How does film classification affect film production and distribution?

Film classification is the rating of DVDs, video's, video games, programmes etc. They decide what rating the film should have depending on what age it is suitable for. An example of film classification is BBFC. This is the British Board of Film Classification and two examiners look through the published guidelines and choose the suitable age rating. 

Film classification can affect film production because the producer of the film has to think what target audience they would like to produce their film for. They then have to work around this and choose specific actors, scripting, language etc.; that would suit their target audience. For example when scripting a 12A  film, you would have to consider if you want strong language used in it; it must be infrequent and not too much of a harsh swear word. If the strong language was either very strong or very frequent the consequence would be rating the film to a 15. This would then not be the original target audience the film set out to produce. This is why it is important to consider the specific age classification for your film when producing it. 

Film classification can also affect the distribution this in a positive and and negative way. A positive way is that without film classifications, when it comes to distribution the cinemas/shops who would like to purchase the film would know what target audience the film is setting out to attract and this will help the cinema choose if the film is suitable for the most popular customers. But also does it help the cinemas/shops, it also helps the parents, as the parents know whether or not the film is suitable for their child due to the rating of the film. 

However a negative affect film classification on distribution is that, if a film is targeted at the rating of a 15 and then the film is not suitable for 15 year olds and above, then the film may not even be able to be distributed because of the wrong rating. And therefore the film will make no money and the shops and cinema etc. will miss out on the option of choosing/purchasing the film to be able to sell. 

Film classification has a huge impact of the production and distribution of the film and it can be negative and positive, however I believe it usually has a negative effect as it can prevent production and distribution. 

Compare and contrast the Bafta and Oscar winners.

Oscar Winners:

1. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz
2. Animated Short Film: "Paper Man"
3. Animated Feature Film: "Brave"
4. Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for "Life of Pi"
5. Visual Effects: "Life of Pi"
6. Costume Design: "Anna Karenina"
7. Makeup and Hairstyling: "Les Miserables"
8. Live Action Short Film: "Curfew"
9. Documentary Short Subject: "Innocente"
10. Documentary Feature: "Searching for Sugar Man"
11. Foreign Language Film: "Amour"
12. Sound Mixing: "Les Miserables
13. Sound Editing: "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall" (A tie)
14. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
15. Film Editing: "Argo"
16. Production Design: "Lincoln"
17. Original Score: "Life of Pi"
18. Original Song: "Skyfall"
19. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio for "Argo"
20. Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantion for "Django Unchained"
21. Directing: Ang Lee
22. Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
23. Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
24. Best Picture: "Argo"

Bafta Winners:

1. Best film- Argo

2. Outstanding British film- Skyfall
3. Outstanding debut by a British by a British writer, director or producers- Bart Layout (Director), Dimitri Doganis (Producer) - The imposter
4. Film not in the English language- Amour
5. Documentary: Searching For Sugar Man
6. Animated Film: Brave
7. Director: Argo
8. Orginal Screenplay: Quentin Taratino
9. Adapted screenplay: Silver Linings
10. Leading Actor:Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
11. Leading Actress: Emmanuelle Riva Amour
12. Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
13. Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
14. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Skyfall - Thomas Newman
15. Cinematography: Life Of Pi- Claudio Miranda 
16. Editing: Argo- William Goldenberg
17. Production deisn: Les Miserables- Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
18. Costume design: Anna Karenina - Jacueline Durran
19. Make up and Hair: Les Miserables Lisa Westcott
20. Sound: Les Miserables- Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John warhurst
21. Special visual effect: Life of Pi
22. Short animation: The Making of the Longbird
23. Short film: Swimmer
24. The EE rising star award: Juno Temple
25. Outstanding  British contibution to cinema: Tessa Ross
26. The Bafta fellowship: Alan Parker

The comparison between the Bafta and Oscar Winners is:

• Bafta have a lot more awards/winners.
• Oscar pin point one person or film in particular. Where as the Bafta's winners are more specific and tell you who exactly did what.
• The certain awards that both the Oscar's and Bafta have are usually have the same winners. E.g. Visual effect: Life of Pi, Cinematography: Life of Pi.
• The most popular winners are on both the Bafta and Oscars list, and usually for the same awards. E.g Life of Pi, Les Miserables, Anna Karenina.
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FILM CLASSIFICATION RESEARCH

How are films classified?
Films are classified by companies such as British Board of Film Classification. The films that are awaiting to be released are usually classified by two examiners using public guidelines. 

Why are they classified?
Films are classified to see whether they are suitable and will be watched by the target audience. By looking things like discrimination, drugs, horror, language, sex, sexual violence. They will also look at how the film is will make the audience feel. 

Film classification is a crucial part of film distribution. Why?
It is crucial because it helps consumer make informed choices about the films they see. Also to see whether the film is suitable for a particular age group. 

How effective is films classified classification?
It is very effective in the way that parents are able to decide whether a film is suitable for their child, and also the fact that shops cannot sell the films if the person is under aged.  However people argue that they focus too much on not allowing to show sex that it avoids the violence that may be shown. Also some parents do not actually take interest in the age restriction and buy films and allow their child to watch films which are illegal for them to watch. There are now film sites where you can illegally download films and children/ young teens can easily access the over aged films. This also applies the movie sites, such as Netflix etc.

Have you ever watched films classified 18 when you were below this age?
Yes, only up until recently, now that I am a lot more free and independent. But as when I was a lot younger, my parent would never allow me to. 

