Research into age certificates and the BBFC. Miss Georgiou

The BBFC stands for the British board of film classification. It is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the classification and censorship of films within  the UK. It has a requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the latest Video Recordings Act of 2010. "An Act to repeal and revive provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984." This new act means the BBFC can classify films under UK and EU law.

The BBFC was founded in 1912 after the an Act was passes that all videos and films made had to have licences in 1909. However back then films had to be a lot less risky. Directors wouldn't dream of making  a film with violence or sex. Films ended up being pulled for being meaningless.

In world war two, government decided to get involved with the BBFC as films played a big part in propaganda. They wanted to influence the public in the cinema so more British promoting films were allowed while any films to do with Nazis or the Soviet union was turned down.

The age certificates have stayed roughly the same for the past 30 years. The first certificates were only adult and universal. The full history of certificates can be found here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_British_film_certificates#1912.E2.80.931932

The current certificates are as follows

The first certificate is the U and this is normally suitable for 4 years and older as children under 4 are to unpredictable to react to things however it is up to the parent to decide about that. U stands for universal and is normally happy and animated, there is no swearing and no use of sex drugs or violence. violence is normally comical. Typical U films are like Disney films such as finding nemo.

The next certificate is PG which stands for parental guidance. Once again parents can decide if their child can watch it however it shouldn't really disturb anyone over the age of 8. All themes are allowed in PGs however it has to be very minimal including drugs and violence being kept at a low. Some minor swear words are allowed also. Typical PG films include Narnia, Tron and the Simpson's movie.

12 certificate means that children over the age of 12 can see this movie. Strong language may be used in the film but mainly for comedy purposes. Sex references are also allowed but not to verbal and body scenes should be minimal. However more moderate violence is allowed but the film should not be based around that. The introduction of 12A was brought in by the new spiderman film in 2009. The director wanted it to be a 12 but it wasn't quite there even after cuts and it was too weak to be a 15. So 12 with adult advisory was brought in. 12 and 12A films include Harry Potter and night at the museum.



The next certificate is for children aged 15 or above. All themes are also allowed in this category. Swear words are more common, sexual activity is present and can doesn't have to be an innuendo. Drug taking is also allowed. Weapons are not glamorised but strong violence can be used but not as much blood. Most horrors can now be shown however not too gory. Most suspense fuelled horrors. 15 rated films include Friends with benefits and insidious.

 18 certificate films are for adults only. Adults are allowed to pick their own entertainment in accordance to the law so you may find many things in an 18 such as very strong language and gore. Strong scenes of sex and drug use and discrimination can be used. Things that are not in an 18 film are materials that break the law, Something that does not have a good public moral or something that can damage society and sexual works such as pornography. Pornograpghy falls into the category of R18 which contains sexual stimulative activity and can only be accessed privately. 18 films include The God father and die hard.


The latest change to the certificates comes as late as 2009 were the 'Uc' certificate was taken out.

Over the years more and more has become acceptable in films, not only have the BBFC had to move with the law (E.G legalisation of homosexuality) but it has had to move with cultural changes and acceptances with society. The introduction of the Internet makes the world a small place and more things are now excepted. People see death drugs and pornography as normal in adult films now were as 40 years ago, it would of been unheard of to show such things in a film.



Indivial ideas for a narrative. Miss Georgiou

In this blog, i am looking into ideas for my narrative and how i have got my inspirations from leading thriller films. I am looking at how character, atmosphere, scene, plot and iconography can come together to create a tense thriller that will hopefully shock and surprise my audience.

 

 

The first inspiration i have taken is from v for vendetta. The characters mask always gives the audience an element of surprise and mysteriousness and creates enigma. The fact that we might not ever see who this person really is keeps the audience on the edge of their seat and keeps them guessing throughout the film.

 

 

This next idea is from pet sematary. It has given me the idea of suspense as we have already been told that earlier on in the film that the child will raise from the dead so the audience is left waiting for 10 minutes of the film knowing that this zombie child will rise and this creates a massive amount of suspense and anxiety among the audience.

 



 

 This next idea is my ideal place for a location. This is very conventional of a thriller movie and creates the perfect atmosphere. This is taken from the shining. It is a hotel so the audience can relate to this and its in a very big secluded area. Less people, the more tense it becomes. The hotel is also empty which leads the audience wondering to why and what goes on while nobody is there.

