BBFC and Film Certificates- Thursday's lesson notes

BBFC and Film Certificates 

BBFC stands for British Board Film Classification. 

They are regulatory boards- a company/organisation that is in charge of setting the rules that control a certain set of products in a specific industry. 

BBFC is the body that regulates the British film industry. 

What they do? Are in charge of setting the rules about what can and can't be shown in films. In charge of assigning the age certificates for every film- a film cannot be released in cinema or DVD without BBFC's age classification. 

Classification Guidelines:

Sorts of considerations they take: 

• Scenes including violence; 
• Scenes including sex and nudity; 
• Scenes including obscene language; 
• Scenes with discriminatory language; 
• Scenes of self-harm; 
• Scenes of criminal activity; 
• Scenes with dangerous behaviour; 
• Scenes of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes; 
• Scenes involving child actors; 
• Strobe lights. 

Also consider context- whether it's realistic or animated. Consider the way the issue is being handled- if a film is showed drugs to be used for free then film will have a much higher certificate. 

Depends on format of release- BBFC tends to be more strict when classifying films for DVD release. 

Process-

The production company sends a copy of film to BBFC to watch and decide on a certificate. Then they can release at cinema or on DVD. If BBFC doesn't assign a certificate the production isn't happy with, they can re-edit and send the film to have it re-assessed. Some audiences think BBFC got it wrong: Joker should've had an 18 certificate Task- How would 

I think BBFC would assign my film in the 15 age classification. The film is a thriller suggesting voyeuristic tendencies, it includes scenes of sex/nudity, scenes with obscene language and criminal activity. I would specifically classify it 15 because despite having quite a few 'adult' scenes it would be a sort of light thriller- not very hardcore.

Sound in Film- Tuesday's lesson notes

How sound impacts film

Diegetic Sound- sound which is part of the "film world". Can occur on or off screen.

Types of diegetic sound: 

• Dialogue 
• Music- from a source in the film- producing music, CD player, jukebox 
• Sound effects 
• Non-Diegetic Sound- Non-diegetic sound is sound that is not part of the "film world". This is used to create mood/atmosphere.

Types of non-diegetic sound: 

• Voice-over 
• Background music
• Layers of sound
• Ambient sound 
• Dialogue 
• Music 

Non diegetic (mood) 

Diegetic (ambient sound) 

Foley sound (sound effects) 

Voice over (be diegetic or non diegetic) 

Leitmotif- a recurrent theme throughout a musical composition, associated with a person, idea or situation. 

Theme Music- a subject is the material, recognisable melody.

Meeting with production group #6

This Friday's meeting we pitched in our idea for the opening sequence. I designed the shot-by-shot list and the storyboard and explained it. I took notes on the feedback given.

Feedback notes:

1) When explaining the shot by shot list, the teachers explained how they liked the beginning of the scene, it build up tension and made the audience question the man's intentions until the scene he reveals his photography camera. However the teachers thought it was too subtle which the group doesn't really mind. It is interesting how the beginning of the scene builds up tension, followed by a relief and once again creates tension at the end. 

2) Matt pointed out bird watching is more complex and requires more professional material than just a tripod and camera. This we will take into account and will require research of props needed in order for the sequence to be more realistic. 

3) He also suggested the main character's costume to be a humble one, not very outstanding. I agreed and explained how I pictured the main character to have a very George from Lovely Bones look. 

4) Finally we discussed regarding whether we should show the woman at the end or not. Matt explained he thought it would be best to remove that part as it gives too much away however the group disagreed. Despite giving too much away we were keen on somehow including her and show how the main character's attention shifts from birds to human- in order to show his voyeuristic tendencies. We decided to keep our options open for different endings and record them. Once we start editing we will choose the ending.

Initial storyboard draft

Meeting with production group #5

Before Friday's deadline we had a Teams meeting where we discussed the opening title sequence idea and the other member's suggestions to further improve the sequence. We also discussed the shot-by-shot list as well as possible endings.