Our Film Classification

Before we started to think of a storyline/narrative we wanted to know what film certificate our thriller was going to be, so we could work around the boundaries of it and develop a suitable storyline for our target audience. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is responsible for deciding what classification a film should be before it is released; it is usually to inform parents of how 'graphic' the film is before they allow their child to see it. The classifications are as follows (least explicit to most explicit): U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 and R18.

We wanted to make our thriller film either a 15 or 18, so we looked into the definitions, advantages and disadvantages of each classification that we have learnt through our research:



Only people over 15 years old can watch the film (in the cinema or on DVD). Such films usually involve things such as bad language drugs, sex, and violence.

The main advantage of classifying our film a 15 is the fact many more people can see it, there is a larger 'potential' audience. However, we found that many people may feel it is not 'exciting/graphic' enough as there is always going to be the limitations of what can be put in a 15 rated film. This may deter people from wanting to see the film which is a negative aspect of classifying it as a 15.

Only people over 18 can watch the film (in the cinema or on DVD). Such films usually involve things such as strong language, detailed sex scenes and extreme violence.

As there are less boundaries as to what can be put into 18 films, the audience know they are going to see an exhilarating, (perhaps scary) film with no limitations. On the other hand, the fact that it is an 18 does reduce the 'potential' audience substantially as anyone from the ages 0-17 cannot see the film as they would be too young. This is a significant disadvantage as many people under 18 often spend money at the cinema and on DVDs. Therefore producing a film with a certificate 18 loses customers and money.



On balance we decided that we wanted to make our thriller film a 15 as more people can see it. Therefore our storyline must be within the boundaries of the 15 certificate regulations.