Film Ratings

Learning Objective: To understand the purpose of film certification and to apply my understanding to my own thriller film.

Film Certification

Film Certification is a film rating system that is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content.

U: Universal, Suitable for all-

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

If a film is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.

'Rugrats run riot' is a purely good example of a U rating as it appeals to all audiences by being funny and having comedy content but mainly it appeals to children as it shows the life of 8 babies and their adventures around adults.

PG: Parental Guidance Recommended,-

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

Children of any age may watch this alone. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

 

An example of a PG rating would be 'Antz' as it shows mild language and menacing action. The mild language is used by adults ants to prove a point. For those sensitive to swearing, there will be more swear words than you might expect for a PG movie. The ants are seen as food to other insects. Also, they may be stepped on by people. However, the most menacing action occurs during a full scale war with a termite colony. The large termites eating the ants are pretty frightening images. The dialogue is often directed at adults. However, the story line seemed more in keeping with a children's story

12A, 12: Suitable for persons over the age of 12-

Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.

The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work.

An example of a 12 rated film is 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' as it contains a lot and ongoing moderate language used in a comedy fashion to attract an older audience to this teenager based film as it shows moderate violence that is not long going but also brief nudity and imitable behaviour which is seen but no through out the film.

15: Suitable for persons over the age 15-

No one younger than 15 are authorised watch a 15 rated film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a 15 rated video for example video tape.

'Pineapple Express' is good example of a 15 rated film as it contains mostly all the content of a 15 rated film by containg strong violence, mild drug use, frequent strong language, and portrays of sexual activity.

18: Suitable for persons over the age of 18-

No one younger than 18 are authorised to watch an 18 rated film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video for example DVD.

An example of a strong 18 rated film would be 'Crank' as it shows strong and menacing violence and murder from the start, drug use, strong language, racial content, discrimination and strong sex content.

R18: To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years-

The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.

Censored films of the 90s

There are many cases of film censorship in terms of cuts every year, whilst most are violent films such as Terminator 2 Judgement Day. The producers make uncut versions and full versions by cutting out disturbing shots from scenes and making to DVD discs of separate with different features.

British board of film Classification

The British board of film classification also known as BBFC is responsible for the film classification of with the United Kingdom, they also have the responsibility of rating videos, DVDs and video games under the recording act of 2010. Legal authorities have the power to rate films and show them in the cinema but almost always follow the advice of the BBFC.
All films and videos games rated by the BBFC are given a certificate along with details about the film or video game recting information about it for example sex, violence and drugs. If a certificate of a film or video game that shows a age rating of 15 for example only that person or somebody older can purchase the item.

The BBFC use symbols to identify the age certificate of the film towards the audience for example "U", this makes the audience aware of what age rating film they are watching and wish to purchase.

Genre

Genre is the type of movie category it belongs to and explains what type of movie it is for example the genre Action tells the audience that the film features violence and excitement.

Genres allow as escaping from life for example scarcity, exhaustion and alienation by watching films that interest us by their use of factors and themes by the use of fictional narratives, energetic presence, and intense moments.

Conventional: What you expect from the genre for example a action should contain props of guns or other weapons

Unconventional: What you would not expect from the genre for example a drama containing fantasy.

These are three examples of genres and what it would normally include-

Genre: Thriller

Location: Empty shadowy house

Characters: Good and Bad, victims, police

Camera movement: Panning shot, crane shot

Narrative: Stories whose central struggle pits an innocent hero against a lethal enemy who is out to kill him or her or stories whose central struggle is about catching a criminal

Lighting: Low-key

Sound: Gun shots diegetic

Props: Guns, Knifes

Editing: Montage

Genre: Romance

Location: City life for example New York and Paris

Characters: Boys and Girls

Camera movement: Panning shot, tracking, long shot, close up

Narrative: Stories whose central struggle is between two people who each want to win or keep the love of the other

