BBFC Research

BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification and before 1985 was know as the British Board of Film Censors. It is a non-governmental organisation which was founded by the film industry in 1912 to be responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom.

Below are images of the BBFC ratings and their details:

A film rated U stands for 'Universal' and is suitable for children aged four and over. There are films available for children under four and the BBFC state that the film is ‘particularly suitable for pre-school children’ which is called the 'BBFCinsight'. Only very mild bad language could be used such as 'damn' or 'hell'. They state that characters may kiss or cuddle in a U film but there will be no sexual innuendos or an overt focus to sexual behaviour. There may be mild violence and threat and 'bad' characters may carry weapons however not use them and the problems will be solved quickly and the emotional stress will be resolved with comedic music or interludes.No drug references will be used unless used in an educational documentary.

PG stands for 'Parental Guidance' and this means that some scenes may be unsuitable for very young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged 8 and over. Not all PG films have been made with young children in mind and it is the parents responsibility to decide whether the matters will upset sensitive children. The themes will not be inappropriate for children but may explore themes such as bullying or racism. Mild bad language such as 'shit' or 'son of a bitch' can be used and sexual references are not usually used however if it is decided that a child will not understand the reference then it can be passed at PG. Violence can be seen but the injury inflicted will not be seen in detail and minimal blood would be seen. Relating to behaviour children may copy, not threatening or anti-social behaviour will be glamorised. Illegal drug references may be heard but there will be no focus on this.

The 12A symbol means that a film is not suited to children under 12 years old and a child must be accompanied by an adult to see a 12A film in the cinema. Since the 12A rule cannot be enforced at home, DVD/Blu-ray discs are categorised as just 12. BBFCinsight is provided for all films to help parents decide if a film is suitable for their child or not. Discriminatory language may be heard but any aggressive discriminatory language will not be passed for a 12 film. Sex may be briefly portrayed in 12 films but verbal sex references will not go beyond what is suitable for young teenager. No nudity is used apart from if it is brief and discreet. Violence may be used but there will be no emphasis on injuries and minimal blood used. weapons easily accessible to younger children will not be glamorised and any assaults or rape scenes/references may be implied briefly and discreetly.Any moderate physical or psychological horror films can be passed at an age 12 rating. Any dangerous, anti-social behaviour or drug use will not be glamorised and scenes will not dwell on them or provide detail.

!5 films cannot be seen by children younger than 15. No theme is prohibited provided it is suitable for a 15 year old. Strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language and drug use are all allowed in a 15 rated film. No gory or sadistic violence is likely to be used however there is no upper limit on the use of bad language. The films do not dwell on suicide or drug use scenes so actions cannot be copied while sexual scenes can be long in this category however will not be shown in great detail.

Films rated 18 are for adults and no one under 18 is permitted to buy or watch films rated 18. No 18 rated works are available for children. Issues in 18 rated films include very strong violence, frequent strong language,strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex (in some circumstances) and strong discriminatory language and behaviour. There is no upper limit on bad language used, strong and detailed portrayals of sex can be used, very strong, crude and explicit references are permitted at 18. 

Age rating for our psychological thriller 'Alter-Ego'?
The correct age rating for our thriller film would be a rating of 12A. This is because violence may be portrayed in the film and blood will be shown from the out set of the film (in our opening titles). However injuries will not be shown in detail. Any dangerous or self harming behaviour may be hinted upon but not shown explicitly on screen. The film would not be a PG as the general story line is for an older age viewing however the film would not be a 15 because there is only minimal blood or injuries shown and frequent bad language will not be heard. The only elements our film will include are mild bad language, minimal viewing of blood and injury and a mature story line not suitable for young children.

Sound used in our Thriller Opening Titles

Our aim was to use music which reflects our genre and the theme of our psychological thriller opening titles which is the dark and light aspects of a personality and the way modern young minds can be corrupted by the media. We looked at different opening titles to inspire our own use of sound, for example 'Se7en' and 'Dexter'. The use of sound in 'Se7en' was to create tension and suspense while creating different enigmas for the audience. In 'Dexter' the sound has a lazy beat which supports the idea of an every day morning routine like the titles of 'Dexter'. They also included extra sounds effects, such as the sound of his razor wiping over his skin. 

The shots in our thriller opening will be silenced so that the diegetic sound is not heard. Any sounds heard will be edited into the opening such as a thud from upstairs and a creaking door. Since there will be no sound but the soundtrack and these noises, this will make those sounds emphasized to the audiences. The soundtrack will begin when our company ident appears on screen which is inspired by 'Se7en' and is conventional in the thriller genre. The non-diegetic soundtrack usually plays quietly as background sound and then slowly builds into a crescendo which builds tension while the titles play and also gives the audience a clue to who the antagonist is. 

The soundtrack we have decided to use in our thriller is a piece of music on YouTube called 'Creepy Music Box' which requires no inquiry into copyright as it is stated below the video that use of the music is allowed. The music has also been edited using 'Garage Band' to suit our thriller titles. The changes made were to make the beginning of the music quieter while making the end more dark and dramatic to build to a climax. This suited our titles much better than the original music. The sound suits the thriller genre as a piano is used which is high pitched and while creating tension, it also (as the title of the music states) sounds like a little girls music box which supports our opening titles as they are about a teenage girl who's mind becomes corrupted by the media and begins to feel broken and lost like a little girl again.

