The document discusses the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) system for rating films in the UK. It outlines the criteria for different rating categories from U to 18, including what levels of language, sex, violence and other content are permissible. The author then analyzes how their short film opening scene would likely be rated PG or 12A due to implied violence and hints at bullying, but that if expanded into a feature film dealing with teenage issues like sex, drugs and escalating violence, it would merit a 15 rating.

1. FILM CLASSIFICATION By Andrew
Roth

2. INTRODUCTION
 The BBFC (British board of Film censors) is a company funded
by the film industry and is responsible for the classification of
films within the U.K.
 It is responsible for making sure that specific content is
suitable for people within a specific age bracket.
 Issues and themes such as drugs, horror, language, nudity,
sex and violence are taken into account when classifying
films.
 It is important to note that occasionally a classification of a
film can dif fer from its rating in a cinema to that of its DVD or
Blu-Ray release.

3. CLASSIFICATION-U
 U stands for universal which essentially means that it is
suitable for a child over the age of four.
 There will be no kind of bad language, with ‘damn’ and ‘hell’
being very mild.
 There are no sexual actions, behaviour or language.
 There may be inclusion of some fight scenes or mild
emotional stress but these will be quickly resolved.
 Typically no reference to drugs.

4. CLASSIFICATION-PG
 PG stands for parental guidance and this means that a film is
suitable for general viewing but may contain scenes that
could be unsuitable for a younger audience.
 Mild bad language may occur.
 Sexual references are permitted in certain contexts.
 No detail of violence, mostly implied injuries and jump cuts
are acceptable.

5. CLASSIFICATION-12/12A
 12A only implies for the cinema and means ‘accompanied’.
Anyone over 12 however may go unaccompanied.
 Infrequent strong language is permitted.
 Sexual references may be used briefly and discreetly.
 Moderate violence is allowed but there should be no emphasis
on injuries or blood.
 Some psychological thrillers may be passed as 12 with mild
disturbing sequences.

6. CLASSIFICATION-15
 No one under the age of 15 is allowed to see the film.
 Strong violent, Frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual
activity, nudity, drug taking.
 There can be a strong use of violence though there should be
no emphasis on injury or pain and gore is minimal.
 Many horror/thriller films are classified 15 as there can be a
use of strong threat and violence.

7. CLASSIFICATION-18
 No one under the age of 18 is allowed to see the film.
 Very strong language, strong horror, sexual portrayals.
 Only the strongest horror films with an emphasis on gore are
classified at 18.
 Self harm and other strong issues which may af fect or
influence the viewer may be cut.

8. WITH THIS IN MIND….
 Even though we are not making a full -feature length
production, it is hard to classify something based on its
opening. If this were the case then our opening would
probably be classed as either PG or 12 because there is no
strong language, and the violence is only implied through a
jump cut.
 We consciously took the decision to imply the violence
because I think that in many cases, these scenes can be
considered more creepy if the viewer uses their imagination.
 The important theme of bullying is hinted at and this is the
key topic highlighted in our thriller.

9. IF IT WERE A FEATURE FILM….
 Were we to carry on with the film, it would be likely that we
would want make our thriller as authentic as possible and
because we are dealing with teenagers, themes such as sex and
drugs would probably be mildly portrayed.
 Strong language would also be likely to feature.
 The most important theme that we would definitely want to delve
deeper into would be the idea of bullying and the consequences
of the action. After all this is what led to the death of Ollie in the
opening.
 In terms of violence, it is likely the scenes would become
stronger, as we didn't ’t want the opening to be too violent, the
violence would gradually become stronger as Sean’s character
develops.

10. IN CONCLUSION
 Taking the previous slide into consideration, we decided that
the film would be classified 15.
 The main reason for this is that in order to address our target
audience, the age certification would have to be one which
allowed teenagers to watch the film because many of the
issues that arise would be very relevant to this age bracket
and this is why we feel are film is so ef fective because the
harsh reality of the narrative is so shocking.
 As previously mentioned, the violence would likely get
stronger as Sean becomes more erratic and in order to make
the film more realistic some blood would be shown.