Certification in Films

Certification is an important aspect to look at when choosing a target audience for a film. This is considered because if a film was made that was targeted at an audience of 15 year olds and the certification is 18 years and above, then you may not get a big audience as the whole age group the film is targeted at is cut off, and therefore there is not a lot of income. In order to lower the certification, companies need to consider what will be involved in their films so it's appropriate for certain ages to watch as the higher the certification, the smaller your audience will be. Certification exists because certain films contain certain content that may cause effect on people depending on their age. For example, a film containing violence would not be appropriate for a young child to watch. This is here to warn people what sort of content is involved and who the film is suitable for. The British Board of Film Classification (bbfc) regulate the certification for films in the UK to keep younger people safe from seeing inappropriate content.

 

Types of audience certification:

• U - Universal - may contain mild bad language, brief fight scenes, positive messages and have a happy ending.
• PG - Parental guidance - suitable for all ages but may contain mild bad language and moderate violence.
• 12A - Accompanied - suitable for people aged 12 but must be accompanied by someone older than 18.
• 12 - 12 years old and above - may contain mature themes, discrimination, moderate language and moderate violence.
• 15 - 15 years old and above - may contain adult themes, drugs, strong language, violence and sex references.
• 18 - 18 years old and above - contains strong/gory violence, hard drugs, and no limitation for strong language.
• R18 - Restricted 18 - no content restrictions as long as it's within the law.

By doing this task I have learnt about the different certifications in the film industry so I now briefly understand what content is not allowed for certain age groups.