Video of the soundtrack before 'Garage Band' edit:

Alter-Ego Thriller Opening Titles

Analysis of sound in 'Inception'

Video of the opening scene of 'Inception':

My 'prezi' analysing the sound in the opening scene of 'Inception':

Production Companies

What is a production company and it's role?
A production company provides the physical basis for works in film, television or radio. Production company's provide the funding for the film and sets the budget which is the amount of money which can be spent on the film. It also assists in the scheduling, scripting, casting and more aspects of a film.
The production company is also responsible for finding a director and most of the acting talent required. They are also responsible for anything which goes wrong while filming such as an actor getting injured or equipment getting damaged.

What makes an effective production company ident?

An effective production company ident usually contains the company's name, a moving animation and a change in the background which could be the colour or a different image. This movement or change in colour keeps the audience interested and this interest means that the audience will remember the company and the types of films they usually make. Two of the most famous idents are from 'Walt Disney Pictures' and 'Metro Goldwyn Mayer'. This is because the Disney palace with the fireworks and the roaring lion of 'Metro Goldwyn Mayer' have become iconic because the sound and imagery is memorable.

List of production company's and a film they made:

1. Dreamworks animation - Shrek
2. 20th Century Fox -Die Hard
3. Blue sky studios - Ice Age
4. Metro Goldwyn Mayer - Thelma & Louise
5. Universal Studios - The Bourne Identity
6. Paramount Pictures - Friday the 13th
7. Columbia Pictures - Ghost Busters
8. TriStar Pictures - Sleepless in Seattle 
9. Warner Bros Pictures - Gravity
10. Lionsgate Entertainment - American Psycho

Which production company would you choose to produce your thriller?
The production company which I think would best suit our Thriller would be 'Lionsgate Entertainment'. This is because I know that they have created a lot of Thriller films such as 'Abduction', 'American Psycho', 'The Lincoln Lawyer' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Since we are making a psychological thriller and 'American Psycho' is one of the most famous psychological thrillers we thought Lionsgate would be a good production company to be associated with.

Story board (Quick Plan)

Duration of:
Shot 1- 4 seconds
Shot 2- 2 seconds
Shot 3- 3 seconds
Shot 4- 3 seconds

Shot 5- 2 seconds
Shot 6- 4-5 seconds
Shot 7- 3 seconds
Shot 8- 2 seconds

Shot 9- 8 seconds
Shot 10- 5 seconds
Shot 11- 4 seconds
Shot 12- 3 seconds

Shot 13- 3 seconds
Shot 14- 3 seconds
Shot 15- 2 seconds
shot 16- 2 seconds

Shot 17- 2 seconds
Shot 18- 2 seconds
Shot 19- 2 seconds
Shot 20- 4 seconds

Lighting

Before the day of filming we will check the weather as this will effect the amount of natural light coming through the windows of our location. If it is a gloomy day then we may need to use the main lights in the house to get clear shots however if the day is bright, we may not need any other light but natural daylight. We are planning on editing the shots to create an effect of film noir and during 'film noir' films, shadows are commonly used to create a dark and grungy atmosphere. This means that extra light from lamps may not be needed as this could make our shots too bright and not created the desired 'film noir' effect.

The shots which the teenage girl are in will be more brightly lit than those shots containing the alter-ego. This is to physically show the contrast between the two characters and represent the girl as innocent or pure and the alter-ego as dark, complex and sinister. To make the shots of the teenage girl brighter, we will turn on the main house lights as well as lamps and other light sources so that the shot is as bright and light as possible while the shots with the alter-ego will be made darker by using no unnatural light and also covering any windows with a sheet or dark curtains to block some natural light too. Hopefully the audience will be able to recognise this contrast and when the shots are dark it should give the audience a feeling of tension and uncertainty. 

The lighting used in our thriller opening sequence is conventional of psychological thrillers. 'Sin City' and 'Se7en' are both lighting inspirations to our Thriller opening titles because they both make a great use of lighting/colour and the effects on the audience which lighting can create. For example in 'Sin City', although the titles are similar to a comic book strip, they are still only black and white with red typography and this reveals straight away that the movie is going to have dark themes while the red typography tells you that it is likely to contain violence.

Below is a video of the 'Sin City' opening titles:

The film 'Se7en' has been an inspiration to us from the beginning of planning. The lighting is something we especially admired because we thought it reflected the atmosphere we want to create with our own title sequence. The lighting is dark and full of shadows and a black & white or a sepia effect is used which gives a distorted effect and also reminded us of a 'Film Noir' style as these films are purposely made dark and black & white to show the corruption of life in the 1950s. The effects make the sequence look quite gritty and distorted and we thought that this suited the idea of a psychological thriller because it could suggest the corruption and darkness of a psychologically ill person's mind.

Below is a video of the 'Se7en' opening titles: