The BBFC and Film Certificates:

We researched into this company and how they affect filmmaking through ratings because I assume we will be labelling our own films ...

The BBFC (British. Board. Of. Film Classification) are an organisation who regulate the British Film industry. They select what can and can't be shown in films, they are in charge of assigning an age certificate to all films in the UK. Every film in the UK on DVD and in cinema has to be classified by the BBFC and be placed into one of the age categories, otherwise it cannot be released.  

The age certificates in the UK are:

The sorts of topics that the BBFC take in to consideration and what the age restrictions refer to are scenes of:

• violence of all kinds
• sex and nudity 
• obscene language 
• self harm 
• criminal activity 
• dangerous behaviour; drugs, alcohol, cigarettes
• involving child actors
• strobe lighting

They also have to consider the context of the movie. They will look for things like whether the movie is animated, fantasy based or realistic. Whether it looks child friendly, as animation normally is, although it can include scenes of violence and get a lower age certificate as the BBFC believes that  the audiences won't be as affected as it's not real. It is also common that violence in these sorts of movies won't result in extreme horror and pain, it's likely comical. 

The BBFC will look at the way certain issues are handled. For example, if a film portrayed drinking and driving as a dangerous and illegal manner with severe consequences, then it may be given a lower film certificate. However, if they showed drunk driving to be fun and safe and accident free, it will probably get a higher certificate rating. 

Another example of what sort of thing the BBFC manage, when there are scenes of violence, are the questions like:

• 
  is the violence in the movie 'normalised'?
• is the violence self defence or spitefully provoked? 
• what type of injuries are caused, how offensive does the image look?
• does the violence look realistic?

A 12A or 12 rating is regarded as a film unsuitable for those under the age of 12. For a 12A , any children under 12 must be accompanied an adult who considers the movie appropriate for them. No one under the age of 12 can buy or rent video work rated 12 either. Films can be certificated a 12 for numerous reasons. For example; dangerous behavior (children are likely to copy), drugs, discrimination, language, sex references. 

15's are made suitable for those 15 and over. They differ from 12's due to the displayed behaviour, like drugs or sex, is more extreme than a 12 or 12A. A 15 could reference to self harm, suicide, homophobic or other discriminative language. The language can be very strong as well as graphic threat and horror. So, a 15 requires a more emotionally mature audience.

Films received a rating of 18 are only suitable for adults. Although, 18 year old's and above may find it very offensive because they can include; a breach in the criminal law, illegal drug use and the severe consequences of it (can often be harmful to viewers), sexual violence, rape or non consensual violence, and even more upsetting images.

R18 is a legally restricted category that consists of explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults.  R18 are only  supplied in licensed sex shops sold to adults over 18 years. These videos cannot be supplied by mail order.

For our opening sequence, I would award the film certificate of a 15. Although we have a thriller genre for our movie, there are defnietly scenes of violence and conventions that viewers under 15 may find upsetting. Especially what's implied and not shown (the smashing hammers into heads). Throughout the film there would be numerous scenes of violence and likely strong language, possibly drug use as it follows criminals habits. Awarding the sequence a 12 would be inappropriate and likely make the movie uncomfortable to watch for those under 15.

Shooting and editing dialogue sequence:

Shooting the dialogue sequence

When we shot our dialogue sequences, we assumed there would be a lot that would go wrong due to our little experience with the equipment, however I think our mini sequence was quite successful. We were given a quick briefing on what we had to do in the lesson and were also introduced to the microphone that would pick up the dialogue.

Then we got into a small group and went into a classroom with the equipment. I was lucky that I had my opening sequence group within the group that day so we could get used to working as a team. Danny and I began as the two actors in the scene and Sophie then joined later holding the mic and then acting. We made a simple sketch where I walked in, sat down, shared some dialogue with Danny and then Danny walked out and Sophie came in. Sienna was on the camera and we swapped in when we weren’t acting. We got all the footage we could and in a later lesson we had the editing workshop.

During the process, I remembered a bunch of the rules from previous workshops which I then utilised during this exercise. We made sure to be super careful with the equipment, remembering the ‘yours and mine’ rule. We also all contributed when using the camera on the tripod, that the tripod was evenly put up or down so the camera didn’t fall off.

On that day, we learnt that the microphone plugs into the back of the camera into one of the sockets and has a wind shield for outdoor filming but we used it anyway. Sienna remembered to bubble the camera so that it was level and we were told some tips when filming dialogue. For example, being at the same level as the people talking for a more professional looking shot, as well as multiple takes of the conversation from multiple varied angles whilst keeping the camera rolling. This is so when it comes to editing you have lots of options and a choice as to who gets more screen time and who doesn’t. We recalled the 180-degree rule and stayed within it so our shots made sense. Remembering all these skills taught from previous lessons helped hugely with the filming of these sequences and I’m sure has made us more familiar when using the cameras, getting intact with our mind-muscle-memory.

We only faced a few problems that workshop and they were all things that were easily fixable. At one point, we got confused about the 180-degree rule as we were trying to accomplish the over the shoulder shot but worried it was going to swap Danny and I from left to right. We struggled with the white balanced at the beginning because the room was a bit too dark.

I think if we were to have done it differently, I would’ve brought the microphone closer the actors because when we went to edit, the sound was a little too quiet for our liking. We could have focussed on the height of the camera, putting it more level with the actors next time because we had too much leg space and then also unnecessary headspace. For next time we shoot, we should bubble the camera and remember to get the exposure and white balance on the right levels.

 

 

Editing our Dialogue Sequence:

We got into the editing sweet a few days later and we found our sequences on the computers and were told to work in twos. I worked with Sienna as we shared the role of ‘editor’ for the lesson. I had previously missed an editing lesson which I was worried would be a setback, however, with some recaps and quick tutorials from Sienna, I quickly got the hang of it. We found our files with all the footage took previously and dragged out the best clips for our short scene we were about to create. We were then taught that the sound from each clip could overlap and sound tacky so we used a tool in the app that helped smooth out the transition.

The experience of editing our short dialogue sequences opened up my knowledge to the process from filming to editing and how you can use each shot to your advantage. I learnt a few tricks when editing. Like using the key ‘I’ to select what part of the shot you want to drag into the cutting area. Your then use a ‘razor tool’ to cut your scene. We also learnt that the amount of screen time you give each character translates into how important they are or who the scene is about.

A few mistakes were made including; not cutting a clip short enough which resulted in a delayed sound from the previous shot,  and our camera angle meant we had too much head room, however, that could be fixed with cropping the image. The lighting was a little too dark even though we did the best we could in the room. We followed the 180-degree rule which helped the editing process as it was clear where each actor was in comparison to the shot.

I think we did well for our first dialogue sequence, although, if I were to do it differently I would have made the microphone closer to the actors as some of the words got lost in the room.

When editing our actual sequences, I would make sure we have gathered as much footage as possible so we have a lot of options of where to cut and where not to in the editing room.  We will make sure the lighting (white balance, exposure) it perfect so we don’t have a problem where you can’t see our characters. We may vary between longer shots and quick cuts and even editing it so that when the main action is happening, like the man being beaten to death with the hammer, it’s on the girl’s reaction with the sound in the back. A shot like this will hopefully make our sequence look more professional and less tacky.

Here is our dialogue sequence we edited in a lesson:

Target audience

 

Today we looked at target audiences and the importance of it:

• One of the main things is to generate money, to sell it to select people 

• To deliver what the audience wants/expects

• Adhering to their expectations 

• How and who to market the film to

• What rules and conventions to follow, choices they make in casting, set, etc that will affect our audience

The audience are likely aware of the certain conventions they'll encounter when watching a film under an age certificate.

