Age Certificate - BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-government organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 to monitor the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and in videos. The main purpose of these BBFC certificates and age ratings are to ensure the age-appropriateness of movies in accordance to the BBFC requirements. Using the ratings allows viewers to make safe, informed decisions about the content they choose to watch for themselves and their families.

Here is the current BBFC rating system:

U Universal - Suitable for all

A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over, although it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. U films should be set within positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

PG Parental Guidance 

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

12A - Suitable for 12 and over  

12 - 12 years and over (video only) 

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children under 12. No one younger that 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. 

15 - Suitable for 15 years and over

No on younger than 15 may see a 15 film in cinemas. The 15 films may contain strong language and dangerous behaviour. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual, educational context. 

18 - Suitable only for adults 

No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video work. Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Material could include detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use which may cause harm to public health or morals.  

After researching the different age certificates, I studied our film opening, taking into consideration the possible plot that we had in mind. I have come to the conclusion that our opening should be rated a 15 because although it would not contain any strong language, or sexual activity, there may be a strong threat of violence and horror - the violence between our protagonist the friend. The only reason i did not rate it an 18 is because there is no sexual content or illegal drug use. The 12A rating was too low as the bloody scenes could be troubling for younger children.  

Feedback - How did the ending make you feel?

For this question we asked the audience to express to us how the ending of our opening made them feel. Remembering that the larger the words indicate more people making the same comment, our word map shows that lots of people were left feeling curious at the end of out opening, which is great because it implies that, if they could, they would like to continue watching. Unexpectedly the majority of the audience felt sympathetic towards the protagonist and a few people also felt guilty. Below are more responses: 

Feedback - What did you understand about the narrative?

For this question we wanted the audience to share with us what they understood about the plot from watching the opening, this includes a short synopsis from what they gathered so far. To display the responses to this question we decided to make a word cloud from the key words in their synopsis', this way we have a clear visual of the overall response from the audience. When the words have larger lettering it indicates that multiple people have made the same comment, so from our results we can see that most people gathered she is trapped and that there is an element of mental health involved, The majority of the audience referred to the murder of a friend which was interesting as we did not specify who the person in the flashbacks was. The rest of the results are below:

Feedback - Any suggestions for improvements?

During the showcase the audience filled out a sheet with a few questions about 'Trapped' for them to answer as they watched it. Below is the overall feedback we received about improvements for our opening, we also paired the constructive criticism with the positive feedback to balance it out a bit more:

Feedback Sheets

Before the media showcase everyone in the audience was handed a feedback sheet for each of the media groups so that they could write down their thoughts on the projects. The sheet had the same 4 questions for all the groups:

1. What did you understand about the narrative?
2. Did the chosen genre fit its conventions?
3. How did the 'ending' make you feel?
4. Any suggestions for improvements, if we were to shot the whole thing again? 

We gathered a lot of valuable feedback from these sheets which we presented in various ways to make it easier to read and analyse. These are a few examples of the sheets after people filled them out: 

Feedback 4

Here is some feedback from Kira, Izabel and our media teacher Ms Foster. They admired the time-lapse, the audio and our actress Mehreen also got some compliments even though we are not marked for acting. We were also very pleased that our teacher picked up on our Macbeth reference from the bloody hands.  

Feedback 3

Lucy and Julia like the fact that it was very character driven, and they said the laughing made them feel uneasy...which was good!

Feedback 2

Jade enjoyed the imagery and the friendship presented between the friends. She also had an excellent suggestion to have flashbacks from various locations instead of the same one.   

Feedback After Showcase

After all the movie openings and music videos were finished we asked a few people from the audience about their thoughts of our project. Most of the feedback was fairly positive and the suggestions were also very useful.

This feedback is from Katie, Harriet and their star actor Ted. They touched on the audio throughout the clip as well as the blood on the hands which Ted realised was connected to 'Macbeth'!

Synopsis

We are going to show our final opening to the rest of the school on Monday. Before we play it we have to say a short brief about what our opening is about and how the plot would develop if it was to be made into a full film, this is what we are planning to say:

'Good afternoon, this is our opening Trapped. It is a psychological thriller about a girl that is in a mental institution. We chose the title 'Trapped' because it reflects her physical imprisonment within the asylum as well as her mental state as she suffers from flash backs. If it was to be made into a full length film it would follow how she mentally deteriorates after the death of her friend, this would also explain how she ended up in the asylum. Enjoy"