BBFC - British Board Classification of Films

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010.

In class we watch a BBFC video about why films are under certain classifications and what areas the BBFC look out for when rating a film. There are four main areas the BBFC look for when rating a film: bad language, violence, sex and nudity and taste and decency. The video gave examples of films they had rated and why they had given them that rating, here are a few examples:

Violence
'Casino Royale' This James Bond film is rated at a 12A. This film is rated a 12A because id does contain some violence (the torture scene) however in this scene we can only see La Chiffre swinging the rope and then James Bond's reaction and we can hear what is going on but because we cannot actually see the violence happening it is our imagination that is filling in the blanks, the BBFC therefore passed it at this rating.
This again is the case in 'Die Hard 4.0'. The film is rated as a 15 even though it too contains fight scenes such as the one where John McClane is kicked through the window the scenes are again worsened by sound effects.

 Bad Language
Some films have a higher classification purely for the language used in the film, an example of this is 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' this was pushed up to a 15 because it has so much taboo language in it.

Sex and Nudity:
Some films can have a higher classification if they contain some nudity; an example of this is 'Titanic' in the film we see Rose DeWitt Bukater's breasts as she asks Jack Dawson to draw her naked. It was therefore rated a 12A as there id some nudity however it is only one person and its not hole body nudity and also there is no explicit sexual scenes in the film.

Taste and Decency:
'Borat' was classified as an 18 in cinemas and a 15 on DVD. The film got this classification because
 the context of the film could be considered racist however it is used very extremely for comedy value.

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BECK Production Pitch

Beck Production Pitch

After the production pitch we were asked some questions by our class.

Q. What was your inspiration?
A. 'Love Actually' and 'The Holiday'. They are two of our favourite films and we like their feel good sentiment and the romantic mood. We also liked the 'Christmassy' feel in 'The Holiday' and thought it gave the film extra joy and helped with the romance in the film.
Q. Who is your target audience?
A. It will be a film suitable for families however, we think the film will be more of a chick flick with light hearted comedy and therefore we think the main target audience will be teenage girls and younger females.

Production Meeting 3

Date: 13th December 2012
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Bannock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: To create our production pitch to present to the rest of the class.

In our third production meeting we started making our production pitch. Mr Buckmaster showed us an example of his (http://marlboroughmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/production-pitch.html) and told us what we were to include in ours: synopsis/brief, mood board, locations, cast/characters, treatment, soundtrack and storyboard.

We each had a different area to focus on. I did the storyboard and treatment, Ellie did the mood board and the cast/character, Camille and Ellie did the Location, Camille did the synopsis/brief and Katie did the soundtrack.

Action Point: Make sure the production pitch is completed for the next lesson.

Production Meeting 2

Date: 12th December 2012
Present: Ellie Bunce, Camille Pierrart, Katie Banock and Myself (Bethany Hutson)
Focus: Discuss any opening sequences we had watched and liked and think of a synopsis for our own sequence

In our second production meeting we shared any ideas we had thought of with the group and discussed any flaws with them. We the voted on which ideas we liked the best and elaborated on the winning idea.

Our five ideas were:

1. A boy and a girl waking up
2. A sister and brother on a dog walk in the woods with a hooded figure watching them
3. Missing child
4. Home videos of a boy growing up and then we see his life now (gone down hill
5. A magical object or spirit

The two people waking up and falling in love won the most votes within the group (only one person objected) so we decided to go with that. We then spent the rest of the production meeting expanding each others ideas and thinking about the storyline in more details. We decided that the two characters would get ready for their day in sync and then pass in the street, this would set up an enigma for the rest of the film and it would leave the audience wandering what the significance of the two characters lives are.

Action point: To create a production pitch to present to the rest of the class the following lesson.

Audience Research Questionnaire

As a of focus point in our production meeting we focused on what genres are popular and what people expect to see in different types of genres. My task for the next lesson was to interview 3 people on what they expect to see in our top 3 genres (Rom-com, Horror and Sci-fi). Below are the questionnaires and results; this helped us with our research because it meant that we could use the results of the genre we chose the next lesson and use the information gathered when planning our opening sequence

Alice Robins

What do you think are the main conventions of a rom-com? I think the main convention of a rom com is a male and female protagonist either both liking each other or both just being friends to being with then fall in love, facing lots of obstacles on the way which end up in the breaking up temporarily before getting back together and having a happy ending.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a rom-com are?
I think rom-coms are often based around either a big occasion in someone's personal life (promotion or big birthday) or a special occasion that is public (new years eve or Christmas) these events then allow for a change to occur in someone life and therefore cause the situation where they meet the person they fall in love with or change the relationship with someone they already know which allows them to fall in love.
Are there any generic factors of a rom-com that you find boring and ineffective?
I feel they are all very generic and follow a very similar path, I think to make them more exciting and draw people in more they should make it more true to life; for example happy endings don't always happen and therefore I think some rom-coms, without loosing the feel-good factor shouldn't end with the couple falling in love and having perfect lives.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why?
I think the target audience is largely women, they often want their lives to be like the movies as they long for the romance and happy ever afters that come with them. Also, I think women can relate with the films more, they often end up with the male protagonist messing up the relationship. Moreover, the male protagonist is normally extremely attractive and the leading female is funny and relateable.
Why do you like/dislike rom-coms?
I like rom-coms because they put me in a good mood; they're funny whilst still drawing me into a characters life and creating a fantasy that I grew up reading about; a fairytale. Although, there are some bumps along the way which make it seem more relatable. However  these are clouded by the clever use of comedy to lighten the breakup or fight between the two leading characters. The endings of rom-comedies are always cheery and light-hearted, the use of upbeat music during the credits reinforce the idea that you have a good time watching the film and adds to the "feel-good-factor"

