The BBFC - How Films Are Certificated

The British Board of Film Classification, otherwise known as The BBFC, was set up in 1912 and  is administered by the Council of Management. The members of this Council are not allowed to make any classification decisions. The Council of Management is responsible for the other priorities such as senior appointments at The BBFC.

The BBFC's aims / missions:
"protect  the public, and especially children, from content which might raise harm risks

• empower the public, especially parents, to make informed viewing choices

• recognise and respect adult freedom of choice within the law

• respond to and reflect changing social attitudes towards media content through proactive public consultation and research

• provide a cost-effective, efficient classification service within our statutory remit

• work in partnership with the industry to develop innovative service models to provide content advice which support emerging media delivery systems

• provide an effective service to enforcement agencies"

In order to class a film/movie/whatever media content into one of the classification groups, there are examiners who have to look for specific things within the media content. For example they would have to look at issues such as drugs or horror and language. If the content had swearing for example, then it would not be suitable for children to watch, and therefore would not be a appropriate to class into a U film. The examiners watch the content from beginning to end until they can decided which age the content is suitable for. The BBFC says that they also consider DVDs as they are watched at home, so there may be a higher risk of underage viewing.

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What are the different certifications?

There are different certifications for media content for different ages depending on the content.

U - Universal, The media content is suitable for all types of audience.

PG - A general viewing but some scenes may be inappropriate so you would have to watch the movie with a parent / guardian.

12A and 12 - The content is suitable for people 12 years and over. No-one under this age should be allowed to watch the film. If parents would like to take their child to see the content with them then the parent should decide if the content is suitable for their child or not.

15 - No one under the age of 15 should see this content. Anyone under the age of 15 can rent or buy this content.

18 - No one under the age of 18 should see or be allowed to rent of buy this content. Only for adults.

R18 - specially restricted content to only be shown in specially licensed cinemas / shops and to adults only.

Since our product is a short Horror film, this tells us that our content is not suitable for children, and therefore cannot be classed as a U film. We would have to plan our product carefully an then classify it as a 15 age rated movie.

Case study: Alien

 (Click on image for larger view)

How do the BBFC regulate horror films?
Horror films aimed at younger audiences are treated with caution as some children enjoy watching scary scenes whereas others do not. In these films, the age rating decisions take into consideration factors such as the duration of a scary scene, the content and the horror effects including the sound in the movie. When 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' came out in the 90s, the BBFC had to host a variety of screenings with audiences of children and teachers. After they analysed the audience's reactions, the BBFC certificated it as a PG film as the majority of the audience loved the film. Since then, similar movies has had similar experiences such as 'Harry Potter'.

Website used: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/