Lighting: High-key

Sound: Soft non-diegetic music

Props: Flowers

Editing: Wipe shot

Genre: Action

Location: Jungle

Characters: Good and Bad, gangsters, police, innocent

Camera movement: tracking shot, reaction shot, crane shot

Narrative: Stories whose central struggle plays out mainly through a clash of physical forces

Lighting: Back Lighting

Sound: On-screened explosions

Props: Guns

Editing: Fade to black

List of genres and film examples:

• Drama- Dramas are hard emotional driven narratives, showing realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction for example teenage life and mid-life crisis. Normally dramas are not on comedy, or action. Drama is most likely the only genre which can have the most narratives for example also telling real stories. Seen below "Taxi Driver"

• Action- Action films are normally high-paced, dangerous physical stunts and chases, rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive hazards, and adventurous task to complete their own goals, heroes vs villains. Action films allow the audience to enjoy themselves which create escapism. Sub-genres may sci-fi, horror and thriller. Seen below "Die Hard".

• Gangster- Crime commonly known as gangster films are developed around the devious actions of criminals or mobsters, for example bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who do not follow the law, stealing and murdering their way through life to gain higher power. Criminal genre is also categorized as a thriller by the police trying to uncover the mysteries of the gangsters who create tension throughout the whole narrative. This is shown in the “Goodfellas” link below.

• Historical- Historical genres are mainly involved between drama, war, and true stories. Epics often use adventure as a sub-genre they also take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, create a new narrative to the film. In this link below it shows the “Glorious 39”.

• Romance- A romance is a genre that confines with drama and comedy. Most of these narratives are love stories, or affairs of the heart that of passion, emotion, and the romantic, affectionate involvement of the main characters. This is shown in the romance below “Kontroll”.

• Thriller- Thrillers are a genre which involves itself with others for example action, crime, sci-fi, horror, and adventure; thrillers can almost include itself in any given genre. Thrillers offer suspense and tension to create intense excitement towards the audience. In the link below “Enemy of the State" is a clear example of a thriller. 

• Comedy- Comedies are designed to create humour, amuse and provoke laughter by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. Comedy can involve itself with other genres by creating "serious humour" in the worst and dangerous situations. The link below shows "Rush Hour".

• Science fiction- Sci-fi are visionary and imaginative which narrative completes with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary. They are sometimes involved with fantasy and action/adventure genre. This is shown in the link below “Blade runner”.

• Horror- Horror films based to frighten/scare and to uncover our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking narrative. Horror films feature a wide range of styles. They are often combined with sci-fi when a mutated monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. There are many sub-genres of horror slasher and thriller. In the link below it shows "The day after tomorrow ".



Story Board

A story board is a visual document that explains what is going to happen in my production.

A storyboard explains the visuals, the sounds, the iconography, props, actors, narrative, editing, and shots of the film production which is to be created.

It is required as it allows film directors to plan put exactly what is happening in their scene towards their audience and for the camera man to understand what shots are needed to capture.

Every storyboard needs to be detailed in order for it to make sense. As well as a visual element, it also needs to have written dialogue.

For example here is a storyboard of a Star Trek episode:

In my production the director Jordan Duberry created a storyboard for are team to follow and especially for me to edit as I looked over his storyboard over night, he told me to fill in any spaces he has left out as he gave me some responsibility towards the production by how it should be planned out as being the camera man the shots I take are very important to tell the right narrative of the opening to the audience.

Below is the new updated storyboard which I finished editing in my free time for production. I cutted out some frames from the old storyboard and changed some frames narratives and camera shot ect to fit the narrative and make it easier as somer of the directors ideas would have taken up time and been a waste as I felt the audience did not need to see this for example Jona Daja going up and down stairs frequently as the audience already know what is going on and does not need to see the full narrative.



This is my final storyboard for my film production from my group.

Editing

In this task I will explain each editing technique also show Point, Evidence, Explain and Relate on how one editing technique was used in these films which are ‘Adulthood’ and 'Slum Dog Millionaire’.

Objective: to be able to show an understanding of how editing is used to create meaning.

