BBFC and Film Certificates

 Who area the BBFC and what do they do? 

BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification, their primary job is to analyze new films before they are released and give a certificate stating what age it is appropriate for, E.g 18, 15, 12A,12, PG, U. Giving these certificates to the film means that the creators of the film may need to get some editing done on the film if it does not match the age bracket they were targeting this could mean taking it back then resending it to the BBFC with the changes made, to match their target audience. BBFC is a regulations board they create the laws/ rules of film classifications in the UK. 

The BBFC must consider multiple different aspects when certifying films with an age certificate such as violence and how it is presented in the film and will it influence the viewer negatively. There may be drug use that would not be appropriate for younger viewers or nudity which would also not be appropriate for younger viewers. The BBFC must ask many questions about each of these things when certifying films for example, is the violence made to seem 'normal'? If so this would not be appropriate for younger viewers as they may try to imitate what is being shown on screen. Why is or are the characters being violent? Is it self defense?  If so this may mean they are allowed a lower age certificate as this is a positive way of showing violence towards a younger audience. How gory are the injuries or are there any injuries? If the marks are overly gory the age rating will need to be certified as higher due to the fact it would not be appropriate to show a younger audience. Who is it that is violent, is it the hero or the villain? Is the violence enjoyed or made to seen exciting or glamorous? If any of those questions are answered yes, the BBFC must consider how this could influence the audience whether or not younger viewers would understand that this is not right and know not to replicate what they see, or whether they don't and they try to commit the same crimes that are shown. This is why the BBFC is necessary as they are in charge of assuring young viewers do not have the chance to be exposed to anything wrong that they made decide to re-enact. 

The BBFC considers ways in which issues are presented or handled. for example, if a film shows drug use but showed it in a sensitive way and they clearly identified the subsequent problems/ -side effects as being negative, then a film might be given a lower film certificate. However, if drugs are shown to be fun and exciting and have no consequences this will raise the film certificate. 

The different categories and what they include

- Universal /U

A U film means the content is suitable for audiences aged four years and over. The difficulty with this rating is that it is not possible to tell what may upset a particular child. U rated films should be done using a positive tone and should give the viewer reassuring counterbalances to anything such as violence, threat, or horror. 

Dangerous behaviour -  anti-social or dangerous behaviour which young children may copy has to be clearly disapproved /not accepted or shown in an unrealistic way. No strong influence of realistic accessible weapons should be shown in a U rated film. 

Discrimination - This is an area that would largely not be accepted in a U rated film, if passed this type of behaviour was strongly disapproved in the show.

Drugs- most likely will not be tolerated, will only be accepted if it is for a clear educational purpose or aunt-drug message. Cannot be frequent.

Language- consistent bad language and harsh foul language is not to be used, very mild rare bad language may possibly be accepted. 

Nudity - In a U-rated film occasional nudity may be accepted but no sexual context. 

Sex - In U rated films the only behaviour that would be accepted is kissing and references to that type of behaviour.

Threats and Horror - Scary or unsettling behaviors should be very mild, and short as they do not want to cause any fears to the child, the outcome should be reassuring.

Violence - Mild violence might be accepted if it makes sense in the context examples of this would be comedic use, animated, or very unrealistic.

Example of U rated film: 

- PG/ parental Guidance 

PG films are usually for general viewing of the film but some scenes may not be suited for younger children, a PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age can watch, but parents are assured to think if whether or not the context of the film will upset their child or not as it may upset younger and more sensitive children.

Dangerous behaviour - In PG films no details of potentially dangerous behaviour, that young kids could imitate should be shown. There should be no focus on anti-social behaviour that kids would be likely to copy. Weapons that are easily accessible such as knives should not be high-lighted and glamourized.

Discrimination - Discrimination isn't likely to be accepted in a PG-rated film unless it is clearly disapproved of, or in a historical or educational contest. 

Drugs - references to illegal drugs or drug misuse has to be hidden or carry an anti-drug message.

