BBFC AND ETHICS REPORT | start-from-scratch-n

BBFC and Ethics Report By Michael C. Bungay

This is a report aimed at investigating the meaning and uses of film classification, ethics and intellectual property and how they relate to film making in particular.

Film Classification in the UK is carried out by the British Board of Film Classification. The reasons why this is done is to ensure that all films and other creative Media are appropriate for their target audience and particular to avoid the possibility of children viewing material that would be potentially harmful or unsuitable for them and to offer information about a particular film or video that potential consumers may need to find out before they decide to view such material or not.

The BBFC’s certification system consists of eight different certificates, the lowest is the U Certificate which stands for Universal as it is aimed at people of all ages but mostly from age 4 and up. The next certificate up is PG which stands for Parental Guidance which means that the content of a film with this certificate may not be appropriate for children aged between 4 and 8 unless accompanied by a parent or a guardian. From this point on, all the other certificates refer to specific age groups, they are 12, 15 and 18 each of which mean that films with those certificates are suitable only for viewers aged 12, 15 or 18 above and not for anyone below those ages. The other two ratings are the 12A certificate which is the most recent addition, introduced in 2002 that applies only to Cinema releases and means that children aged between 8 and 12 can see a 12 rated film if accompanied by an adult and R18 (Restricted) which is only for adults and requires specific licensing for such films to be shown in Cinemas and supplied to consumers due to explicit mature fetish material.

The 12, 15 and 18 certificates are also used to rate Online Music Videos as part of a pilot scheme run in partnership between YouTube, Vevo and the BBFC that rates all videos by the UK branches of Sony, Universal and Warner that are unsuitable for Under 12’s. The BBFC classifies each video submitted to them by the record labels by watching them in their entirety then assigning an age rating and content device based on their own Classification Guidelines (This could be anything from sex references to strong language)

The effectiveness of film classification all depends on the content of the film. A film may be given different ratings if different cuts of it are submitted to the BBFC. One such example is the 1991 film Terminator 2. The rough cut version of this film borders between 15 and 18. To achieve a 15 certificate, certain scenes taking place in a psychiatric hospital were removed.

The 12A rating relates to my film in that some Horror Films can be passed at this category. However, this also means that I will have to limit the frequency and sustenance of the Horror sequences if I intend the tone to be moderate physical or psychological threat and the overall tone cannot be too disturbing.

At this point, I now have to consider the meaning of Intellectual Property and Ethics, especially Copyright, Royalties, Libel and Slander. Copyright is the legal right that protects the use of people’s work once their work is expressed physically. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is the current copyright legislation in the UK. Copyright law sets out the owner’s rights and responsibilities of those wishing to use the owner’s work and the rules around how the work can be used. Artists cannot use each other’s material in any way, shape or form without each other’s permission and they have to provide documentation of everything they intend to use to the broadcaster and also a document proving they have permission to use another artist’s material. The artist requires clearances for the script, music, locations, contributors and products that he or she intends to use in their film. Using other artists’ material without permission is copyright infringement.

A well-known case of Copyright infringement is the case of Star Wars vs Battlestar Galactica in 1978. The latter was produced following the success of the former the previous year and 20th Century Fox sued Universal Studios for copyright infringement with the claim that Universal had stolen 34 different ideas from Star Wars, according to Sci-Fi author Jerry Pournelle. Universal and the series’ creator Glen Larson claimed they agreed not to use certain effects such as laser streaks from their guns and that they met with producer Gary Kurtz to come to an agreement and that no action would be taken. What is more, Universal later counter-sued Fox with the claim that Star Wars stole ideas from the 1940’s Buck Rogers serials and the 1972 film Silent Running. Pournelle also claims to have received $20K from Universal to show there was no connection between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica and there never was. The case was eventually settled in favour of Battlestar Galactica in 1980 although the series had since been cancelled.

Royalties are a form of compensation, consideration or fees paid for licensing or privilege for use of intellectual property that is usually counted as a percentage of profit as a result of the use. For example, in the film and television industry, network stations and superstations are paid a royalty rate by Direct TV and other popular satellite television services for the purpose of their systems broadcasting these channels.

Libel and Slander are both forms of defamation. Libel is written defamation and Slander is verbal defamation. Libel is most commonly used these days in letters to local newspaper editors, publicly commenting on media websites, blog posts and comments on them and chatrooms on the internet. An example of slander is when a housekeeper at London’s Intercontinental Hotel claimed that Lady Gaga took baths in blood as part of Satanic Rituals after blood was found in a bath tub. Also, in September 2010, David Beckham claimed for Libel and Slander against Celebrity Magazine In Touch over allegations of him having an affair with a prostitute named Irma Nici. Beckham denied the allegation and sought $25 million in damages. However, a US Federal Judge in Los Angeles dismissed the claim in February 2011.

Artists also have to get peoples’ permission to film them before they start filming. They start of by getting peoples’ consent written down on a personal release form and filming them verbally providing their consent. If artists do not perform these actions before they start filming, they are liable to be sued by anyone who appears in their film but did not give their permission to be filmed. If artists wish to have children under 18 in their film then they have to have parental consent from the children’s parent or guardian. The other known release forms are a Materials Release form which applies to the use of any photography, art work or documentation, a Location Release Form for permission from the owners of private property to film on their property, a Group release for the depiction of a large group of people like a choir for example, an Extra or Background Release which grants the artist permission to film people that are only going to appear in the background but are not going to be the main focus, a Poster Release which is primarily for use in public spaces with lots of people coming in and out of shot while filming in taking place and a Crew Deal Memo which is used for whoever makes up the entire filming crew throughout the entire process of production and filming from initial development to the end of post-production.

In conclusion, I feel I have done the very best I can to research investigate the meaning and uses of film classification, ethics and intellectual property and how they all relate to the different aspects of film-making.

Sources:

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/12a-and-12

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/archive%E2%80%A6-terminator-2-bbfc-judgment

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/how-does-classification-work

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/online-music-videos

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/pg

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/u

http://www.bbc.co.uk/copyrightaware/what-is

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/royalty.html

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/intellectual_property_crime/

http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/copyright-issues.html

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-slander.html