The BBFC Laws

I have looked into what I can and can’t include in my trailer as anything which could cause offense cannot be shown/must be given a high classification. Although I am only showing short snippets of the film itself, it still needs to be given a classification so that the audience watching the trailer are aware of what age group the film is suitable for.

The Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964

   A film trailer could be seen as obscene if it includes content which could have a negative impact on a majority of the audience viewing it, causing them to be influenced by it. However if it is argued that the text is for the good of the public on the basis that it is in the interests of science, art, literature or learning or other topics of concern then no offense has been committed.

The Protection of Children Act 1978

    It is illegal to create, distribute, show or process ‘indecent’ photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child under the age of 18 years old.  

The Public Order Act 1986

     It is illegal to distribute or play to the public a recording of images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or insulting if the intention is to stir up racial hatred or hatred on the justification of sexual orientation.  Images or sounds which are included to create religious hatred are banned.

Specific Classifications are given to films so that the content being shown is suitable for the age group/s viewing it, if classifications weren’t given then audiences could be offended and upset by the material.  

       

       12/12A rating (The same criteria are used to classify both 12 and 12A certificates): A 12/12A film should be suitable, in general for audiences aged 12 and over. 

       Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be recognised by the work as a whole. Unless it is clearly frowned upon, aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable. 

        If any misuse of drugs is shown it must be occasional and should not be glamorised or give any details on how to use drugs.

        Moderate physical and psychological threat is allowed, however disturbing sequences cannot be regular or constant.

         Any behaviour which is considered dangerous such as hanging, suicide and self harming should not linger on detail which could potentially be imitated, or appear painless or harmless. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.  

        Moderate language is allowed. If strong language such as ‘fuck’ is used it must be only occasional.  

         If nudity is shown it has to be concise and discreet.

         Sexual activity may be concisely and discreetly depicted. Any sex references which are used should not exceed which is considered as suitable for young teenagers. Constant references which are considered to be crude are unlikely to be allowed.  

           Mature themes are allowed, but their management must be suitable for young teenagers.

            If moderate violence is used it should not linger on detail. Injuries or blood should not be emphasised, however occasional gory scenes may be allowed if justified by the context.  Sexual violence may only be indicated or briefly and discreetly implied, and must have a strong contextual justification.  

       

        15 rating: A 15 rated film should be suitable only for audiences aged 15 and over.

    The work as a whole must not support discriminatory language or behaviour.

    The film as a whole must not support or encourage drug misuse; however drug taking may be shown.   

      It is unlikely to be acceptable to show the misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances such as aerosols or solvents. 

      Strong threat and menace are allowed providing that they are not brutal or sexualised.  

       Dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not linger on detail which could be imitated. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.  

        Strong language such as ‘fuck’ can be used frequently. Stronger language such as use of the word ‘cunt’ may be allowed providing it can be justified by the context.  Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.  

        Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context providing that no strong details are shown. There are no restrictions on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

        Sexual activity may be implied without strong detail. Strong verbal references to sexual behaviour are allowed, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose main purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

        There are no themes which are banned, provided that the handling of it is appropriate for 15 year olds.

         Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong cruel or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.

          Detailed verbal references to sexual violence are allowed but any depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and have strong contextual validation.

           18 rating: An 18 rated film should be suitable only for adults aged 18 and over.

      no one under this age should be allowed to purchase or view any material with

      this rating.

            Following the findings of the BBFC’s public consultations The Human Rights Act 1998, at 18 the BBFCs guideline concerns will not normally overrule the idea that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Any exceptions are likely to be in areas such as:

             Where the content of the text violates the criminal law, or has been created by the assignment of a criminal offense.  

              Where the material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. For example, any detailed depiction of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This might include depictions of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example support sexual assault.

         Images of sexual activity which are more overt and cannot be justified by context.  Image such as these might be more appropriate for R18 works and in ‘sex’ works’.

As my film trailer is a crime comedy I don’t think that it needs a high rating because the content is relatively light hearted. I would probably classify my film as a 12 or 15 as bad language is used, but not regularly through out the film. Violence is also shown but it’s not gory or in detail, for example one of the characters has a fight with another.

i am going to put my film trailer within the 12 certificate because:

• The trailer doesn't show any scenes which use discriminatory language and the 12 certificate does state that texts may use it if it is clearly frowned upon. 
• No drug use is shown and drugs aren't referenced during any of the trailer. 
• Physical threat is included as one of the characters is shown aiming a gun however this is only shown a couple of times.
• The weapon which is used isn't glamourised as it's presented as a threat to a character. 
• The trailer is advertising a film which is relatively light hearted as it's both a comedy and an action film. So some of the footage which shows characters in rather dangerous situations (such as the car chase) is mocked (as they run out of petrol), making any violence included less intense and more appropriate for a younger age group. 

Analysis of a film trailer

I did an analysis of ‘The Other Guys’ film trailer and this is what I found out:

-         The duration is 2 minutes 6 seconds including titles

-         It’s extremely fast paced with each scene lasting around 1 second and if dialogue is being shown it lasts a little bit longer at around 2 or 3 seconds.

-         It’s not in chronological order

-         The titles which are shown are ‘This Year’, ‘Columbia Pictures Presents’, ‘The Other Guys’

-         The voice over used says ‘In the toughest city in the world, nobody fights crime like these guys’, ‘and then there’s the other guys’, ‘The Other Guys’.  

-         Music: Music is consistent throughout accept in a few parts where it stops for dialogue and then continues or the music becomes lower in volume so that the audience can hear what the characters are saying. Different music is used for the different sections of the trailer, for example during one scene the music is quite jazzy and hysterical with trumpets playing, the beat then changes, the trumpets stop and drums beginning playing (more like rap music).  

Setting: The whole film is set in New York City, however there are a variety of settings, both exterior and interior used throughout the trailer.

Setting: In this scene the characters are both in an office due to the cabinets, paperwork, desks and there are boards hung up on the walls.

Mise-en-scene: Costume- The character on the right is wearing a leather jacket, a dark coloured t-shirt and a chain with a police badge. This implies that the character has a job within the police force; also that he’s not really as dedicated to his job as the character on the left.  The character on the left is wearing a tie with a white collared shirt, brown trousers, a grey blazer and glasses. This suggests that he takes pride in his job.  

The action sequences such as the car crashing into the bus gives the audience an indication to what genre it is.  

In the scene before the characters are discussing whether to go on a dangerous job, one the characters refuses. In the next scene his friend holds a gun to his head to try and make him, this is quite humorous.

How this affects my film trailer:

•        My trailer is going to be a lot like this one, with the whole trailer lasting around 1 minute. It’s going to be very fast paced and not shown in chronological order.
• The voiceover is also going to be similar with a man speaking over the top of some scenes, mostly when text is shown to emphasise the genre and keep the audience more engaged. 
•  Most of the music is going to sound quite comical with small parts of action fast paced music to provide more variety and still provide the audience with the indication that this is not just a comedy but also has some action.
• I’m also going to use more than one setting as this film does, for example I've used the interior of a house but there are also scenes which are shot on the moors. 

A History of Film Trailers

Dates	What the trailers were like
1950s	Duration: Trailers in this decade were extremely long They revealed almost the whole plot to the audience The words which came up on the screen attempted to shock and entice the audience to make them want to go and see the film, these included words such as: terrifying! Close your eyes! Never before seen!
1960s	They still used bold words which come up on the screen, accept they concentrated on other factors such as: Emphasising the importance of the famous actors names Using mostly narration to give a summary of the plot Sometimes they showed the ending of the movie so that the shock of what happens will entice the audience to want to see what happened before hand to discover how the characters ended up in the situation.
1970s	Duration: They were still very long, but they had been cut down They had also reduced the amount of the plot which was shown but spoilers were still revealed The scenes were often out of order
1980s	The editing pace was much faster Not a lot of the story was revealed through the trailer No spoilers were included so that the ending was mysterious and shocking Started to include catchy- taglines
1991 onwards	Usually the whole plot is kept a secret and there is a series of random clips rapidly edited together with popular rock/pop music overlaid.    The trailers look more exhilarating than the film itself as all the best parts in the film are shown to encourage people to go and see it

From researching the history of film trailers I have learnt that as they have become more popular over the years they've had to change as the audience expectations changed. The aspects which have changed are: 

• how much of the plot is revealed- Years ago when they first started they almost revealed everything leaving the audience with little to anticipate, where as now they hardly give any away to leave the audience dazzled so that in their confusion they will want to see more. 
• The duration- they used to be a relatively long but now they use a faster pace of editing. 
• The names of actors are still included as if they're well established this will encourage audiences to go and see the film.  

This information will assist me in improving my trailer as I'm now aware of what modern audiences expect and enjoy. For example I know that I have to include a fast pace of editing, the scenes have to be out of order otherwise it will just look like a snippet from the film and I can't reveal much of the plot because it won't encourage audiences to want to see more of it. 

Textual Analysis of a film website

Both of the main characters are displayed on the homepage, they remain stationary whilst the background smoke is animated and a light flickers over the character on the left.  

  What’s included on the website: 

                        About The Film: There are 3 other buttons which appear underneath this one.  Story: This page displays a picture of the two main characters with information underneath giving the audience a general overview of what the film is about. Cast: This page displays pictures of all of the characters in the form of a slideshow with classic quotes which they say through the film. Crew: This page shows a picture of the of 3 of the characters and writing displayed underneath it revealing information such as ‘Directed By:’, ‘Written By:’, ‘Produced By:’ and ‘Executive Producers:’

Video: When this button is clicked on a pop-up of the trailer appears on the screen.  

Photos: There’s a slideshow of shots which are used in the film.

Downloads: On this page there are 3 different items which can be downloaded, these are: Wallpapers, Twitter Skins and IM Icons in which you can pick which size image you download.  

Cadet Academy: Included on this page are 3 games, which are ‘The Line-Up’ in which you have too study a sketch then study the suspects and match them together. Another one is ‘Crime Scene’ in which you have to identify the differences between 2 identical crime scenes. Finally the last playable game is a personality test.

How this applies to my film:

      As this home page has a picture in the background of the main characters I am also going to use a picture including my main characters. I am going to include some of the buttons which they’ve included on their site and apply them to my film. I am going to include buttons named: About the Film, Story, Cast, Crew, Video and Photos.

Film Poster Analysis

  



How this affects my film poster:

     This is the same sort of genre as I am doing myself so it’s very relevant to my film poster. I am going to include all of the aspects of this film poster but for my own film. Both of the characters are going to be displayed on the poster in their outfits, also pulling similar expressions and holding a gun.  The names of the actors, the title of the film and the release date will be shown; however I haven’t decided where I am going to place the text.