2. Age Range Classification
The classification of age range for films is dependent on the context
within the film and how appropriate it is for different ages.
We needed to take into account the film classification rating,
according to the BBFC’s (British Board of Film Classification)
regulations to decide which would be appropriate.
We have based our audience classification choice from the BBFC
website where they explain the boundaries that fit into each category.
of ages.
They decide the age ratings by breaking it down by issues such as
discrimination, drugs, horror, the tone/mood created by the narrative,
dangerous behavior, nudity, sex, and violence.
3. ‘U’- stands for Universal. It is suitable for children the
ages of four and over.
A U age rating only allows ‘mild bad language’ as
stated on the BBFC website.
The mood/tone given from films affects children
because they may copy activity. Common themes
given off from these sort of films are loyalty, honesty
and friendship. They mostly end with a happy ending.
4. ‘PG’- stands for Parental Guidance. This means the film is
suitable for general viewing however some scenes may be
unsuitable for young children therefore it is at the parents risk
whether they want their child to view it.
Some examples of unsuitable behaviour may be-
Racism
Bullying
Bereavement.
5. ‘12A’ means that someone has to be 12, unless
accompanied by an adult, to see the film.
‘12’ is when, no matter if the audience is with an adult,
they must be 12 or older.
’12’ classified films may include strong language
depending on the manner in which it is used.
Discriminatory language is still unlikely to be considered
appropriate to this age group.
Violence and drug use can be featured but not to be in
detail.
6. A film rated ‘15’ means that nobody under the age of 15
can buy, rent or watch a film at a cinema.
A 15 rated film can contain:
Strong violence
Frequent strong language
Sexual nudity
Drug taking
Brief scenes of sexual violence
7. A film rated ’18’ is when no theme is prohibited, adults
are allowed to choose their own entertainment provided
that the content isn’t illegal or potentially harmful.
A film rated ’18’ can contain:
Very strong violence
Frequent strong language
Strong blood and gore
Discriminatory language and behaviour.
8. Researching thriller film
classifications:Seven- 1995
• Contains strong
bloody violence,
horror and threat. The Maze Runner- 2014
• Contains threat and
violence.
Inception- 2010
• Contains moderate
language
The Prestige-2006
• Contains moderate
violence and fatalities.
Taken-2008
• Strong Violence, torture.
9. The most common classification of age rating for thriller
films that I have researched is ’12’/’12A’. This tells me that
generally, thriller films are commonly targeted at the
audience age range of 12 and above.
After this research I then needed to research some sub-genre
specific films, ‘psychological thrillers’ to help with my
decision making to decide the correct audience for my
media product.
10. Sub-Genre Classification-
Psychological Thriller
Shutter Island-2010
• Contains strong language,
bloody injury and disturbing
images
The Butterfly Effect-
• Contains strong language
and violence.
I have researched into psychological thrillers and found that they
seemed to be mainly 15 age ratings.
11. My research into thrillers and psychological thrillers has
helped me to decide what my own thriller opening sequence
classification age range would be.
I have reached the conclusion that I will classify my product
as a 12 age rating. Even though my target audience during
my planning was 15-25 year olds I have decided to go for an
age rating of 12 because moderate violence is featured,
shown though the stabbing, but it was not brutal or bloody
because there are no shots of the knife actually stabbing the
two characters.
12. The audience questionnaire that we produced at an earlier date
has helped us to identify the key aspects that our audience
would want to appear in our media product.
We found that they’d like to see elements of mind games and
suspense in a psychological thriller; we kept to this by adding a
time shift and knife shots revealing little detail, provoking
questions and therefore building suspense.
Because it was only an opening sequence, myself and my group
members decided not to reveal who was the protagonist and
who was the antagonist as it also builds a tense atmosphere.
