BBFC

BBFC Guidelines 

In this task I had to find out what Certificate I would use for my film by researching the BBFC Guidelines and Using the information I collected from that to decide what Age I would set my film to be. 

BBFC stands for The British Board of Film Classification who is linked to the local authorities that are responsible for what is shown in cinemas across Britain. Films and videos are normally classified by two examiners using published guidelines.

BBFC categorise what films are suitable for what age limit. The categories are:

U – Is suitable for all, even though the age limit is four years and over, as there is no violence or anything bad in the film which would upset a young child or parents would feel wasn’t suitable for them to watch is it for everyone.

PG – Parental guidance isn’t for pre-school children but the age is 8 and over so more of an age where the parent feels the child could watch it accompanied by them, But as it is a PG the child can go on their own but it is advised that minors bring someone with them.

12A/12 - These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general for those aged 12 and over. The reason for ‘12’s and over is children under this guideline may get upset by the content in the film and parents may be unhappy by the material used and be uncomfortable with their child watching it. ‘12’ is for films though 12A is used in cinemas this means no one under 12 can see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult.

15 – suitable for 15 years and over. No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film or buy/rent one.

18 – This is only suitable for 18 years and over. If you are younger you will not be aloud in to watch. In the cinema you would have to show ID that you are 18 because the film may show a lot of violence or scenes that would not be suitable for anyone lower than the guidelines.

R18 – R18 is legally restricted classification. It may show sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown in certain licensed cinemas. 

BBFC examiners mainly look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, sexual violence when making decisions over which certificate a film, DVD or video should get. The main issues with Sex, Drugs and violence in films.They do this so people who watch the film that may be younger wouldn't influenced that it’s okay to do those things in the film because they are actors. This may cause ways in which it advertises for people when they watch it, It comes across appealing to the. This is why if there is any of these situations in films you would know that the film was rated in the boundaries of a 15 or 18 as it wouldn’t be suitable for minors and they wouldn’t want young children seeing this so when the adult feels they are old enough to understand that whats shown in films is wrong and could be dangerous towards them and others they will be able to watch films with these materials contained in them.

My film I believe would fit under 12A as many films that I have looked at In this guideline I feel are similar as in what happening and the restrictions in the film. I don’t think my film would be suitable for children below this mark as I feel that parents wouldn’t feel comfortable with their child watching this kind of movie on their own with out them being accompanied by an adult. Through the film there will be some scenes of violence but as the category states, if there is scenes of violence there should be no emphasis of injuries because viewers of the younger generation could be upset by this.


In the categories for a 12 BBFC have made guidelines that are forbidden to be shown in.




Theme: mature themes are acceptable, but must be suitable for young teenagers
Language: The use of strong language (e.g. F***) Must be used rarely and not all the time. Racist abuse is a concern but hasn't been ruled out as forbidden. 
Nudity: Nudity is allowed, but in sexual context it must be brief and discreet.
SEX: Sexual Activity may been implied But have to remember it's for a 12 and must be suitable for the viewers. 
Violence: Violence must not dwell on detail. There should be not a lot of injuries and blood, sexual violence can only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated.
Imitable Techniques: Dangerous techniques (such as hanging, committing suicide, or self harming) can be shown but not have a lot of detail, appear pain free and acceptable weapons can't be glamourised. 
Horror: Sustained moderate threats can be said and menace are permitted. Occasionally gory moments.
Drugs: Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamourised or instructional. 
Discrimination: The film or DVD as a whole must not approve of language of behaviour that would offender a person's Religion, colour, Gender, Sexuality or disability. Aggressive use of this type of language is unacceptable unless clearly not approved of. 




Researching The BBFC Guildines has really helped me understand what category my film would go under. I now know what is suitable to put in my film so when I am filming or writing my characters dialogue I can look at this and keep in mind what I would be allowed to let a character say or how in-depth a situation that happens can go. As I am doing a fantasy film I don't have to worry about Drug use but I will be doing a were wolf-film so if I was going to do the whole film I would have to put into consideration how much violence I would show as in when I plan on having both were-wolves attack each other there will a blood shown but vaguely and Nudity will be brief from when Eric (Were-wolf) shifts back to being a human he will be naked but you won't see anything. There will be no sex during my film nor discrimination that would make anyone feel that I have offended their race, gender, sexuality or Disability. I do feel thought that I may make Some religious views go against my film as It will go against their beliefs as I will be showing humans shifting into beasts in their eyes. I have looked into this and found that most religious groups dont let their children watch films such as harry-potter as it has use os witch craft so I feel some religious groups wouldn't approve of my film as It is showing that a human could change into a beast ( most religious groups would believe they have the Demond in them).

Target Audience

Target Audience 

My target audience is mostly aimed at Teenagers. The reason for aiming it at teenagers rather than the elder generation as such is because I think the younger generation would be able to relate to this type of genre (fantasy) than most elders wouldn't.


 Even though I am focusing my target on teenagers, families could also watch it.The age that I would put my film at would have to be around 12 – 25. As it is fantasy mixed with dark romance I feel that even young adults would find this film interesting and would enjoy watching it. I wouldn’t put my age limit lower as I am aiming my film to be a 12 as it will have some violence in it and most 12’s that I have watched go a tad over the boundaries that they are given and I sometimes feel their not suitable for 12 year olds.  Most fantasy films have a big age gap. It suits 12 – 25 and also 40 – 50’s too. This is because when you have got to that stage in your life of 40’s as such you find these films interesting and you have an open mind about them.


The Gender I would target this for would be female. The reason why is because most teenager girls love watching films about dark romance especially the idea of mythical creatures being real. As trends are coming out and reading has become more popular since twilight was released and the film was a phenomenon dark romance has become popular for teenage girls and boys.
The people who are most likely to watch fantasy films would usually have a lot to relate to the characters in the film. For example girls who have felt left out would find fantasy films compelling as they would have a lot to relate to because the story lines generally show that being unique and your own self is beautiful. Fantasy films can relate to anyone really because its imagination and everyone has imagination! As there is a variety of movies in the Genre of fantasy it’s really down to what people are interested in. There is at least one film for everyone to like because fantasy covers a lot of areas such as fairies, Magic, Vampires, Ghosts and werewolves. Its just depending on how much the person is open minded to because if the individual isn’t really interested in mythological creatures and finds this area of Genre unrealistic and tacky then watching a movie like Harry potter would be terrible for them because they wouldn’t get into the movie as they would keep thinking about how everything is untrue so they wouldn’t be opening up they’re minds to the possibilities of it. 


 Covering the subject of individuals having an open-mind to this genre I would say young children would enjoy fantasies as they believe most things they see on television to be true. They wouldn’t know different. I wouldn’t recommend Films like The labyrinth because it’s a horror/Fantasy and there is a Age limit to it because children would possibly be affected by movies like this as it would be too graphic for a young child to understand. 


The socio-Economic group that my film would go into would be 'A – E'. My film doesn’t have a specific Grade that is would fall into as it is fantasy. The reason for me saying that the Film would go into all 6 groups would be because everyone would be able to relate to this film whether you were upper-middle class or subsistence level. The Grades I would probably aim for most would be 'C2' and 'A'. The reason why I chose 'C2'' is because 32% of the population fall into skilled working class. As it has the highest person of people being in 'C2' I would want my film to relate to that level as that would mean I would have a wider audience and a better chance at selling my film. I chose to aim my film at Grade 'A' which is Upper middle class because even though is has the lowest percent of people in that occupation most people who are in the lower grades follow Grade 'A' people because they set the example and trends are usually set by them. Teenagers for instants who’s in the Upper class who would like my film would be great for me because Social networking sites are growing fast and sites such as twitter and Facebook are perfect for publicising Films because they can share films that they like with other users on the website and also through conversations it can help make the film be known.

This task I think helped me to understand what target audience I should be considering when doing a movie. In my opinion I think this was good research for my film as I researched what age I should do my fantasy movie for and what Grading I should aim it for. Working out what audience especially would want to see it I thought in my opinion would also help me to sell the film and make it more appealing to that certain audience. As my movie will be targeted more for teenage girls/boys I feel using situations that most girls/guys that age would relate to could make it more sellable and likeable. I wouldn't expect a teenage girl to like something overbearing with cars and mud and something that would make a girl bored in the first three seconds of the movie nor would I expect a guy to sit watching a film about ponies (not that I would have a problem with a guy liking ponies) What I am basically saying is I want to use ways in which both genders would like my film and find it interesting and enjoyable to watch and would want to watch it again and again!

 

 

 

Film Synopsis

My film synopsis

The Next task I am going to do is a synopsis of my whole film.  I will be outlining the whole film including the ending. My task is to film the opening of my movie but I need to write a full synopsis of my film so I have a clear understanding and idea of the plot so I don’t create something that has no relevance to the genre or has doesn’t turn out as good as it could have been because I didn’t stick to the plot line.

My film (Temptation - Burning love) 

Film Opening

[I intend in my film to have Ella Goldfinch sat up against a tree, she is reading one of her favourite books that her mother used to read to her when she was young. On her wrist she is wearing an important bracelet that she has never taken off that her mother gave to her when she died. She looks up when she senses someone watching her. The wolf is watching her from the bushes. Hunting her. Waiting for her. Ella gets up standing strong making her look brave. The wolf stays quiet not moving. She grabs her book and turns to walk off but takes one last look behind her shoulder.]

Whole Film

Eric Dolph who plays the wolf you see in human form. He is in his workshop when his dad walks through the door. Flashes of Ella from where he was looking at her in wolf form flash through his memory. He shakes his head and begins to carry on working. His dad stands beside him and takes a grasp hold onto Eric’s’ shoulders before taking a seat at his own workshop. The father asks how he feels after the shift. Eric says nothing and begins hammering loudly.

Two children standing in a play ground. Ella (younger version) sat on a bench reading her mothers book looking deep in thought. Eric is running round with a group of friends playing tag bundling with each other and play fighting like brothers. Eric is bundling with Owdin while Ella looks up to watch, Eric in the mix of play fighting with Owdin glances up and looks into Ella’s eyes. Eric runs over to her and jumps next to her when Lucy, Ella’s best friend jumps behind them and grabs Ella’s hand causing Ella to drop her book as she runs off down the hill to the group of girls at the end of the school field. Eric notices the book and takes it with him till after school when Ella is in the playground looking under the bench and in hedges and Eric places the book on the bench.  She smiles at him and tightly hugs the book up against her chest.

Eric is always watching her from afar, as she walks to school with Lucy and other girls who adores Eric. In school when Ella sits and reads while her friends talk about typical stereo typed gossip. Eric shifts in school and Owdin opens the window for him. Eric runs into the forest before anyone sees him and you see clips of him running, as he runs a rap is set in his tracks causing him to cut his paw. As he begins to yelp and fall to the ground you see a fair white wolf with piercing green eyes watching from afar.

Ella finds Eric in the forest moments after he shifted. She asks what he’s doing there and he doesn’t answer her as he has never spoken to her before. Ella sees the cut he has on his hand and pulls out a box of plasters that she keeps in the back of her boot. Gentle she takes his hand as he stares at the floor nervously she puts the plaster on and drops his hand. She asks does he want to walk back with her as he turns around to walk towards the village. She follows him.

Ella begins to try and talk to Eric and doesn’t get a reply back. She asks Lucy what her thoughts are of Eric and Lucy says one word strange. We then hear loads of voices from students saying one word that describes Eric, such as quiet, Alone, Strange and one word that plays louder than the rest. Different.