Does film classification work for home viewing e.g.DVD, Netflix, LoveFilm, downloads?
No not at all, you have the freedom and no one is there to stop you from watching films unsuitable for you. However on sites such as Netflix and LoveFilm there is available parent control, this would help the age restriction for your child. However I believe that it is unlikely that a parent will go through the troubles in doing this. 

Can parents and guardians be trusted to monitor what children are viewing?
I believe they can be. The parents are their child's parent, it is down to them whether or not they want their child to watch films that are not right for their age. I do believe it is wrong for parents to do this as it is illegal. However I think most parents know their child and know what is suitable and what isn't for their child. 

Should they have this responsibility? How can they effectively monitor their children's viewing?
I think they should definitely have this responsibility. They are still able to use things such as parent control on computers (for online films), and children are not able to buy films which are rated above their age without a parent with them, and even then it is the parents responsibility. 

What do you think the balance between state intervention (film classification) and individual responsibility (no regulation, free choice) should be?
I believe how things are at the moment is the way forward that way there is a restriction on children actually buying films above there age rating, but if the child would like to buy and they have their parents permission then it is up to the parent to make the decision because it is their on child and their responsibility. 

Bafta 2013 Research

BAFTA 2013 RESEARCH
What is Bafta?
The British Academy of Film and Television is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in cinema, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.

What are the awards?
The awards for Bafta are , television, children's, video games, Britannia awards, BAFTA in Scotland, BAFTA Cymru.

Who won what?

• Best film- Argo
• Outstanding British film- Skyfall
• Leading actor- Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
• Leading actress- Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)
• Supporting actor- Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
• Director- Ben Affleck (Argo)
• Original screenplay- Django Unchained (Quentin Taratino), Silver Lining Playbook- David O Russell.
• Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer- Bart Layton (director) and Dmitri Doganis (producer) The Imposter.
• Animated film- Brave
• Documentary- Searching for Sugarman
• Film not in english language- Amour
• Cinematography- Life of Pi
• Costume design- Anna Karenia
• Editing- Argo
• Makeup and hair- Les Miserables
• Original music- Skyfall
• Production design- Les Miserables
• Special visual effects- Life of Pi
• Short animation- The making of longbird
• Short film- Swimmer
• Rising star- Juno Temple

How mant 'British' nominees were there?
Film makeup and hair-

• Les Miserables- Lisa Westcott
• Anna Karenia- Ivana Primorac
• The hobbit- Peter swords

Animated films-

• Paranorman- Sam Fell and Chris butler

Cinematography-

• Anna Karinia-Seamus McGarvey
• Les miserables- Danny Cohen

Project X

Project X

Overview:

• Director- Nima Nourizadeh (British-Iranian) commercial and film director and editor. 
• Genre- Comedy, coming of age. (American highschool stereotype teenagers). 
• Production- Producer: Todd Phillips (American) also known for Due Date, The Hangover 1 &2 etc. Filmed in California and Los Angeles. 
• Distributed- Warner Bros (World wide known American media institution). America and UK.

Institutional Factors:

• Target audience- Specifically teenagers but also young adults, boys had more of an interest in the film however. 
• Production values- Sound track, costume, set design.
• Distributions- Warner Bros.

Box Office:

World wide- $100,931,865

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Harry potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Harry Potter is a world wide classic with 8 films, explaining the adventures of Harry and his 2 best friends, Hermione and Ron. 

Overview:

• Director- David Yates (Second of two cinematic parts) Novel written by J.K. Rowling (very successful author.
• Genre- Fantasy fiction, speculative fiction, children's literature. (For all ages, but probably more suitable for teenagers on wards.  
• Produced and distributed- English setting, as produced by the English producer David Heyman, majority of actors are British, clearly set in England, old fashioned England. But Distributed by the famous American media institution Warner Bros. (UK/US collaboration).

Institutional Factors:

• Target audience- Original target audience was for children (novels). Now all the films are mass audience, worldwide audience most popular with United Kingdom and the United States.
• Production values- Set design, location shooting (regular settings, but old fashioned to create the scene of Harry Potter), special effects used (magic used within film to make it look realistic), language, costume. 
• Distribution- Extremely wide distribution (American Warner Bros).

Box Office:

• Worldwide- $1,328,111,219.

Case study on Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros is a American producer of film, television, and music entertainment.

Who were the founders?
The corporate name honors the four founding Warner brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack. The three elder brothers began in the movie theatre business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio in 1903. Founded: April 4, 1923.
 In 1927, the release of the world’s first “talkie,” (synchronized-sound feature film), The Jazz Singer, set a character and tone of innovation and influence that would become synonymous with the name Warner Bros. And--as Al Jolson foretold in this milestone movie--“you ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” And since then Warner bros has spiraled on.

Who was the films by Warners Bros aimed at?
In 1995, Warner and station owner Tribune company of Chicago launched The Warner Bros network, finding a niche market in teenagers. The WB's early programming included an abundance of teenage fare like Buffy the vampire slayer, Smallville, Dawsons Creek, and One Tree Hill.

Warner Bros consists of 6500 featured films.

Warner brothers has a variety of films and different types of genres. 
For example Harry Potter- based on Harry potter series of novels by J.K Rowling.
But the film was actually directed and produced by a British Directer named David Heyman. However it was distributed by Warner Bros (which is American). All of the actors which played the young teen roles of Harry Potter were British actors. Also all the scenes have been filmed in Britain.