Certificate Research

Institution Research is key in a movie as you judge what age is appropriate for a film especially Horror films as you have to judge the content of the movie specifically so you can judge appropriately what age rating the movie should have and who would be suitable to view it.

What the Age Certificate's mean: 

The 'U' symbol stands for 'Universal'. A 'U' film is suitable for audiences age four years and over. However, it is difficult whether to place a film a 'U' as at this young age children can be frightened of many different things so it is hard to predict what is suitable. Universal have said they rate films and videos aimed at very young viewers, such as 'Despicable Me' and 'Despicable Me 2' as well as many others. Films and videos with this BBFFC insight raise no significant issues in terms of discrimination, drugs, imitable behavior, language, nudity, sex, threat or violence. In some films, characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behavior. However, there would be no overt focus on sexual behavior, language or innuendo. Violence is generally very mild. A 'U' film may include a brief film scene or moments where characters are placed in danger. However, moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring. There may also be brief scary scenes and moments where the characters are placed in danger. As with violence, these scenes will be balanced by reassuring elements, such as comic interludes or music. The antagonist may carry or use weapons - but there would be no emphasis on these. A child or protagonist characters are unlikely to use any kind of weapon outside. An age rating such as this would not be appropriate for our film idea as the content of ours is to adult based meaning it wouldn't be suitable for children only suitable for a 'U' certificate.

'PG' stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsettling for younger viewers. A PG film shouldn't unsettle a child age around eight or older. Parents should always take into account whether their children at the lower end of this age range maybe more sensitive so could still be frightened or scared by its content. Some films are given a PG certificate but have not been made with a young audience in mind but means the film is still friendly enough and enjoyable enough for a younger viewer to watch even if they may or may not understand it. A good example of this is the film 'Jumanji' starring late actor Robin Williams which had world wide success and despite having some scenes which were arguably not suitable for children's eyes such as the spider scene it was a hugely successful film and a more recent example of a film hugely enjoyed by grown ups but had a PG certificate is 'Saving Mr. Banks'. However, the certificate means that any issues in the work are appropriate for the majority of the age group and nothing should upset a child over the age of eight. A PG film would not contain any inappropriate themes which is unsuitable for a child. PG works explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism. There may be mild language such as 'shit' or 'son of a bitch' in a PG film, but the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used aggressively or if there is a great deal of bad language, a work may be passed at a higher category. There are unlikely to be any sex references unless they are undetailed and infrequent. If a child is unlikely to understand a reference, it may be allowed as a PG. Comedy can also be used to lessen the impact of sex references and innuendos. Like the 'U' certificate, a 'PG' certificate would not be suitable as a child under the age of 12 wouldn't understand the content of the horror as the gore and jump scares would be to much for them to handle plus they wouldn't be old enough to understand the complex story line horror's typically have so it wouldn't be a high enough age rating for our idea.  

If a film has a or 12A rating it means the film would only be suitable for children as 12 years and above as some themes of a 12A rated film maybe to explicit for anyone younger but parents should still take into account a child who has just reached the age of 12A still may not be suitable for a 12A rated film and it still might be to unsettling for them. The 12A requires an adult to accompany any child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema. Accompanied viewing cannot for obvious reasons be enforced at the parents and child's  home so the 12 certificate remains for DVD/Blu-ray, rather than the 12A. The 12 is also a simpler system for retailers as it means the product cannot be bought by an individual under the age of 12. Horror films can even be passed at this category of age but often horror movies which have this certificate won't have as frequent or explicit scenes and common horror movie films which typically have a age rating of 15 or 18. The BBFC guidelines also state that strong language (e.g. f***) may be submitted at a 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language which again is similar to the horror films age rated 12 as films which have a large number of swear words without justification are often either 15's or 18's. films with a '12' or '12A' rating are suitable for some horror movies such as the Women in Black as children of this age would understand the basics of the story line and would be able to handle a minimal amount of jump scares but still wouldn't be suitable for most horrors as horror movies are more violent and a lot more disturbing still meaning they wouldn't be at a suitable age but could still be suitable for our film idea. 

For a film rated 15, anyone who is under the age of 15 cannot be allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy a 15 rated video. No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for someone 15 years of age. In a 15 rated film. In age 15 rated films you will commonly see scenes which contain strong language and violence, sexual references and nudity , drug taking, inappropriate language, in any film passed for this category, there is be a great deal more strong language in 15's compared to 12's as themes are more explicit but still not used to a considerable amount. Occasionally there may be uses of the stronger terms (e.g.. c***), depending on the way in which it is used. There may also be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this. However, at 15 the work must not endorse discriminatory language or behavior. At 15, there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualized threat. In these films, drug taking is often shown in age 15 movies but so often as the film doesn't want to focus on drug misuse if its not the main theme of the movie. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15. There can also be detailed verbal references to sexual violence, for example, descriptions of rape or sexual assault in a courtroom scene or in victim testimony, but any portrayal depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context. '15' is more then enough of a good enough age for our film idea as horror's with a '15' certificate mean that people that can view this are old enough to handle the disturbing nature of a horror and still understand the story line.

Films that are rated age 18 are for only adults. No-one under the age of 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent one either. No 18 rated works are suitable for children at all as the themes will be hugely explicit and have no matter the genre unsuitable content for a child. No theme is prohibited at all at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful. In an 18 film you will see very strong violence, frequent strong language  (e.g. f***) or very strong language (e.g. c***), strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex (in some circumstances) and discriminatory language and behavior. At 18, there can be strong and detailed portrayals of sex, including full nudity. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. Very strong, crude and explicit sex references are permitted to this category. Horror films can also contain very strong horror,  gore or sustained threat. You can also see drug taking but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. A '18' is way more then suitable for our film idea as the content isn't as explicit as a '18' rated movie meaning people who meat this age certificate could handle the nature of our film and understand it.

After evaluating all the Age certificates, for our chosen film, it would be a 12A as it would be suitable for children to go and watch without the presence of an adult. Things you'd normally find in a 15 such as strong language or sexual references would not be included in our film as I believe if there was an over use of strong language it would divert away from the tension created by the use of less speech or none at all and the reason it wouldn't be PG at all is the content and jump scares would be to explicit and to appropriate for children under the age of 12 as they would understand the content and themes, 12A would also be suitable because our chosen film is not going to be extremely scary yet will contain horror elements which could possibly scare people.