Considering Age Demographic and Audience

At this point in our project, we have decided that we our opening sequence will be rated a 12A or 15, because there are adult themes (seduction, murder, smoking, gangster violence), but nothing too violent or explicit that it would be rated an 18. I have researched the BBFC website so that I can be familiar with the British classifications of film rating standards, ensuring that the rating we choose for our film is accurate.


BBFC 12A

Audience:
12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the film unaccompanied. The 'A' stands for 'accompanied' or 'advisory', as children younger than 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult, and is used for cinemas only.

Language:
Non-aggressive and infrequent strong language may be used (such as f****), for example in puns. There may be moderate language such a b*tch and tw*t. No discriminatory language.

Sex and nudity:
There may be nudity if it is brief and infrequent, and sex can be briefly or discreetly portrayed. Comedic moderate sex references or innuendos are acceptable, but no crude sexual references.

Violence:
Moderate violence is allowed, but should not dwell on detail. No emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justifiable by context. Action sequences and weapons may be present, and there may be long fight scenes. Weapons which might be easily accessible to 12 year olds should not be glamourised. Sexual violence, such as scenes of rape or assault, may only be implied or briefly and discreetly, but must have strong contextual justification.

Dangerous behaviour:
Drug use should not be glamourised or encouraged. Dangerous behaviour such as suicide or self harm should not dwell on detail or be presented as painless. No discriminatory behaviour.

BBFC 15

Audience:
Not suitable for children under 15 years of age. 15 rated DVDs can not be purchased or seen in the cinema by them.

Language:
No limit of use of strong language. Aggressive or continued use of strongest terms (such as c***) are not acceptable. Discriminatory, homophobic or racist language may be used, exploring related themes. Must not endorse this language or behaviour.

Sex and nudity:
Sexual activity can be portrayed without strong or graphic detail. No constraints on nudity in non-sexual or educational context, but in sexual content there should be no strong detail. Strong references to sex, but nothing too crude.

Violence:
Violence may be strong, but should not dwell on injury and pain details and nothing too gory. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence, but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discrete and have a strong contextual justification. Easily accessible weapons may not be glamourised.

Dangerous behaviour:
Drug taking may be shown, but their misuse must not be promoted or encouraged. Unlikely to accept the misuse of easily accessible drugs such as solvents. Dangerous behaviour such as suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied.


Analysis:
After this research of BBFC ratings, I think that our opening sequence is most suitable for a 12A audience. This is due to the quick flash of blood in our opening sequence which is not emphasised, and that no gore or violence is shown. The gun prop that we will be using is an acceptable weapon for films of this rating, as it is not accessible to 12 year olds. There is an assault scene where the femme fatale is stalked and pushed against a wall, but its detail is not dwelled on. However there will be lots of footage of cigarette smoking as it is conventional for film noirs, which could be interpreted as the promotion of drug use, as BBFC did not specify which types of drugs are allowed/restricted. BBFC did not state which age rating allows mature psychological themes, such as the stalking of the femme fatale by the anti-hero. I will research this further.

**Edit: On 15th January 2014, BBFC announced that they will be reconsidering the age ratings of films due and their psychological impact on their audience. These ratings are yet to be revealed.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-bbfc-has-announced-new-film-classifications-for-teens-but-can-the-ratings-war-be-won-9062688.html