The document discusses several legal and ethical considerations for a short film project. It notes that as the film has a 15+ rating, swearing and violence must be limited, and torture or sex scenes are prohibited. It emphasizes following the guidelines of the British Board of Film Classification to help reach the intended target audience. It also addresses ensuring sensitive themes are handled appropriately, adding helplines, adhering to length and rights requirements for online uploads, and having a focus group review the film and script to avoid libel issues.

1. What? What isthe impactsonthe film? Legal impact How mightI resolve anyethical issues?
Certificate ratingforthe film In myfilmI won’tbe able to swearvery
oftenandI can’t showtoo much
violence asitisa 15+ film.Aswell as
that I couldn’tshowanytorture scenes
or sex scenesasthat couldonlybe for
18+ films.
The BritishBoard of FilmClassification isin
charge of the age certificate inthe UK.If youdo
not adhere towhat theysayfor that age rating
theycan increase the age ratingwhichwill
reduce the amountof people thatare able to
watch yourfilmandmay impactwhat age
rangesyou wantthe filmtoappeal to.
I will make sure thatI followall the guidelines
of the BBFC inorderto make sure thatas
manypeople are able towatch my shortfilm
for myintendedtargetaudience.
Contentconsiderations My filmmayhave some sensitivity
themesaboutabuse whichmaybe hard
for some viewertowatchif theyhave
had pastexperienceswithit.Thismeans
I needtofilmthisina way that meansit
will notoffendanyof themandwill
needtochoose the wordsfor my script
well aswell.
I may have to puthelplinesatthe endof the
filmsothat if anyone isaffectedbythe film
theywill sorthelpinorderforthemnot to have
a longterm impacton theirlivesbecause of the
film.
I will make sure thatI do notupsetanyone
withverygraphicor overdramatic scenes.I
will alsoputhelplinesinmyfilmaswell.
Online uploadconsiderations Length:Filmsneedtobe 40 minutesor
less.We prefermostfilmssitonthe
shorterendof thatspectrum—the
average filmwe feature is10 minutes.
The longeryourfilm(over15 minutes),
the tougherjudgeswe tendtobe.
Premiere Status:Nopremiere statusis
required,however,we give preference
to filmsthathaven’tyetpremiered
online.So,don’twaittosubmityour
film.
By followingthese guidelinesforthiswebsite
for shortfilmsitmeansa wide range of
audiencescanviewthe filmatnocost and will
followotherwebsite forshortfilmsguidelines
as well.
n/a

2. Rights:We require films tohave all
necessaryrightsandreleasessecured
for usto feature them.Yes,thisincludes
music.
Free to View:We onlyselectfilmsthat
are free foraudiences.
Slander/libel The law of defamationencompasses
bothlibel andslander.A libel isa
defamatorystatementinwritingor
some otherpermanentform e.g.
recordedwithinatelevisionprogramme.
A slanderisa defamatorystatement
where publicationisbywordof mouth.
There are some differencesinthe way
the lawtreats eachtype of publication.
If a claimantwhosuesfordefamationis
successful,he orshe islikelytoreceive
damages,inotherwordsmoney,which
providesbothvindicationandcompensationfor
the damage causedby the defamatory(and
untrue) statementspublishedabouthim/her.
The court may alsoimpose a final injunction
prohibitingthe defendantfromrepeatingthe
libel.
Make sure I have a focus groupof people
watch the filmbefore the release andget
people toreadthroughthe script to make
sure I will nothave anylibel.