Certificate Research
Every film must have an age certificate or rating to make sure that the film is only viewed by a certain target audience and that a no one below that age restriction should not be able to view it. This stops younger audience members from seeing or hearing explicit language or anything that may offend them. The certificate rating of a film can be change based on the content within a film, and certain genres usually tend to aim towards a certain age certificate because that is the target audience most interested in the film. For example, horror films generally have an age rating of 15 or 18 whereas most animated are Universal and Parental Guidance.
Here in the UK, we have the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) whereas, in the US, they have the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) film rating system. Americas MPAA ratings compared to the British BBFC have slight variations in how the films are rated but both aim to allow a certain audience from viewing the film. For example, the US have PG-13 (Parental Guidance for children under 13 years) whereas, in the UK, we have only PG (Parental Guidance) and 12/12A. For this blog/post, we will be talking about the British BBFC age certificate ratings.
Universal - U
A universal rated film is allowed to be viewed by everyone from ages four and above. In U rated films, there is no use of derogatory terms, violence, drugs and nudity as these can easily upset a very young audience. These films usually tend to be animated kids films and are very positive throughout.
Parental Guidance - PG
Parental Guidance films are similar to Universal certified films, however, they may contain very mild violence or bad language. Apart from these, everything else is the same - no references to drugs discrimination, nudity or sex. PG films are still commonly animated kids films however we are starting to more action, adventure, family and drama films that are rated PG such as 'The Jungle Book' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'.
Suitable for 12 years and older - 12A/12
12 and 12A films usually have a large target audience making it a suitable for a film production company to aim towards. Even though it has a large audience, the directors of films have to be careful with what they include in the film.
Films that are rated 12 or 12A may contain brief scenes of drugs, sex and nudity, however, it must not be shown extensively throughout otherwise it may be moved up to a higher age rating. 12/12A certified films can contain violence but they cannot be emphasised to make the scenes look more gory. Some strong languages may also be allowed in the film but only under certain context and the way it is used. If it is used repeatedly towards a person or group of people to discriminate them, then it will be disallowed but if it is occasionally used to exaggerate a point.
Suitable for 15 years and older - 15
In 15 certified film, the director has a balance between target audiences and their freedom to create what they wish. For U, PG and 12 films, the target audience may be large however they may be limited to what they can put into the film whereas for an 18 rated film, they have a restricted target audience but have more freedom of what they can put into the film.
A 15 can contain a lot more use of strong language, nudity, sex drugs and violence, however, there are still limits to this. Strong language is allowed depending on the manner it's us in. All nude scenes are allowed only in a non-sexual context, however, any sexual nudity may be permitted but only if it's brief and not revealing too much detail. The use of drugs in a film is also allowed but the process obtaining and promoting drugs is disallowed.
Suitable for only adults - 18
An 18 certified film is sure to show detail in violent scenes, excessive use of drugs and language. An 18 will also contain sexually explicit material however too much may cause the film to be moved up to a higher age rating of R18. I will not be analysing the R18 category however it is a special category that can only be shown in specially licensed cinemas because the film contains excessive use of explicit work.
Age Rating for Our Film
For our film, we'll most likely be creating a science-fiction, thriller or adventure film so we are hoping for a certificate rating of 12A/12. The will allow our film to reach out to a wider target audience as our film genre usually, has a target audience of 12 - mid 20's. Our film genre may contain a bit of violence in action scenes but we'll have to be careful no to include too many shots that may upset the younger range of our target audience.
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