Eric sat with his friends while they play fight together. Owdin asks if he has seen her today as Eric studies the plaster on the back of his hand. Lots of images go through his mind and as he looks up we see Ella walking past with Lucy. Owdin wolf whistles towards them as Lucy turns around and waves at Owdin, Ella turns her head and stares at Eric hesitates then walks into the school builing. Owdin then says – She’s so different.

Ella’s house is set on fire and Ella is stuck in the house. Someone has locked her in the house and everywhere is bolted up. Her dad had gone out but hasn’t returned and she has no escape. Eric gets a phone call from Owdin telling him she is trapped. Eric runs out his house. Eric manages to get the back door open and finds Ella past out on the floor with her book lying next to her. As he carries her outside and places her on the floor he sees the 4 gashes down her face, he knows they are wolf scratches and realises the fire was on purpose.

Images of the night when she wakes up go through her mind. The wolf (white with Green eyes) in her room. Everything going black, a figure picks her up and then it going black. Lucy is sat on her bed drinking some soup while looking at the floor. She notices Ella’s presence and gives her a faint smile. A flash of the wolfs face flashes into the screen and Ella flinches. As Lucy exits the bedroom Ella looks around Lucy’s room to find a small bag of clothes, A half burnt teddy and her book burnt to pieces but still nearly readable. A tear rolls down her face causing her gashes to sting while she touches her face to feel the padding over it. She sits up and looks into the mirror across the room to see tissue cover cuts going down her check down to her shoulder, she stares at herself for a while and then picks up her old book. Tears swell in her eyes and she flicks through the book and reads the note at the back from her mother telling her to stay strong and never loose faith.

From someone else’s point of view you see Lucy walk outside her back garden, kick over plant pots and you can tell she isn’t happy about something. The camera view backs out and you see Eric watching from afar. Eric realises something and chances after Lucy. Eric runs after Lucy in the forest to find a wolf where she was. He starts speaking to the wolf and notices the similarity of the eyes that Lucy has to the wolf. He finds out Lucy is a wolf too and Lucy attacks Eric. During the fight Eric turns into a wolf and all we see is them attacking each other. Lucy runs off into the woods leaving Eric injured and angry.

Lucy visits Ella in the bedroom. As Ella is sleeping she notices the bracelet on Ella’s hand and takes it off and puts it in her pocket. Ella is able to go to school and Ella feels like an outsider because her father never came home and they believe that her dad set fire to the house because he couldn’t deal with the loss of his wife. Lucy sticks by her but Eric is watching Lucy all the time. Ella doesn’t make the effort to talk to Eric anymore as she doesn’t know He was the one who saved her.

Ella finds a note when she gets back to Lucy’s telling her to meet in the forest at night alone. A wolf turns up and trys to attack her but fails as another wolf appears and takes the other wolf to the ground killing it in its tracks. Ella notices the Blue eyes and a image of Eric holding her in the fire comes into her mind. She knows Eric is the wolf as he runs off into the woods she tries to follow him but hes too fast for her.

Ella tells Eric he knows about him being a wolf and he tells her how hes always protected her and always will do because he promised her mum that he would never let anyone harm her. They spend time together and their bond grows stronger. She witnesses him shifts and isn’t afraid at all. He buys her necklace to show his love for her and she never takes it off. She finds out that the bracelet was given to her because her father was a wolf. Her dad never went missing he shifted for good. After 17 years you never shift back and you either be human or wolf. Her mum wanted to be a wolf with her dad but her mum on the night of the shift didn’t make it so she died, she knew she wouldn’t make it as she wasn’t strong enough to handle it. Her mum got the bracelet when she met her dad and it symbolised their love was always blooming even when her dad shifted and she didn’t see him for months she never lost his feelings.

When in the Lucy’s bedroom she notices Lucy wearing her mothers bracelet she confronts Lucy and Lucy attacks her. She sees the eyes and realises Lucy was the one who attacked her the night of the fire. Ella runs into the forest and Lucy chases after her. As Lucy is standing over Ella while she is on the floor Eric, Owdin in wolf form appear and fight with Lucy, They kill her as she falls into the river with blood all over her face.. Ella begins to scream and starts shifting. The full moon beams down on her as she changes. Owdin has gone into human form and is by her side. Eric doesn’t believe she is changing and goes to comfort her.