Language- In a PG film, only mild bad language will be accepted. If the bad language is frequent and aggressive then the film may be categorized as at a higher certificate.

Nudity - there can be nudity as long as there isn't a sexual context.

Sex - Sexual activity can be implied, but should be discreet and not used often. Innuendos and mild sex references may be accepted.

Threats and Horror - frightening sequences or situations where characters are in danger should not last long in PG-rated films, they may be allowed to last longer in fantasy settings or comedy settings, however.

Violence -mild violence may be shown, violence in small parts can be shown without context if it is justified such as history, comedy, or fantasy.

Example of PG film: 

-12A/12

Films with a 12A/ 12 rating should only be viewed by kids 12 and above. No kid younger than 12 should see a 12 movie unless joined by an adult (12A).

Dangerous behaviour - In a 12 there shouldn't be any promotion of dangerous behavior that children might decide to imitate. Easily accessible weapons should not be shown in a positive light. Anti-social behaviour should not be shown to be a good thing.

Discrimination - Discrimination in language or in behaviour should not be shown in a positive light by the film in its entirety. Aggressive discrimination is not very likely to be certificated as a 12 unless clearly shown to be wrong.

Drugs -  the inappropriate use of drugs must be not very common though, out the film, the misuse of drugs should not be shown in a positive light and for 12 rated film detailed in instructions should not be given. 

Language- moderate bad language may be used as long as it isn't continuous, but this is dependent on the situation presented. Who is using the language must be considered and if in the context it is acceptable.

Nudity - Nudity is allowed however in a sexual context it must be quick and discreet.

Sex - sexual activity may be shown but it has to be discreetly and briefly portrayed. frequent use of sex references are unlikely to be seen in a 12 rated film.

Sexual violence and sexual threat - There can be verbal references to sexual violence as long as they are not graphic, strong forms of sexual violence can only be implied and any sexual threat or behaviour must be short and negatively presented/shown.

Threats and Horror - In rated 12 films there can be moderate physical and psychological threat and horror scenes, however, some scenes can be disturbing but this cannot be the overall tone of the film.

Violence -There can be some violence but it should not focus on the detail, and there should be no emphasis on the injuries or blood. Some gory moments may be allowed if it is acceptable in the context.

Example of a 12: 

-15 

Dangerous behaviour - Dangerous behaviour such as self-harming and suicide can be presented in 15s however it should not focus on this as it could be imitated. Easily accessible weapons may be acceptable but it is highly dependant on circumstance and factors such as realism and setting. 

Discrimination - Discrimination is allowed however it cannot be the focus and it should not encourage the behaviour, however, there may be racist, homophobic, or other discriminatory themes and language.

Drugs -Drug taking can be shown on a 15 but the work as a whole cannot paint the idea in a positive light or encourage any sort of drug misuse. If it is overly used the film will be certified higher.

Language- In 15s strong language is allowed, and very strong language may be allowed, depending on how it is used, who is using the language and how often it is used throughout the film as a whole and whether or not it has any special contextual justifications. 

Nudity - In 15s nudity has no constraints in a non-sexual or educational context. sexual activity may be allowed but a lot of detail has to be brief or presented in a comedic way.

Sex - sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. Strong verbal references can be used to reference sexual behaviour. repeated and very strong references are unlikely to be accepted in this category. 

Sexual violence and sexual threat - In 15s there can be strong verbal references to sexual violence but any further than that cannot be presented for long. A strong and long focus on sexual threat will not be accepted in a 15. 

Threats and Horror -  There can be strong threats and horror but if the threat is sadistic and ongoing it is less likely to be accepted. 

Violence - Violence can be strong but should not go on and on about what was inflicted on the subject e.g the pain or injury. Very strong gory images are not likely to be accepted or sadistic behaviour. 

Example of 15s:

-18

18 rated films are only acceptable for 18-year-olds and above. BBFC believes that adults should be free to choose what they want to watch.  however, what is shown cannot break criminal law or material is a risk etc.

Example of 18s : 

What do I believe our group's film is. 

