Within all forms of media certification is needed so that all films are put into categories by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) This means that any person under that of the certification is unable to see the film at the cinema, or buy the film in a shop.
U; This means universal, the film is suitable for any age.
PG; This means Parental Guidance, this means that some scenes may be unsuitable for children to watch alone. So parental guidance is advised.
12A; This means that anyone under the age of 12 is able to watch the film but only with a parent.
12; This means that only those over the age of 12 are aloud to watch the film.
15; This means that only those over the age of 15 are aloud to watch the film.
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.**
The main areas of concern for BBFC are;
- Violence; As long as the violence is resolved quickly the certification will remain low, For example in 'Bambi' the mother is killed but it is shown in an understanding way that children will easily understand.
- Nudity; If the nudity is seen to be natural this will not effect the certification at all although if it is not the certification will go up.
- Sex; If the sex is real the certification straight away goes to 18R.
- Language; Depending on the context that the language is used and how frequently it is used will effect the certification.
- Drugs; Depending whether the drugs are just being talked about, shown, shown using them and the effects will change the certification straight away.
- Discrimination; Discrimination is not to be implied as good although it does happen, depending how this is shown will again effect the rating.
All areas that i have mentioned above are taken into consideration when giving a film certification, this is why sometimes the age is not shown on a film poster as it is still being confirmed and the slightest thing can change whether the certification is higher or lower. When planning and making our film we are going to have to be extremely careful as to the way we arise issues and that the language is monitored.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certification
**http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
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