She begins to be around Owdin and Eric more than most. You hear voices saying how they are strange, Quiet and emphasis on different. You hear a voice over of her telling people how different she feels now. And how betrayal set her free. Eric gave her a new present and it was her favourite book that he wrote out for her in a book. On her wrist is the bracelet with a new pendant on... A flame.

I know now what my whole film is about and I think this will be good for the characters that will be in the opening of my film. I am only having one character in the opening of my film and I will be giving a copy of this synopsis to them so they can fully understand the character and what they have to do to make the opening more believeable and I wont be wasting time figuring out what I should do because I will have a clear story-line in my head already. I feel this will help me a lot also when doing my story board and dialogue because I will know what my character will be doing and how what my character will say may link into the plot further on in the film.

This slide I talked about 'The girl' of a typical girl character in the fantasy film. In most fantasy genre films the girl is the main character so I wrote quite alot about the girl you would see in a film such as Harry potter. I did examples of girls in films such as Harry potter because I was able to write about her personality and what her role would be in the story-line.

This slide talks about the 'typical boy' I basically went through the 4 main characters you would see in a fantasy film and spoke about their personality they would portray and their appearance and role. I referenced to characters in films that I have watched and wanted to link them into my slides. 

This slide I did a comparison between two characters who played the role of the 'wise one' I thought this would be a good example for people who want a visual aspect of my slides to show the comparisons between both and how they resemble a 'wise' character. 

I found this task very helpful for my film and what I should put in the opening. I think I showed different areas of research and showed understanding of various points and Ideas. 

Genre Research

Genre Research 1 

This is my Genre research which is about fantasy. The slides will talk about settings that would be relevant in a fantasy movie, what sub-genres you would expect to see and examples of movies that I have compared to one another.

The reason why I did a slide on settings is because I want to have an idea of what type of setting to have when I am filming my opening. I want to get an idea of the colours I should be putting in my opening that would set a scene and create the atmosphere I am aiming for.

These are the examples of settings from fantasy movies that I have seen and areas that I think viewers would conisder to be fantasy. Some of the settings are from movies such as Harry potter, Red Riding Hood and Lord of the Rings. The opening of my film will be in the woods and the whole film if I did decide to do it would be mostly in the woods.

This Slide talks about the props you would expect to see in the film. I have also talked about Lighting and how Lighting creates emotion and dramatic effects to the scene that you are filming. I researched Films that use lighting to emphasis a moment that is dramatic. I think this is key to a film to have lighting because fantasy does have an essence of drama to it and I feel Having lighting in the movie especially for night scenes would really be helpful and create a mood that I feel would set the scene.

This slide talks about weapons that you would expect to see in a fantasy movie. I referenced to weapons you would see in a fantasy movie that is set in the times such as vicking/saxon time and then went on to talking about futuristic weapons. My film opening won't have weapons in (That I have decided yet) but in the whole film I have thought about weapons and I have thought that if I was doing a whole film I would have some characters holding weapons so I thought it would be key to cover weapons on one of my slides to show that I have thought about it and researched it.

This slide talks about props on sets. This slide I decided to have two films that I have watched and talked about. Alice in wonderland I think uses alot of props on set and I spoke about them and the colours they used. This links to the second slide I did that was talking about sets but its different because I am talking about the actually sets and props.  

This slide I talk about the story line in a fantasy film. I use alot of variety in my slides and sub-genres because I feel that fantasy can relate to many different genres. I didnt want to link it to just one genre so I used examples of others that I think would link well to the research i'm doing. I talk about the typical plot you would generally see in a fantasy movie and chracters you would want to see. When I wrote out the slides I added humour to my work. This was't intentional it was just my point of view that I wanted to express and make the slides 'Read-able' I know they are read-able anyway but I mean I want them not to be boring and for people to read them and find my research interesting.