 

 



 

This next scene is from misery, I have used its plot for inspiration as it is also about isolation. The woman becomes obsessed with a novelist and after finding his car in a wreck, she quickly takes him and stops him from ever getting away. This is seen as more of a physiological thriller. I am aiming for this as someone who's is mentally disturbed unpredictable meaning the audience will always be left in suspense.

 

 

 

Texas chainsaw massacare has given me the idea of the use of iconography. In this thriller film, the villian not only has a mask to hide his face, but is holding the iconic chainsaw. He is known for killing with this chainsaw adding suspence and tension to the audience when it is shown because it gives everyone that foreboding feeling that someone will be killed very soon. I would like to use many types of iconography.

 

In using these techniques, i can begin to put together a brief outline in my head of the sort of thriller film i want to make and how i can succesfully create shock, suspence and surprise alomg the audience. With these ideas in my mind, i have created a small plot. A couple go to a closed hotel. They didnt know this and they start to argue. The woman leaves the man stranded there over the winter and begins to lose his mind in the cold attic of the hotel. He then murders new guests in the summer with blunt objects while wearing a phamton of the oprea mask that he had found. I got the location from the shining, the suspence of him killing from pet semetary, the mysteriousness from v for vendetta, the isolation plot from misery and the iconography from texas chainsaw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







Research into editing styles. Miss Georgiou

In this blog I will be analysing 3 editing techniques used in the thriller film V for Vendetta. The three I am looking at are the 180 degree rule, the cross cut shot and the jump cut. These and many other editing techniques give thriller films there tense edge you see today.

The first scene shows the 180 degree rule. This is an invisible line that the camera does not cross. It is used to make sure the audience don't get confused. This also shows continuity and makes the audience have a real feel to where the characters are. This is conventional of a thriller because even though the director wants to keep you guessing, they need to make sure the audience feel connected to the character. A good connection creates more emotion throughout the film. If the audience feel more emotion towards the characters, this leads them to more likely provoke a reaction. In thriller films the reaction would be something such as a shock.

This next shot is part of a cross cut between the two characters. This is were the camera will cut away from one action to another action and then back again. By doing this, it looks like the characters are doing different things at the same time.  This makes the audience compare the shots to create a bigger range of knowledge about the two characters and you start to see similarity's between the two of of them. We could tell that these two scenes took place at the same time because they was both watching the TV which displayed the same image, this also makes the scene flow better. This technique is also used to create suspense between the two characters as a foreboding feeling builds. The shots shorten between each character before the suspense of where they both meet. This would create a real terrified affect for the audience as they could see the tension building. This is conventional of a thriller film as the main purpose is to shock, surprise and leave the audience in suspense.



 This is a jump cut shot from V for Vendetta. This is the scene were the old bailey goes up in flames after an explosion. The director jump cuts to all the special effects and keeps switching forward and back to many similar cuts because this is what keeps the audience enticed with a number of surprising noises all come together to realise a great deal of tension and suspense. The jump cuts show the real impact of what is going on and can also create panic and emergency among the audience. The cuts allow the explosion to be fully shown creating fright. These are all conventional of a thriller film as fright, urgency and suspense are key.

Overall these editing styles along with others make V for Vendetta one of the greatest thrillers of all time. The way the director involves the audience makes them feel connected to the characters leading to a greater response when something potent happens. I can hopefully incorporate these elements into my own thriller film in the future.





Research into cinematography. Miss Miller

In this essay i am analysing the cinematography in the thriller film 'The Shining'. I will be analysing 7 different camera angles and shots in the film. I will be looking at eye level, high angle, close up, long shot and handheld shots and how they make the film come to life to relate to a conventional thriller audience and how they feel.

 

The first is an eye level shot, in this scene the camera is focused  on the young boys eyes. This makes the scene very tense because the audience is really connecting with the boy and how he is feeling. In thrillers, directors really try to make a connection between the character and the audience by engaging them with characters to try and put the audience in the characters shoes.

 

The next is a high angle shot taken from the opening scene of the shining. The camera is focused on the car but looks small compared to the rest of the scene. The director could be trying to imply that that maybe we shouldn't just the looking at the car, but the bigger picture. Do we need to look out for something. This keeps the audience guessing. The less they know, the better.

 

 

 

 

This famous scene from the shining shows the main character break through the door of the bathroom. It then goes to a close up of his face. This is used to show his facial impression to show the audience what state of mind he is in, in this case, phycopathic. Typical of horrors.

