BBFC and Film Certificates- Thursday's lesson notes

BBFC and Film Certificates BBFC stands for British Board Film Classification. They are regulatory boards- a company/organization that is in charge of setting the rules that control a certain set of products in a specific industry. BBFC is the body that regulates the British film industry. What they do? Are in charge of setting the rules about what can and can't be shown in films. In charge of assigning the age certificates for every film- a film cannot be released in cinema or DVD without BBFC's age classification. Classification Guidelines: U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18. Sorts of considerations they take: Scenes including violence; Scenes including sex and nudity; Scenes including obscene language; Scenes with discriminatory language; Scenes of self-harm; Scenes of criminal activity; Scenes with dangerous behaviour; Scenes of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes; Scenes involving child actors; Strobe lights. Also consider context- whether it's realistic or animated. Consider the way the issue is being handled- if a film is showed drugs to be used for free then film will have a much higher certificate. Depends on format of release- BBFC tends to be more strict when classifying films for DVD release. Process The production company sends a copy of film to BBFC to watch and decide on a certificate. Then they can release at cinema or on DVD. If BBFC doesn't assign a certificate the production isn't happy with, they can re-edit and send the film to have it re-assessed. Some audiences think BBFC got it wrong: Joker should've had an 18 certificate Task- How would BBFC classify your opening sequence/film? I think BBFC would assign a 15 age classification. The film is a thriller suggesting voyeuristic tendencies, it includes scenes of sex/nudity, scenes with obscene language and criminal activity. I would specifically classify it 15 because despite having quite a few 'adult' scenes it would be a sort of light thriller- not very hardcore.

Sound in Film- Tuesday's lesson notes

How sound impacts film Diegetic Sound- Diegetic sound is sound which is part of the "film world". Can occur on or off screen. Types of diegetic sound: Dialogue Music- from a source in the film- producing music, CD player, jukebox Sound effects Non-Diegetic Sound- Non-diegetic sound is sound that is not part of the "film world". This is used to create mood/atmosphere. Types of diegetic sound: Voice-over Background music Layers of sound- Ambient sound Dialogue Music- Non diegetic (mood) Diegetic (ambient sound) Foley sound (sound effects) Voice over (be diegetic or non diegetic) Leitmotif- a recurrent theme throughout a musical composition, associated with a person, idea or situation. Theme Music- a subject is the material, recognizable melody. Task:

Meeting with production group #6

On Friday's meeting with Matt and Adam we explained the shot by shot bullet point list and the storyboard we created. Feedback notes: 1) When explaining the shot by shot list, the teachers explained how they liked the beginning of the scene, it build up tension and made the audience question the man's intentions until the scene he reveals his photography camera. However the teachers thought it was too subtle which the group doesn't really mind. It is interesting how the beginning of the scene builds up tension, followed by a relief and once again creates tension at the end. 2) Matt pointed out bird watching is more complex and requires more professional material than just a tripod and camera. This we will take into account and will require research of props needed in order for the sequence to be more realistic. 3) He also suggested the main character's costume to be a humble one, not very outstanding. I agreed and explained how I pictured the main character to have a very George from Lovely Bones look. 4) Finally we discussed regarding whether we should show the woman at the end or not. Matt explained he thought it would be best to remove that part as it gives too much away however the group disagreed. Despite giving too much away we were keen on somehow including her and show how the main character's attention shifts from birds to human- in order to show his voyeuristic tendencies. We decided to keep our options open for different endings and record them. Once we start editing we will choose the ending.

Meeting with production group #5

Before Friday's deadline we had a Teams meeting and discussed the opening title sequence idea and the other member's suggestions to further improve the sequence. We also discussed the shot by shot bullet point list as well as possible endings. Screen print of meeting Rough shot by shot bullet point list of opening title sequence: Entering the car; Closing car door; Black screen scene- car motor, driving, radio noise; Get out of car; Open trunk- closeup of large black bag; Shot of man's feet walking to the forest- leaves/branching cracking; Over the shoulder shot (to high angle) of man crouching down and opening Bag- revealing camera, tripods, lenses, etc. Variation of shots of the camera's set up; POV shot of camera- sound of camera clicking (snap), cross cuts to camera's Dark screen and photo developing of birds- extend it; ... Description of different endings: Lily's/ Luiza's- Man goes to back to car. He extends his arm with the car key and unlocks the car. The scene straight cuts to car as it lights up. The camera does a focus shift, blurring the car and slightly zooming in to a woman nearby. In the opposite street a woman (doing something such as in cafe along drinking a cup of coffee, walking, talking on the phone angrily?). Cross cuts back to the man. He raises the camera to him and takes a picture. Finally it cross cuts to the camera's dark screen and finishes with the main sequence's title. Jake- Man takes a picture of a bird. As he looks at image, he notices a figure on the background. He focuses and sees a woman. Rough sketch of storyboard: