1. Audience research<br />* The BBFC’s guidelines outline the criteria used to rate films and DVDs in the UK. They are updated every four years and take into account changing views about issues in films such as violence, sex, language and drugs. They also bear in mind the law, expert opinion and research into media consumption. <br />* The BBFC’s new Guidelines are based on the views of over eight thousand members of the public, including many teenagers. For the first time the BBFC has canvassed opinion from both adults and young people with members of public as young as 16 asked their views of film and DVD ratings.<br />* Nudity - full-frontal nudity, sometimes in a sexual context (but avoiding close-up detail) in those rated 15. and extensive full-frontal nudity in a sexual context (as long as there is no undue focus on the genitals) in those rated 18.<br />* Sex - Sexual activity may be shown, but without intimate physical detail in those classified 15, when casual sex scenes will be brief, and sex will mainly illustrate developing relationships. Scenes of simulated sex are permitted in 18-rated films, but these may be limited because of length or strength; images of real sex must be brief and justified by context.<br />* Violence - In those classified 15, the BBFC says that: If the violence itself is the primary source of entertainment, detail should be kept to a minimum and be balanced by other elements of storytelling such as character or plot. In the case of those classified 18, it says that: “Detailed focus on violent acts may be unacceptable is it promotes violence or the use of illegal weapons. Sexual violence may be implied and sometimes shown, as long as the scenes do not offer sexual thrills.<br />* Horror - Occasional gory moments and some grotesque images are permitted and may be more frequent or detailed in those rated 15. In films classified as 18, horrific themes, incidents and images are acceptable, as long as they do not breach standards on violence, sexual violence or sex.<br />* Drugs - Drug use may be shown without detail in films classified as 15 and in detail but with no clear instruction on use in those classified 18. 15-rated films cannot include images that glamorize, promote or encourage illegal drug use, while in the case of 18-rated films the film as a whole must not promote or advocate the use of hard drugs.<br />* Bad language - 15-rated films may contain sexual swear words but very coarse or aggressive language will only be used occasionally. And films rated 18 have no limitations on the strength and frequency of swear words or the explicitness of sexual references.<br />The BBFC categories of swear words:<br />Very mild: damn, hell, God, sod<br />Mild: bloody, bastard, piss, pissed, shit, son-of-a-bitch, bugger, bollocks, screw, crap, arse, shag, slag, slut, whote, arsehole, tosser, Jesus, Christ<br />Moderate: wanker, prick, bitch<br />Strong: fuck<br />Coarse: stronger sexual swearwords<br />We have come to a decision that our film should receive the certificate 15. We came to this decision as we feel the subject of our film is rather a taboo topic as we have based our story around true events of mothers actually murdering their children. The violence will be kept to minimum however still rather shocking so the horror of the horror of the subject is raised. There will also be a large focus on the plot and character of the story rather than portraying the violence clearly as we have decided to look more into the psychological aspect of things. The language will be kept to a moderate level and there may be a usage of images that are quite unpleasant but not grotesque, as this will heighten the awareness of just how horrible these events that occur are.<br />We feel that by doing this our film will appeal to our target audience as horror fans tend to enjoy taboo subjects being brought forward and displayed in this way. Not only that but due to the fact of our subject being a real life issue it gives our film that certain edge to it. 18 year old tends to be interested in blood and gore unlike 15 year olds who enjoy suspense and shocking things, which is another reason as to why our film fits the target audience perfectly.<br />