 

 

 

 



The next scene has a long shot of the place where it is set. The massive living room has an eerie feel about it. The long shot is used to show the whole room. Large, mysterious dim rooms are common in thriller films as yet again it lets the audiences mind wonder to what lies in the large dark patches and this can create tension yet again.

 

 

 

In this scene, a two shot is used in the conversation between two of the characters. They both stay in the shot and are equally poised. In thriller films, this could show that the characters could be plotting something and this is a way of always keeping the audience guessing.

 



 

 

This is another frame taken from the opening scene. However it is used for an establishing shot. It shows a massive empty piece of countryside which shows that the film is set in the middle of nowhere. This tells the audience that isolation is a theme allowing the audience to think yet again that this film will be more of physiological thriller.

 

 

 

This scene shows a handheld shot of the boy from behind. The movement is jerky and uneven. This really connotes the fact that it is a thriller film and creates a sense of urgency and everything becomes tense. This builds the audience up and could be almost be preparing them to shock, suspense and surprise.

 

Overall i feel all these angles and shots make the shining one of the best thriller films of all time and i will be defiantly be taking what I've learnt here and applying it to my own thriller.

Research into mise-en-scene Miss Georgiou

In this blog i am analysing The shining. I feel this contain all the mise-en-scene features a typical thriller film needs and this is a typical thriller film. I'm going to look into 5 key features The shining possesses and analyse them in detail.

This is the opening scene and the setting is the first point in mise-en-scene. This shows the audience from the start that the film is set in the middle of nowhere however is very typical of what any family would do on a road trip so the audience can relate to them. This is a very conventional setting of a thriller film as it is in the middle of nowhere and creates the sense of isolation amongst the audience. The director uses isolation to make the audience feel lonely and to make the audience feel like they may be surrounded by fear.

This next scene is the use of iconography or props. Props are used to enhance the character and gives the scene an edge. Axes are typical of horror and thriller films as it is a weapon and this gives the audience an idea that danger is coming. The use of iconogrpahy in thriller films always connotes the fact that it could be a weapon. The axe is used as a weapon and the way the main character smashes through the door shows his determination and could send the audience into a sense of panic.

Makeup is very important in a film and one element of mise-en-scene is costume and makeup. This can tell us a lot about the audience and the film. This scene shows the main character frozen in the snow. Quite a horrifying image all created by the right makeup. This may of shocked the audience at first, however this engages the audience to add a sense of realism and allows them to see the effects that have been created.

 Another part of mise-en-scene is the facial expressions and body language. This famous scene portrays facial expressions very well and can describe the genre. This is the face of a psychopath and they are only normally found in thriller's and horrors. This face shows the audience that he is determined on achieving his goal which we know is to murder whoever is in the house. We can see his determination by the way his eyes are fixated on one element and his mouth is open to show that he is shouting. Shouting in a room or closed space normally means you are angry and this is how the audience can see his anger and start to become frightened at his state.

The next scene portrays the next element of mise-en-scene. This looks at positioning of characters and objects within a frame and this shows that very well. Looking at the positioning and objects, these all connote a typical thriller film. The use of the axe again shows iconographic and the positioning of the characters and blood on the walls strongly suggests this characters were murdered. This puts the audience on edge as the scene suddenly turns to this. This could of lead the audience into a false sense of security by having two girls alive one minute to being murdered the next. The positioning of the characters can also frighten the audience as showing them dead in a pool of blood not only makes them panic, but makes them curious leading to the audience nervous for the rest of the film as they don't know if this will happen again.



The final element of mis-en-scene is colour and lighting. I feel this scene shows both. Firstly there are no light colours in the scene. Even the white is a real dirty white colour. Dark colours usually occur in thriller movies to make sure the audience doesn't see to much of what is actually going on. The colour red is also a connotation of danger and danger is very much a key phase when it comes to horror and thriller movies. The lighting that was portrayed in the scene was low key lighting. This is used to keep the audience guessing. Questions that could arise amongst them could be what is hiding behind the blood. This keeps the audience in suspense. These two points allow the audience to remain engaged and curious. The less the audience know the more venerable they are to a surprise.

In conclusion, i feel this film portrays all 5 main mise-en-scene points. Setting and props, costumes and makeup, facial expressions, positioning and colour make The Shining the perfect thriller film. From these points, I have taken inspiration for my personal thriller film. The main thing I would take from these points is the element of surprise. If The audience are surprised, then this keeps them engaged and curious. The more curious the audience, the more they can become lost in the film provoking greater emotions enhancing their overall experience of the film.