuitable for young children.

Foundation Production Proposal: Thriller film

The sub-genre of our thriller is psychological.

Log line: A psychological thriller about a girl’s death at her hazing and how her friend’s obsession of trying to find out what happened, ending in revenge.

Pitch of the film: A group of sorority sisters are living together in a student home and are welcoming the new girls in to the sorority by getting ready for hazing’s. The film focuses on one girl in particular and how her hazing didn’t go quite to plan and ends in her being killed by mistake. The film follows a friend of hers trying to find out the truth about what happened that night. The film takes place in modern 21st century and is set near the campus of the University of East London.

The primary audience of the thriller will be female teens to young adult and the certificate of the film will be a 15. The main class that this film is aimed at is the upper-working class and the middle class. The secrecy between the characters and the obsession of the friend will engage the audience in to wanting to watch the film. Other films that this audience may have liked are Sorority Row, Urban Legand.

The opening of the film will start with the camera showing pictures of the girl and her friends and bands that she likes through close ups, pans and fades. Then the focus comes to the girl where you can see her brushing her hair and getting ready for her hazing. Cross cutting will then be used here to show how Luna is getting ready for the hazing in her room and the other getting ready in a much darker room getting knifes ready and lighting candles. The girl’s room will be painted light colours. After this there will be a close up of the girls expressions and then you will be able to hear the ambient sound of the footsteps they are coming closer. Then the camera tilts up to a wide shot of three girls all dressed in white with flower crowns around their heads and say in unison ‘Are you ready for your hazing?’

There are four main characters in the film. There are three girls who are already sorority sisters and their names are Velvet, Isobelle and Camilla who they are in charge of all the hazing’s taking place that year. Luna is a new student in the university and she is a dedicated girl and likes to do all the normal things a girl her age would want to do like hang out with her friends, this girl is joining the sorority and is getting ready for her hazing.

The location of this thriller is in east London and the sorority sisters attend the University of East London. The main settings that will be used are Luna’s bedroom and the main room in the house where the hazing happens.

Props that will be used in the opening sequence are pictures of Luna and her friends, a mirror, a brush, a nail file, a dressing table, a bed, teddies, a knife and candles. The costumes that will use are a long white dress that Luna will wear and for the other sorority sisters they will wear all black.

The estimated budget for this film is £10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alfred Hitchcock

‘Always make the audience suffer as much as possible’

The art of the cinema: Hitchcock felt that it was about the style of the film and not the content. It was also about how the film connected to the audience and how it affected them. Hitchcock wasn’t really bothered about the contents or the plot but how it was affective.

The audience: The film is made for the audience and the audience was important

Emotion: Emotions were very important in Hitchcock’s films as they told the story of the characters and how they felt. It also showed how the characters reacted to events without them even having to speak. These emotions were shown through close ups of the face.

 

Alfred Hitchcock said that cinema is about the visuals not the dialogue and that the closer you get to the characters faces the more information about the scene will be given to the audience. This also shows that Alfred Hitchcock felt that what the audience saw on screen was more important than what they heard and the visuals had to be able to show the feelings and emotions without the aid of dialogue.

The Macguffin is a plot device that Hitchcock used, this was an object or things that characters in the film were after but the audience wasn’t bothered about.

Hitchcock said that certain camera angles and shots had different meanings and this helped to show the story through visuals. To show distance between characters wide shots should be used, to show the emotions on a characters face used close ups and when you want to show proximity of space to the face zoom out from the face.

Alfred Hitchcock had a theory called the bomb theory which consists of giving the audience information that the character doesn’t have or know. This is done in order to create suspense as we know what’s going to happen and we can’t tell the characters.

Hitchcock used a technique called the subjective this is when you had a close up of the character, then see what the character is looking at then you cut back to a close up of the character. This was done as Hitchcock believed that the eyes revel what a person is thinking and the eyes are shown through the close up.

Hitchcock set a lot of his films in simple small towns, this was done as this brings the drama closer to home-where people feel safe and by doing this it makes people fell uneasy about what is going to happen.

‘There is no terror in the bang, only the anticipation of it’ – Alfred Hitchcock