BBFC –
The project can’t exceed an over 15 rating, which means I need to research into the BBFC principles and what they allow and don’t allow.
I went onto their website for my own research, and read a few case studies, one major one I found interesting was that with Deadpool 2 that came out in 2018, the film is a 15 age rating in the UK with a lot of gore, language and inappropriate content for vulnerable people to see. So the studios made a PG-13 version of the film following the laws and instructions by the BBFC to make sure kids where able to see it. They cut and censored all the gore-y parts that had to be in the film in terms of context for the film but added new footage too, the footage has nothing to do with he actual film itself but because it’s Deadpool and the context doesn’t need to be there, it worked out for the film and was able to be shown to younger people who wanted to see the film.
What I learnt is that they watch films and whilst watching them they go over many lists of what the film includes, so if the film has any language, violence, sex, nudity, death, drugs then that’ll factor in the rating. but also not all films with all that doesn’t exactly have to be a 15 or 18 since if it isn’t shown in detail or as little detail as possible and works in terms of the context of the film, then it will be within the targeted age rating.
They are an independent regular which means they can’t be bribed or bought off from companies, it is totally legit and don’t mess around and have been doing this since 1912.
The age ratings are; Uc, U, 12/12a PG-13, 15, 18 and specialist.
They have two main principles, one to make sure to protect children and vulnerable adults from the potential harmful or offensive content. And the other to make sure children know what is right for them and to not be forced to watch offensive content, example would be adult cartoons like Rick and Morty or Bojack Horseman, they’re cartoons but contain a lot of adult topics and is definitely not for children – but if it didn’t have an age rating on it, then people would just assume it would be for children.
I did a task in a group, which was to conduct primary research into the BBFC and how its used within film – here’s what I found in my written words;
“BBFC always explore why a certain film has that rating, or why they have to be cut or banned.” I wrote this because I found it interesting that they had to cut films or certain scenes in order to make it that rating, it must be annoying for the filmmakers themselves to either have to re shoot it or have it not in that rating.
In a group again, we looked into a Harry Potter film and give our primary and secondary research in what we think of the rating. The BBFC rating was 12 and from watching the trailer, I can see why, It is not overly violent, it doesn’t contain strong language, no drugs, no sex and it does seem like the film had that 12 rating to it.
Although I am not really worried for this for my documentary as it will not contain any language, sex, drugs, violence or anything along the lines – but it is very important to look into for research purposes and also future purposes whenever I do another thing with all that in.
Virtual Photography –
It is best here to actually talk about what Virtual Photography actually is. It is a new type of art form that is very very new. It has only been around since about 2014, well that’s when the community really started to grow. Virtual Photography is the exact same as real life photography but with a few different stuff included, one being it’s not a real life world, which includes it’s own advantages and disadvantages. The content we are photographing are all owned by the game companies themselves, which could deal with copyright issues but the companies themselves have even given permissions for people to share their game in people’s own creative mind. One thing people argue about too is that why would they even add a built-in camera into the game if they wouldn’t allow it? Which may be a topic I cover over this documentary.
People take their own photos in virtual worlds, can be from numerous amounts of games that normally contain a photo-mode (in built camera) to really make it the same as real photography. The photo-mode contains normal camera features such as, ISO, DoF, some include shutter speeds. But although it’s very similar, there are a few differences too, it doesn’t work exactly the same as a camera. The fact that when you take a photo, everything freezes, which can give you a lot more freedom in the composition process, giving you time to find the right angle. Of course once you’re done with the picture in the game, you can edit it afterwards, really giving it a special look or style to your shots. Some people like to edit photos compared to how the game is, if it’s a pretty simple game then there would/could be simple editing, or with the really out of world games can include some weird, cool edits. It’s all about experimentation, to think outside the box and to have fun with different ways to take photos, just like in real life.
Documentary Modes –
I learnt about the many modes within documentaries, the three specific ones were’
- Grierson “Voice of God”
- Cinema Verite
- Direct Cinema
Each three having different formats, of course. The first one being that there is only voice over of the filmmaker present, so for example would be the nature documentaries where there is only the footage and voice, explaining what it happening, or making it seem like they’re the one telling you what is exactly happening, there isn’t any way you could make them think about anything else while watching.
The second being that the filmmaker is present within the video, them following a story of someone, going to locations and asking questions or talking, or telling the story themselves, while being the director of the video and the main character.
The third one is direct cinema, showing no filmmaker or their voice, they edit clips together and tell the story through those, it could either be archive videos, videos they filmed themselves, animated videos, anything that will add to the video.
Out of all these three, I originally was planning to go for the first one as my plan fitted that, but after thinking and getting feedback, I realised that it isn’t the best way to handle this subject, I need to follow a story while having a person there. So I am doing the Cinema Verite one, following my story of the documentary.
Cinema Verite – (https://www.britannica.com/art/cinema-verite)
Having a look into what the origins are for this, it seems like it wasn’t exactly idolised at the start. said to be degenerating film and not artistic in any way, but still continued to carry on through-out the years to be a main part of documentaries. Originated in the 60’s to show an authentic way of showing people in their life situations or stories, it’s not made up and not put in a movie format. You can tell by most of the fourth wall breaking, the handheld camera footage, perhaps some archive footage. It just feels different to a film.
Ofcom – (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-is-ofcom)
I was told about Ofcom, I was told that BBFC doesn’t really matter for documentaries, only for films but that Ofcom was a good thing to look into. What I learnt from overlooking their website is that it is a regulator for community services that are relied upon every day.
It seems like the do a lot of things, consisting of making sure UPS and The Royal Mail are delivering letters 6 days a week, parcels 5 days a week at a good price. They also look over the airwaves signals across the UK, this can be from mobile phones, car keys, anything wireless. They protect vulnerable people from getting scammed and also the main reason I had to look into them is that they make sure that the TV and Radio content is good for the UK to hear and watch. They check if the programme reflects on the audience it is targeted for. They listen to complaints and sometimes will dive deeper into the company is the rules are broken to a certain extent.
They are an independent company that are funded by fees by companies they regulate.
Target Audience –
From looking into some research, I am still unsure of what my target audience would actually be aiming for, obviously it would be people who are interested in video games and photography itself, which the age range can be a big gap.
Which I guess what I will be aiming for, because of this, the documentary will be universal rating and will not contain any swearing, explicit content because there’s no much need for it, especially since the age gap can vary through-out. I will mainly be targeting older, mature people such like teenagers, young adults and possibly any older people who would be interested. So, my script, voice and so on, this will result in my voice not being condescending as I doubt the older audience would want to watch or listen to such thing, but easy enough to understand if anyone else younger would be watching, but I won’t really want to be focusing on that since I don’t think they would have any interest, but it would still be there.
TV and Film Production 