What is the BBFC?

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is a independent film certification in the UK, they are run by the film industry who will classify your film of an age rating, any film that wants to be shown in the cinema must get this certificate from the BBFC with their film classification on. They were set up in 1912 to regulate films. The certificates given are based on age ratings, these age ratings are;  U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18, 18R .

• U - This means that anyone can watch this film of any age from a new born to the oldest living person. These films mean that they contain hints of sexual activity, like riding off into the sunset. They contain no violence or swearing because a little child could be watching this, These films are usually fairy tale stories.
• PG - This means Parental guidance, this means that for a person under the age of 12 they must have a person over the age of 18 with them to watch this film. The reason there is PG is because the films contain more violence, sexual references and swearing in the film then a U rated film.
• 12A - This means that this film has more sexual references, swearing and violence then the average 12 but not enough to become a 15 rated film, the "A" shows the viewer that this film is near the same context as a 15 film.
• 12 - This means that anyone who is above the age of 12 can watch this film. These films contain maybe a kiss and a hint of the act of sex. They may contain some blood and swearing but still not enough to become a 15.
• 15 - This means anyone who is above 15 can watch this film, these films would usually contain all the aspects which a 18 film would have but there would be no heavy swearing or too much gore for the viewer to feel un-comforatable watching, but non the less the film would still contain these aspects which make up the 18.
• 18 - This means that anyone who is above 18 can watch this film, these usually contain films with heavy referances to ; Sex, swearing, violence and gore. The BBFC would classify this film as an 18 because they would believe that someone who is under 18 would not "handle" the film.
• 18R - This means an 18 film but is "R" rated, this means that this film is based around sex, unlike the 18 classification the film relies heavily on sex and that is the main genre for the film. The rating of the "R" shows the viewer that the film relies on sex and is still an 18.

If I was to classify my trailer I would give the trailer a rating of 15, this is because my trailer will excite the audience with the violence and gore, this will be too much to get the certification of a 12A but there will be no sex scenes,sexual references or heavy swearing. This is why my trailer will be given the certification of 15.

From researching the BBFC and looking at their classifications, I have learnt that they are independent and funded from the film business. They also have classifications to restrict viewers from watching certain films, this is key because this will affect the audience watching your film and also your target audience.