Craig Hutson

What do you think the main conventions of a horror are? Most horrors have a vulnerable protagonist that is being chased/threatened by a villain. They usually take place at night in an abandoned or mysterious place (warehouse, woods, empty house). Finally, they don't normally have a happy ending, I think this is to keep the gloomy feel to them and also adds to the unrealistic theme of the film.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a horror are? There is often someone being chased or you can see someone being watched from the villains viewpoint. It also nearly always happens at night, the darkness then adds to the scare factor. There is often a theme of the villain gaining power and status in the film and thus becoming the co-protagonist, they often gain power by to torturing or controlling the victim.
Are there any generic factors of a horror that you find boring and ineffective? I think horrors become more effective if they don't use the generic themes I mentioned above. By using these re-occurring themes the films lose their edge and become too predictable, this make them much less scary and I think they would be more effective if they used original ideas to draw in the audience.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a horror and why?
I think the main target audience is 15 or above; for a horror to be effective I think it need to have conventions and themes that aren't suitable for people who are under 15, if you make the age restriction too low then the film may lose some edge because the producer has had to make it suitable for their eyes. However, I do think teenagers and young adults are more likely to watch horror films than the older generations.
Why do you like/dislike horror?
I can't say I categorically like or dislike horrors I like the thrill of some where as other may lack a structured story line and be slightly boring; however, overall I think non-generic horrors are good and I definitely don't enjoy horrors that have an age restriction of under 15.

Caleb Thomas

What do you think are the main conventions of a sci-fi? Most sci-fi films have a lot of technological gadgets and weapons and are often based on spaceships. Also, many sci-fi films occur on a different planet or with different species, this allows the film to be as imaginative as it likes.
What do you think the typical themes/occasions of a sci-fi are? I think most sci-fi films follow the theme of 'to the future' many sci-fi films are based around either having to travel to the future to save the planet or something from the future travelling to the present day. I think most sci-fi films follow this film because again there are no limits; no one can predict what the future holds and therefore the film can be as far fetched as you like and it will still have an element of realism in it.
Are there any generic factors of a sci-fi that you find boring and ineffective? I feel that most sci-fi films follow the same pattern 'there's a discovery, Earth and it's population are at great risk and then the scientists or astronauts or pace men etc. save the day and everything is back to normal' I find this makes the films very predictable and some what boring.
Who do you think the main target audience is for a rom-com and why? I think sci-fi films are largely based at the male audience, the protagonists are often male and I think they appeal to men because of the action and possible risk in the films. I also think it attracts younger boys and older men rather than the teenage population because I think they would want something more relateable and I think male teenagers prefer fight and action scenes to sci-fi scene.
Why do you like/dislike sci-fi?
I dislike most sci-fi films because they aren't believable, I prefer films you can relate to. Because I don't believe the story line I don't get hooked on or drawn into the drama and therefore find it boring and lack the rush I feel when watching action scenes from other genres.

Production Meeting 1

Date: 6.12.12
Present: Ellie, Myself, Camille and Katie
Focus/Agenda: To start research into the opening sequence we are going to do and start to decide the specifics (genre, story line, theme, treatment e.t.c.)


In the production meeting we brainstormed all the different types of genres. We then narrowed down the genres by deciding which ones we thought we should try and stay away from:
Horror
Science fiction
Psychological

Fantasy
Epics/Historical
Western
Melodramas
Crime

Below is a brainstorm of all the genres:
                                   

We spent the rest of the production meeting looking at different opening sequences and we noted down bit we liked and bits we didn't like or bit that we didn't think we could re-create effectively.

Some of the openings we looked at were:

- The Holiday

- Mrs Doubtfire

-Taken 1&2

We then said what we liked and what we didn't like about them and used them as a steppingstone to think of the next opening sequence.

Action Point:
As it was only our first production meeting there was any specific task to do before the next lesson so we decided that we would all look at some more opening sequences and come back to the group with some idea about what our film could be about. Also, to conduct a questionnaire asking 3 people about they expect to find in certain genres.

Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we had to film someone walking into a room and having a conversation with someone else. In the task we had to include: a shot reverse shot, 180° rule shot and match on action. Below is my groups (Ellie, Camille and I) final attempt.

This is our Script, Storyboard and Shot list

Our storyboard and shot list is slightly different than the final video, this is because the continuity of the video didn't flow very well; it took too long for Ellie to get through the door because of the high number of different angles and shots we tried to fit into a short space. The script was also altered slightly. We had to cut a few lines short and add a few words in because, again, it was hard to fit some bits in and still make it make sense.