BBFC Institution research

BBFC Institution research

1) Research the BBFC: what is the institution responsible for? How is it funded? What link does it have to government?

(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc)

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non- governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984. 

The BBFC fees are adjusted only to cover its costs. In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC never receives subsidies from either the film industry or the government. Its income is solely from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films or DVDs submitted for classification.  

The link that the BBFC has to the government is the passing of the laws from the government which allowed the BBFC to be able to set up its purpose within its organisation.


2) Read this BBFC guide to how films are rated. Summarise the process in 50 words.
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/rating-process)

Examiners will solo-watch DVD submissions in BBFC's cinema to replicate the effects that the film will have on the cinema audience. They concentrate on segments of the film like general context, timings of key moments and bad language, sex and drug references and etc which is then rated based on BBFC's guidelines. 

3) Read this BBFC outline of the issues faced when classifying a film. Summarise the debate in 50 words.
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/rating-process/issues)

On top of BBFC's guidelines, issues are faced, e.g, whether the film is detrimental to the law, the emotional harm that it may cause, the availability of the film, the individual opinions on concepts like sex, language or violence and the overall concept and tone of the film.

4) Read this BBFC section on controversial decisions. Why did The Dark Knight generate a large amount of media coverage regarding its certificate? Do you agree with the 12A certificate The Dark Knight was awarded?
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/dark-knight)

The Dark Knight generated a large amount of media coverage regarding it's certificate due to there being violent content which some people found too strong. 

In my opinion I agree with the 12A certificate that The Dark Knight was awarded, this is because:

BBFC's guidline for 12A at the time stated "Violence must not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries and blood" and "Sustained moderate threat and menace are permitted. Occasional gory moments only."

Also, 

The violence in the film is quickly edited, and whilst sometimes crunchy, it is almost entirely lacking in any blood or injury details. The impacts of blows are mostly masked by actors’ bodies or camera angles, but the impression of violence is occasionally strong.

Even though there was a strong impression of violence, there wasn't direct intense violence which portrayed blood or injury details and this was used to enhance the action and the Joker's mental state in the film and therefore I agree with this film certificate. 

5) What are the guidelines for a 15 certificate?
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15)

The guidelines for a 15 certificate are: 

Discrimination - The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.

Drugs - Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Imitable behaviour - Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.

Language - There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity - There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.

Sex - Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Threat - There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.

Violence - Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.

6) The BBFC website offers an explanation of every classification it makes and detailed case studies on selected titles. Choose one 15-rated film from the BBFC case studies section and summarise the classification the film was given and why. 
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/la-dolce-vita-1960)

The film that I chose was "La Dolce Vita (1960).
This film was given a classification of a 15 certificate but when submitted again for cinema re-release in 2013 where it was classified a 12A certificate.
This film was rated a 15 certificate firstly as there were some content that, at the time, was advisable for an audience that was under 16 but a few of the scenes cause this to change because of the tone of the film and the suicide attempt by one character, of which only the aftermath is shown. This was therefore altered to a 15 certificate. In addition to this, there was a scene in the film which involved stripping and there were slight uses of epithets.
However, in 2013 this film certificate was changed to a 12A for moderate sex references, language, violence and suicide scenes.

Audience Research Focus Groups

Audience Research Focus Groups

A brief introduction to what the focus group involved
A list of key quotes from the focus group recording (you don't need to identify who said each quote and using bullet points is fine)
What you learned from the discussion and how this will impact on your final product. Particularly important is any changes you plan to make as a result of audience feedback.
A detailed breakdown of the target audience for your film now you have completed some audience research: gender, age, social class, education/employment, race/ethnicity, psychographics etc.

The focus group was a feedback session between the members that are in the production of our film "Out Of Mind" and the other peers in the classroom. We as the producers of our film explained our film pitch to our peers and from this we got feedback which would help us improve our film and vice versa. The feedback involved questions being asked to us based on what we revealed to our colleagues which allowed us to identify our areas of improvement and contemplate on some of the opinions that were brought up. 

As a group we changed our initial narrative as a result of a brief discussion with our teacher telling us "the whole narrative is in the 3 minutes and the 30 minute narrative may not be as interesting because non of the main ideas were in there and it would be confusing," and our uncertainty of whether or not to stick with this narrative. Our initial clip was to have two story-lines based on two separate people that come together based on their experience which makes them intertwine. The first story-line was to have a black female have a white baby and as a result of this people kidnap her and take her baby and she goes on a search to find her child. Also, her partner breaks up with her as a result to him thinking that she was cheating on him because of the race of her baby. The second storytelling was to have a female lose her parents as a result to them being run over and her becoming mentally unstable. The two would have come together as friends based on their experience throughout the narrative. Only until the end, our film would have shown a flashback on how they became friends (this being that the female that has the child's partner, in his rage, after the birth of his child runs over the other females parents) and this is the part of the film we would have based our 3 minute clip on. From this, we decided to change our film idea instead of developing it as the 30 minute narrative of our initial film would not have made sense to the audience and would have been slightly cliche. 


Our new narrative therefore is what we felt more confident with and focused on. A few of the key quotes that were suggested in the focus group were: 

• "Where and how were we planning to film the car crash?"
• "What would the lighting be like?" 
• "Would most of the 3 minutes be flashbacks?"
• "Would it be better making the opening 3 minutes instead of the ending 3 minutes?
• "If we make the last 3 minutes how will be communicate the main character?"
• "Do we think we'll be able to fit all the scenes in that 3 minutes?"
• "Do we want to make the first, middle or ending 3 minutes?"

From this discussion we developed our film around these ideas as we as a team thought that this would develop our 3 minute clip and make it more understandable to the audience and also more easy for us to construct. Instead of trying to visually construct a car crash we developed this by firstly basing it in a hospital room with the noises of the crash against a black screen and then showing our protagonist in a hospital room. From the rules and legislation's of filming in a hospital we then decided to change this to a close up of her eyes and noises of a car crash and then showing her leaving the hospital entrance. Another thing we developed based on the audience feedback was the section of our film that we were going to record. Instead of recording the ending of the film, we decided to record the beginning so that the audience would have a better understanding of what is happening as if we constructed the ending of the film, the narrative may be misunderstood. Baring in mind the feedback of us being able to fit all the scenes in the 3 minutes, we decided to minimise some of the script and the events to ensure that our film does not go over the maximum time allowed. 


DEMOGRAPHICS

Our target audience for our film "Out Of Mind" would mostly be aged 12 - 28 year's olds as it had been made evident that that this particular age group would be more attracted to the genre of mystery, thriller and Sci-Fi. In addition to this, it is also proven that most "15-24 year olds made up the largest proportion of the UK cinema audience, at 31%."  (http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-audiences-2015-11.pdf)  and as we aim for our film to reach as much as an audience as possible, we investigated on a close scale what to add in our film so that it would be able to reach a wider audience and not appeal to a particularly small age group even though it may appeal to more of a female audience than a male audience.
From our film idea, we interpreted that the main audience is most likely to be female as there are variables in our film that may not be as attractive to a male audience. These things include our film production not being action saturated or having any sexual references, this therefore, showed us that our film would appeal to more of a female audience. Also, taking into consideration that there is more of an emotional storyline based upon the breaking of relationships and the forming of friendships which is more likely to impact a female rather than a male. 
We aim "Out Of Mind" to be accessible for all social classes and ethnicities. This is because as this is a 30 minute film and will be shot over a course of locations and include a range of different people, this versatility in our film would mirror our potential target audience, making sure that it appeals to a range of people regardless of their social class or ethnicity as our two main characters are going to be of different races, including their friends. Also, as this is a low-end budgeted film, the income of the audience would not be as dependable because our film would be very affordable.
The geographical location of our audience is most likely to be based in the United Kingdom as this is a British film production and also is more of a niche project meaning that this would not appeal to perhaps an audience in China.
The values, attitudes and lifestyle of our audience is most likely to be more of an experiencer (They have a lot of energy, which they pour into physical exercise and social activities) as when consumers watch a film, they are more likely to watch it with another person therefore showing that this type of project is most likely to be viewed be experiencers as they indulge in social gatherings. 

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

Explorers are most likely to be the psychographic group that our audience belong to. This being that they:

• Seek discovery
• Adapt the characteristics of energy, individualism, and experience.
• They values difference and adventure. 
• Brand choice highlights satisfaction, and instant effect. 
• They are the first to try new brands.
• Most likely to be younger demographics - students. 

Our film "Out Of Mind" would appeal to a range of these characteristics as it includes mystery which will reach the satisfaction of the consumers as it is something new on the market of films, appeals to quite a young age of people and watching a new film would enhance their experiences.

Schedule For Film

Schedule

During week 9/01/17

Filming at Sophie's house - Conversation with MUM - Location: Sophie's House. - INT.

Saturday 14/01/17

Filming of Sophie getting on bus and getting food - Location: On the way to Ealing. - DAY.

Filming of Sophie approaching friends - Location: Walpole Park - DAY. 
Filming of Sophie and Daniel's conversation - Location: Walpole Park - DUSK.

During week 16/01/17

Filming outside of hospital - Sophie walking out and walking home - DAY.

During week 23/01/17

Editing of footage - Location: School - INT.

During week 6/02/17

Re-film any footage improvements/missing footage - Location Walpole Park/Sophie house. - DAY/INT.

During week 13/02/17

Edit re-filmed footage - Location: School -INT. 

Film Pitch

Film Pitch

MEST2 Film Pitch

Title and tagline:
Out of Mind

Topic from brief (e.g. Modern-noir, Urban Life etc.):
The Secret & Friendship 

Genre (and sub-genre if applicable):
Mystery, Science fiction, thriller. 

Logline – one sentence that sums up the film and hooks people in (25 words or fewer):
Imagine waking up one day to discover you are no longer a memory of the people you love. Meet Natalie.  

Other successful films that are similar to yours:
I Am Legend, 28 Days Later, The Vow 

Narrative structure for full 30-minute film – what happens and in what order (max 100 words):

Natalie wakes up from a coma and discovers that no one remembers her. As like others in the same situation, when suffering a tragic accident, as though they have actually died, they are erased from their loved ones' memory. She makes a companion with someone who is in the same situation and they help each other through their loss. However, towards the end of the film they both encounter a tragic accident and are erased from each others memory. Leaving the hospital at the same time and sitting at the same bus stop, they are unaware of their previous friendship. 

Main protagonist, their desires, the conflicts they encounter etc.:
Natalie - Sophie
Desires - People to remember her. 

Conflicts - With her mother and her friends.

Other characters and their role/audience appeal:
Natalie - Sophie
Moses - Daniel
Tim - Ratna
Demi - Rayelle

Target audience for your film (age, gender, social class, interests etc.):
Age - Teenagers, adults, older children.
Gender - More of a female audience.
Social class - All social classes. 

Ethnicity - All ethnicities. 

Interests - Solving mysteries, Into Sci-fi.

The three-minute extract you will make and where it would appear in the film:
The opening scene is the extract we are going to make.

This would appear at the start of the film and will include Natalie realising that her loved ones do not remember her. As a result of her old friend Moses being in the same situation, the explains to her what has happened.