I believe that the opening title sequence of our film is a 15 as it does have spooks that can make the audience feel uncomfortable and younger kids are involved so, therefore, this can put the audience on the edge of their seat. I would say that the rest of the film is an 18 as it will have strong references to violence between the parents and the asylum girl. I believe these are the age rating for now however this could change later on. It is potential that the whole film is a 15 as it has references to weapons throughout the film however it is not fixated on any injuries so potentially it is a rated 15 I would not say the film is any lower due to the spooks it has within it. 

character designs

 After our last group discussion, my group was given a list of tasks to be completed. We split the tasks equally between ourselves Jana had a mood board and storyboard as these were the areas she was most keen to do, Gite had props and location and I was given the task of character design and casting. Here are the character designs I came up with:

The girl:

 

The farther: 

The mother: 

The siblings: 

Sound

 

There are multiple different types of sound that are used over videos to create an atmosphere or feeling and or even affect, we use enhanced sound over certain moments in a shot as this makes the scene feel more real an example of this would be when a door is creaking in a horror film, this tells us the house is old and it creates a dark and scary atmosphere.  Sound can be used in multiple different ways such as using sound bridges, sound bridges allow us to easily b taken in and out of different scenes, they are one of the most commonly used transitions in the continuity editing style. There are two main types of sound diegetic and non-diegetic sound, diegetic sound is sound that is heard by the character in the scene and us as an audience, then there is non-diegetic sound, sound that is heard only by the audience and not the characters on screen. Pleonastic sound is another type of sound where a sound in a clip is enhanced overly for an effect e.g creaking floorboards, a technique used for this kind of sound is Foley sound, it is important not to get confused between sound in a recording/ production and sound that is added post-production. Parallel sound is another type of sound that matches what is going on, on-screen, this effect is called parallel sound. Contrapuntal sound is sound that doesn't really easily match the image represented, this can create an effect that can be quite disorientating for the audience this can also make the audience question what they are seeing. Finally, there is synchronous sound and asynchronous sound, synchronous sound is caused by some event on screen so that sound matches the action being done and then there is asynchronous sound that is, separated from the visual, examples of this can be voice over or dialogue from another scene. 

In the video, above I have experimented with layering sound, I have made the sound classical and dramatic as this matches the effect I wanted for the scene. I have enhanced the sound of the door slamming as this creates a more dramatic effect and lets the viewer know that the tailor room is a different room in the building. I have used GarageBand to create this piece.

Catching up Luke

 Today my group and I had a live lesson with Adam and Luke re-stating to Luke our two final ideas, he was happy with the ideas and gave us some ideas of how to improve, he suggested that the children use 'corny' hiding places such as under a sheet or behind something as this captures the childlike innocence od the game. As we continued to discuss he suggested that one of the kids go missing in the game of hide and seek as this gives a nice entry into the horror and also gives that uncomfortable mood and atmosphere that the audience will experience while watching it. We agreed as a unit that the birds-eye view shot has a must-have as this establishes that the building is in the middle of nowhere, we also agreed that it would be interesting to keep the shot of the asylum girl looking through the window as it is chilling. As we went further into the conversation it was apparent that we had to consider what we would do if we could not get a hold of younger children for this opening title sequence, we discussed momentarily the idea that we do it with drunk young adults that decided it would be fun to play hide and seek, this will create a similar effect and most likely turn into our back up plan. Moving forward with our idea we have been asked to discuss what rooms we want to use as well as who we would like to cast. To progress as a group we need to work together and come up with an established storyboard by Friday.  

Master Scene method

 The master scene method is a way in shooting a scene by first shooting a wide shot of the entire scene and then shooting mid and close-up shots of specific parts of the scene however you film each shot in its entirety this way you get coverage, in other words, each camera angle you use you must replicate the whole scene from each of these angles then combine them into one.

Wide Shot : 

Mid shot : 

Close-up shot : 

In the end, I decided to make a mini-opening title sequence to experiment with the shots made,  this was my first time editing and I used iMovie, I am not personally happy with the result however I believe this was a good building block in my media a level. The rule of thirds was used in the final shot. 

Final result :    

What is story boarding?

To begin a Storyboard is a layout of your intended product using drawing in an order to show how you want an event to be seen.  Storyboards visually present information. Storyboarding very simply is drawings in a sequence that tell a story. By storyboarding a film before filming, you can more easily visualize exactly what camera angles, settings, props, actors, effect, and sound need to be in certain shots, this saves the industry a lot of time when it comes to actually filming the product. In the industry using storyboards can help make sure the script makes sense as well as lets you alter any errors before the errors become too expensive to fix. The idea for storyboards came from Walt Disney STudio during the early 1930s. Disney gave credit to animator Webb Smith for creating the idea of drawing scenes on a separate sheet of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story sequence. The first Disney shot storyboard created in 1933 was the Three Little Pigs.

What storyboards must include

To have a successful storyboard, there are certain elements that are mandatory to include: 

• Shot number- this is necessary as it tells the film crew and director exactly what scene needs to be shot and when. 
• Location- this tells the director where the shot needs to be taken.
• Action- This tells the director what the actors should be doing in this scene
• shot/movement- this tells the director what he needs to inform the film crew, it tells the film crew what types of movements they need to make with the camera while filming e.g a panning shot, a zoom, etc.  
• Sound- tells the editors and director exactly what sounds need to be added and heard in this scene. 
• lighting- Tells the director what setting a scene should be shot in.
• Transition- Tells the editors what type of cuts they need to make e.g a crossfade, a quick cut, jump cut, etc. 
• Timing- This is important as it tells the director exactly how long the scene and shot should last. 

Why are storyboards important before and after the production?

Storyboards are important before production as they tell the director exactly what should be happening and when this saves the industry a lot of time and in the working world time is money. Storyboards before production and during production reduce a lot of expensive filming mistakes that can take place, storyboards that are done well tell us exactly what shot is necessary and how it should be done therefore reducing time and shots that are unnecessary in production. A storyboard is important before production as it helps the client confirm whether the idea is working or not, storyboards can tell a team what direction the production is going to go. Using storyboards can inform a team what errors can occur at an early stage. After production storyboards are a good thing to give your editor as it gives them a direction for how to cut and combine the shots. 

Examples of high-quality professional storyboards: 

(NOT MY STORYBOARD IMAGES)

Group discussion

 Today I and my group met up and discussed the opening title sequence idea, we discussed Jana's idea further, Gite and I  were questioning the accessibility of Jana's idea as switching back and forth between eras could prove to be challenging, due to the fact we would be using filters which could ruin the quality of the film. We further discussed the idea and made a clear shortlist of exactly what we wanted to keep in the idea, this list included wanting to keep an establishing, birds-eye-view shot of the property, we were keen on keeping this as it establishes location clearly and this can set a mood for the sequence, we firmly agreed that small children should be involved as this goes along with the stereotypical genre. What I liked about Jana's idea is that I keep elements from all of our ideas and nicely brings them together; however, I feel there could be issues with the idea from a filming point of view as the transition between modern-day and past could look like it is very low quality as well as we only have one day to shoot everything. Another element I like is the cut back from then the asylum girl is being grabbed to the modern-day girl being grabbed this could look very clean as a cut from past to present.

Jana's idea: 

As we were talking we developed a backup plan, for if we don't believe this will work. Our back up plan is to still have the birds-eye view shot following the car up to the property however, there is a quick cut to an over the shoulder shot of the kids in slow-mo playing hide and seek around the house while credits roll in the corners. To express this is a horror we suggested having the asylum girl creepily in the background, maybe looking at the kids from a window of standing behind them and they don't realise, as this could make the viewers feel very uncomfortable, using slow shutter speed we could make the asylum girl seem less present in the room. Over the top of this, we suggested having dark music over the top of the opening sequence.As we discussed these ideas my group was quite adamant about having a narrative opening title sequence however we have not yet full confirmed that this opening title sequence will be one.