 

Our target audience:

1.  Gender: we agreed was predominantly male

2. Age: would be 18-19

3. The age certificate would likely be an 18 due to later violence

4. The woman in our sequence should attract a male gaze, hence the male target audience. However, that doesn't mean disregarding women completely out of our audience. Many women enjoy thrillers and action and are also attracted to women. The stereotype that men only like women and women like men would 1, be wrong and an uneducated assumption, and 2, would only limit our audience to only men. Choosing a target audience is mainly for marketing and distribution purposes and creating enough awareness in the area that is most likely, factually, going to be interested in our movie.

Roles: who is what?

On the day of our shoot we are expected to take on the individual roles that make film making possible. These consist of; 

Director= the one responsible for organizing the actions of the crew and instructing the actors on set. 

Camera operator= person operating the camera- incharge of most camera movement, knows all about the camera and how it works. 

Editor= in post production once all footage is shot, the editor puts together each scene or shot in the sequence and creates the overall spectacle. 

Producer= the producer is what we, as a group, will do together. Seeing all aspects of the shoot

Art of photography= they are incharge of the props, set, location, costume, makeup etc. Again, as a group we will be covering all these things. 

To decide our roles within the process of filming we had a short discussion on who would suit each role given our strengths and weaknesses. We decided that:

SIENNA = DIRECTOR

SASKIA = CAMERA OPERATOR

DANNY = EDITOR 

However, on the shoot day we may end up helping each other out with each role.

This media production is a something we as a group collarbate on and it requires a division of labour in order to work as a team. Our specialised skills in each role are necessary to getting the right shot, correct genre conventions, and desired tone of our opening sequence. 

I was given the role of camera operator because I'm a quick learner and feel confident in using the equipment as well as carefully and responsibly.I have an overall understanding of the vision my group hopes to bring to live and I think I know how to capture this on camera. I also drew up the storyboard for our group after gathering the pictures from Danny and Sienna so I know the order of shots (which will likely change) well.

To prepare for the shoot, i will need to revisit the camera workshop we did and all the notes I collected from it. This is so i'm familiar with the rules and regulations and don't forget where everything is! I will also need to become familiar with our shot list and storyboard so I know which shot is next, that should help us timing wise as well. 

This role is important because I have to look after the camera and get the correct shots wanted by my group. There is some pressure if it doesn't come across the way we want it to look
on camera but I think i have a good enough eye and instrict to improvise incase. 

Costume/ makeup

We've had a number of discussions on costumes within our group, however this is a justified plan of what we plan on our cast to wear:

For the girl at the beginning we plan to dress her in a silver dress I have, the sort of one you'd wear to a club. Our back up is a black dress incase. 

\

Hannah would have a lot of makeup on, leaning into the stereotype of a girl on a night out. We would put fake blood on her (from the people he's killed) and possibly on the dress. We have asked her if she will bring in some black or white shoes)

This is an email we sent her re the costume:

For Ted's costume our idea was a big jacket that stood out, either as a classic "badass" jacket that a villain would where, or to contrast, a jacket with a disney print on the back, or a pink fluffy colour- to give our character more of an appeal to an audience. 

These were some we found online:

We also asked Ted if he owned any cool jackets that could work well for the 'look' just t save money and time and getting the sizing right.

In terms of Raffies costume as well as the dead bodies we thought smart and all black would be most appropriate. 

Props

We need to find more props for our set in order for it to look like a club. So we are searching for items such as:

• 2 fake hammers
• 1 real hammer
• beer bottles + wine glasses
• rings

Here is how we have achieved this:

Danny bought 2 hammers online, and I'm going to provide the real hammer for closeups(so it looks realistic) 

We are going to collect empty beer bottles and wine glasses from homes and people who can provide them. 

The rings with either be ordered, or we will use the same one for each shot.

Something like this:

Shoot schedule

 

We made a shoot schedule in order to keep track of everything and be organised for the shoot.

Before our shooting day, on the 7th we are going to set up the club.