BBFC Ratings and Target Audience Research

·    The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

 

·    PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content might upset younger or more sensitive children.

 
·  12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the film unaccompanied. The A stands for 'accompanied' and 'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult (eg. someone over the age of 18), who must watch the film with them.

·    The 12 certificate is just for videos, DVDs and Blu-rays. 12A is for films at the cinema only.

 

 

·     No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD.  15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

·    No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds

·   15 works are stronger than 12 or 12A rated works and could include any of the following:

·     strong violence

·     frequent strong language (eg 'f***').

·     portrayals of sexual activity

·     strong verbal references to sex

·     sexual nudity

·     brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

·     discriminatory language or behaviour

·     drug taking

 

·  Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated DVD. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

·  18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:

·    very strong violence

    ·    frequent strong language (eg 'f***') and/or very strong language (eg ‘c***’)

          ·    strong portrayals of sexual activity

    ·    scenes of sexual violence

    ·    strong horror

    ·    strong blood and gore

    ·   real sex (in some circumstances)

    ·   discriminatory language and behaviour




Application to our own Thriller

From this research, I have decided that my thriller will be a 15. I have made this decision because it will include drug taking in potential detail, meaning the content will be inappropriate for an age group any younger. But the content is not strong enough to be an 18. The action in the film will appeal to mostly males, but the lead characters are female which may cause the film to attract females too, therefore the film will be aimed at both males and females. It will be suitable for any age above 15, rather than being aimed at one specific age group. This is because the content is interesting for all ages and will get everyone thinking no matter what their age may be. In terms of occupation it is not important for our audience; however people interested in psychology may take a certain interest in the film due to it being a psychological thriller. Also, the plot is fairly complex because of the many confusing twists, so a certain amount of education may be needed but not an extreme level because some of my audience could only be aged 15.