Reaction shot- Any shot (often used as a cutaway) in which a subject reacts to a pervious,

any shot, usually a cutaway, in which a participant reacts to action which has just occurred. For example in "The Birds" in the last minutes of the scene we see reactions shots of the students and teachers being attacked by birds as we see them scream and their facial expressions change to being scared traumatized.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVDT4bWPypk

Invisible: Editing/continuity editing- The vast majority of narrative films edited in this way where the editing is so frequent that its not noticed. Many narrative films are now edited in this way. The cuts are intended to be bland but for special dramatic shots. It supports but doesn’t control the narrative. The technique makes the audience feel that edits are always needed to show realism within a story and to show the on-going events easily to build climax. This is shown in "Scarface" in the Frank Lopez scene as we see the constant editing we start to get use to the editing as it seems normal to our eyes while the scene builds up a climax.

Montage- Is the speed of editing, when shots are quickly juxtaposed together to create excitement within the scene. Montage uses a juxtaposition of shots which show movement, cutting rhythm and metaphor. Montage editing is nothing like invisible editing as it uses many cinematography techniques for example of close- ups, invisible editing, dissolves, superimposition, fades and jump cuts. In 'Psycho' the scene shows a mixture of shots including points of views, close ups, and reaction shots as the woman is attacked in the famous shower scene as the shot shows more than 20 edits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4

Slow editing- Is when clips are put together at a slower pace and this is to create suspense. This is shown in "Wanted" in the last full action scene as we see the inside of the factory blow up and also see a character running which is all done in slow motion so that the audience can see clearly what is going on as the action takes place and the detail of the explotions.



Fast editing-  is a film editing technique which refers to several consecutive shots of a brief duration. It can be used to convey a lot of information very quickly, or to imply either energy or chaos. For example in 'The Fast And The Furious' through out the scene the race is shown in fast editing making the race look epic towards the audience and with mixtures of point of views shown it makes the audience feel as if they are the ones driving which creates suspense.

Fade to black- When one shot goes/moves into another the audience is shown a black filter in between. This is shown in the film 'Doom' as we see the fade to black from the start of the zoom in from the characters eye, this stating to the audience that time has passed by for a while and the character has awaken. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKLUtrXsXhU 

Wipe cut- This is when one shot slides into another scene suggesting that the scene has entered a new scene or narrative. It appears to change image by wiping normally crossing the screen from left or right, normally as a line or a different pattern will cross across the shot.

Dissolve- When one shot disintegrates into another this shot is normally shown in music videos aswell as films ending normally used to end narratives.

Linking shots- Is where a number of shots are linked to another scene, which has significance in telling narratives and story plots towards the selected audience.

Timing shots- In the editing stage some shots are either slower or quicker to add emotional impact or to suspense this editing shot is normally used in romance genres as it aims to show facial experissions with body language. This shot is used in '300' when a fast paced war seems fast but suddenly turns slow as we see the pain and suffering of the enemies who are pounced upon, as the audience hear them scream and cry out in pain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTXlWYdodnc&feature=related 

180 rule- An Image which is a hypothetical line drawn between two or more actors. The camera must not shot on the other side of the line and this is because it can confuse the audience and also the shooting will not be consistent. For example in the film "Se7en" we see the 180 rule established as we see a long shot between the two men having a conversation, the audience understand the positioning between the two and also know which sides they are on once they are having a conversation.

Shot reverse shot- This is mostly used in films where a conversation is taking place and it is when one shot quickly follows another. This is also shown in the "Se7en" link above when we see a long shot of the two characters switch to close ups of them speaking.



Kuleshov effect- Is when two shots equal a meaning. For example imagine a shot of a man lying on the ground holding his stomach. Next to this is another shot of another man holding a gun. Neither of these two shots suggests that a murder has occurred. However the third meaning (kuleshov effect) means that a number has occurred. As shown in 'Reefer Madness' it shows a woman going to court case, while then it switches to a ganster scene and court house; while revolving around one narrative plot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfCtV4guvM&feature=fvst

Jump cut- A drastic camera movement that is noticeable to the eye, this is sometimes used to start or end action in a scene. For example in the French film 'Breathless' we see many jump cuts from the start as we see the two people in the car and their surroundings. As the male is speaking to the woman we see the shot stay the same but jumping as we notice different backgrounds, the narrative stays the same but it makes the audience feel that time is going by while he is talking to the woman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nonxxwfedIY



Graphic match- Is when the shape from one shot matches the shape of the next. For example a woman screaming with her mouth pen then zooming in. This shot is also shown in the 'Psycho' film as the womans attack has ended the shot slowly zooms in the the bath dark black drain then zooms out from her pale cold eye showing her body laying down on the floor, this suggesting that the film has enterd a new narrative plot and scene towards the audience.

Adulthood:,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFpVlf59flQ&feature=related

P: Wipe Shot

E: This editing technique is shown during a discussion between people is switched as we see the shot move to the right as we then see car entering the scene from the left.

E: The discussion takes place between three men in the first shot then the shot slides to the right as it enters a new shot from the left making the audience feel as if something else will take place due to a blacked out car arriving in the new scene.

R: This makes the scene stand out as a thriller as the dark car is mysterious and also from wiping to another shot makes it look like the mysterious car is approaching the scene which creates tension and suspense.



Slum Dog Millionaire:,



http://www.videolinks4u.net/video/videos/42854/

P: Slow Editing

E: This is shown while the violence is taking place as the children stop running briefly when they see a blue character.



E: The slow editing shows the emotions of the children as they see the blue character that resembles the Hindu God ‘Ram’ as this God represents peace and love in Hindu religion.

R: This makes the scene stand still as it shows a cinematic effect creating drama as the children have seen violence as they stop and stare as they see the blue creator who represents a God it makes the scene look like it is crying out for peace and love.

Smart shooting

Objective: to identify shots to create a successful thriller film.

Task 1: I had to consider and create bullets points of all conventions I can think of a thriller film.

• Low-key lighting
• Establishing shot
• Master shot
• Over-head shot
• Crane shot
• Panning
• Track shot
• Police investigation narrative
• Hero and villain & good and bad narrative
• Fast editing
• Sharp intense non-diegetic sounds (Music)
• Location Haunted House
• Mise en scene of guns, zombies, police cars
• Costume of Police uniform, black outfit
• Colours black and red
• Facial expressions serious, scared, offensives
• Body language tense, shocked, shacking- scared, surprised
• Props- Guns, Knifes, ect
• Facial Expressions- serious, offensive, scared and shocked
• Body Langauge- tense, scared, shocked, suprised
• Narrative- Police investigations, ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge and kidnapping
• Sub-genre- mystery, crime and psycholigical

In this task I will analyse ‘Halloween: The Resurrection’ clip and say what conventions of a thriller film are in within the movie for example the camera movement.

• Low key lighting
• Tracking shot
• Point of view shots
• Close up shots
• Reaction shot
• Four shot mix up
• Extreme closes up- makes the audience feel that a new plot is building up this creating anxiety.
• The camera behind the characters gives off the impression that they are being watched by somebody else.
• Body language: still, shacking-scared
• Non- diegetic music: sounds sharp and intense which builds up as the nurses approach the ‘door’ making the scene's 'door' look as if what ever is behind it is important.
• Non-diegetic music melody then changes into fast paced.
• Non-diegetic sound of a rattle snake which implies danger is to come
• Parallel sounds of movement
• Voice over
• Straight cuts
• Slow editing
• Fast editing
• Kuslov effect
• Location, mental house, forest flash back, and roof top
• Props knifes, computers, and tablets
• Normal event contrasted as it builds up tension of what is next is to come
• Flash backs- Greyscale, main character looks different implying that the flash back was a couple of years ago.
• Costume – police uniform, nurse uniform, hospital patient outfit, and villian mask
• Narrative- Villian wishes for revenge