Shooting schedule

During this part of production I logged the progression of  my shoots. I have included a comments section where I talked about went well, what was less successful and what I planned to do next. I believe this is an important part of production, as by recording what happened during each shoot it makes it easier for me to identify what still needs to be shot for my film. It also acts as a notes section because I am able to look back on previous shoots and quickly remember what didn't work and therefore what not do it in a future shoot.  

Now that I have completed my shooting schedule I can conclude that this was a very useful document to have. For example, on the 11/02/17 shoot I had completely forgot that there was an issue with the general public being in the shots, thus destroying the illusion that the character is in the middle of nowhere. However, I looked back on my notes and remembered this problem occurred, which then lead me to organizing a re-shoot on a day when there would be a limited amount of people. This proved to be useful as it was able to obtain a lot more footage for my film. 

Institutional Research

Regulation Research

In my regulation research for my year 12 media project I covered a lot of information about the BBFC and their rating system. However, I primarily focused on how their rules apply to the horror genre because that was the genre I was trying to create in my film. In this document I will talk about who the BBFC are, how their classification system works, the general rules for each of the ratings and how each one applies to comedy. These are all important elements to learn about film making because by knowing the guidelines to getting a particular age rating it will help me ensure that I reach my target audience as best I can. This could include not having any content that would prevent my target audience from viewing my film. As I have established in my target audience post, I will be appealing to 16 - 25 year olds. This means that I shall need to follow the rules and regulations that concur with these ages and also avoid having a lower age rating, as having an age rating like '12' would be unappealing to my target audience.  

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984. In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC's income is derived solely from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films, DVDs/videos and other works submitted for classification. The BBFC is not organized for profit, and its fees are adjusted only as required to cover its costs.

Cinema

The British Board of Film Censors was set up in 1912 by the film industry as an independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film nationally. Statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which may overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions, passing films we reject, banning films we have passed, and even waiving cuts, instituting new ones, or altering categories for films exhibited under their own licensing jurisdiction.

Video

In 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act. This act stated that, subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale or hire commercially in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State. The President and Vice Presidents of the BBFC were so designated, and charged with applying the new test of ‘suitability for viewing in the home’. At this point the Board’s title was changed to the British Board of Film Classification to reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the BBFC’s work than censorship.

Now I have established the beginning of the BBFC and its purpose in the film industry I need to look at the rating system that they have created. There are 5 main ratings for film. These include; 'U' (suitable for all), 'PG' (parental guidance), '12' (video release suitable for 12 years and over), '15' (suitable only for 15 years and over) and '18' (suitable only for adults). 

Since I have already decided that I will be aiming my film at 16 - 25 year old's I shall only be looking at how the '15' and '18' ratings affect the types of comedy that I can include in my film. In the '15' rating I will look at how some of the main aspects such as violence, discrimination, drugs, etc affect the content that I would be allowed to include in my film. In the '18' rating I will look at what is expected to be seen in this rating in regards to sex, criminal activities, etc and see how these elements would change the story plot of my film. 

First lets look into the 15 rating and how it will effect the content that I will be able to use in my film. In the violence section it states that violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. This would mean that if my character(s) sustain any injuries I could show it on screen, but nothing more than that. This would be problematic for me because in order for violence or pain to work in a comedy film the pain would need to be dwelled upon, as the humour tends to derive from the character(s) responses.  Regarding the use or presence of drugs for a 15 rating, drugs are allowed to be shown, but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use i.e. instructional use. This wouldn't cause a problem for me because, much like violence, it is the characters reactions that are funny rather than the act itself. So I would be able to show the crazy effects of drugs in my film, but will have to have a bad outcome for the character such as a broken bone or a bad 'trip' in order to not encourage the use or drugs. My film should also not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, but I am allowed to include some racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes or language. In order to follow this rule I would take inspiration from Anchorman where any discriminatory behaviour is clearly used for comedic effect rather than an insult. The last aspect that I would need to consider for my comedy film is the level of nudity that I could include. According to the BBFC guidelines for a 15 rated film, there are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational manner. There may be nudity in a sexual context, but usually without strong detail. For my film I might consider playing with these guidelines and include a character that would not stereotypically be considered be 'sexy', like a homeless elderly man, and then sexualize him using various camera angles, lighting and sound effects. This could be funny for the audience to witness as it's something they would never expect to see on screen. 

Now lets look into the 18 rating and how it will effect the content that I will be able to use in my film. The general understanding of an 18 rated movie is that it is for adults and adults are free to choose their own entertainment. This means that there are very few restrictions as to what I could include in my film, if it were to be 18 rated. However, there are some exceptions as to what I can include. For example, I am not allowed to use any footage that is in breach of criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offense. I feel that this rule is pretty self explanatory, as it basically means I cannot film or use any footage of illegal activities that are not fake. This is not a problem for my film, as comedy doesn't have a direct link with illegal activities. I am also not allowed to use any material where it appears to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. This basically means that I cannot include any portrayals of sadistic or sexual violence, which makes this violence look appealing.  This is to prevent anyone who watches the film from attempting to recreate these acts in real life. This doesn't massively effect the amount of plot ideas that I can use because there are few comedy plots that could include these kind of images and still portray humour. So I very unlikely to be effected by this rule.