Our Films Classification

In a previous blog post, I researched different age ratings and which aspects puts a film into each category. I summarised the definition of each rating and from this we, as a group, decided on which age rating most suits our film and trailer.



	Bad Language	Sexual Behaviour	Violence	Behaviours that could be copied	Drug reference
Universal	Infrequent / very mild (damn, hell)	No overt focus, mild reference allowed	Very mild, reassuring outcome	Must be disapproved	None unless there is a clear anti-drug message
PG	Mild, context important (sh**)	Unlikely unless undetailed	Mild, no detail	Dangerous behaviours must be condemned	References without strong focus
12A	Strong language depending on manner and frequency (f***) non discriminatory	Briefly and discreetly portrayed	Moderate without great detail	Accessible weapons must not be glamorised	Infrequent sights of drugs but portrayal must not be glamorised
15	Great deal, no limit on no. of uses	Activity can be portrayed without great detail	Strong, no focus on infliction of pain or injury	Should not dwell on detail of dangerous behaviours	Can be shown without encouraging or promoting use with instructional detail
18	No limit on use of any language	Strong and detailed portrayals allowed	Strong with detail, pain and injury can be dwelled on	Very dangerous behaviour may be cut	Can be shown without encouraging or promoting

• Our film fits the criteria for the majority of the 15 category due to less extreme presentations of violence and language. However the strong language and hard drug use bring the film into the 18 rating due to its ability to expose children and younger teens to dangerous behaviours and extreme language.

• Below is the age rating block I created for the billings block which highlights the rating and description of the films harmful content to which the audience should respond to respectively.

• Further detail into the 18 rating category can be seen in the image below which is an extract from the BBFC classification document which clearly highlights the limits within each category. This includes exceptions for adults freely choosing what the consume and how the 18 category differs from the R18 category.