The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body, which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912, and videos since the passing of the Video Recordings Act in 1984.
Designed to keep the public and the industry informed about the work of the BBFC, this website includes
up to the minute information about classification decisions; the policies and Guidelines used by the BBFC when
classifying a work; how to submit a film, DVD or video game for classification as well as information about the BBFC.
In 1984 Parliament passed the Video Recordings Act. This act stated that, subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale or hire commercially in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State. The President and Vice Presidents of the BBFC were so designated, and charged with applying the new test of 'suitability for viewing in the home'. At this point the Board's title was changed to British Board of Film Classification to reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board's work than censorship.
The BBFC classifies films on behalf of the local authorities who license cinemas under the Licensing Act 2003. The BBFC classifies videos, DVDs and some digital works under the Video Recordings Act 1984. (The digital works covered by the VRA are those whose exemption is forfeited under section 2(2) because they depict human sexual activity, gross violence or other matters of concern.)
The BBFC will not classify material which it believes to be in breach of the criminal law. Where possible the BBFC will carry out its responsibilities through appropriate use of the classification categories, particularly in order to protect children from actual or potential harm. If necessary, however, the Board may cut or even reject a film, video, DVD or digital work. The Board's approach to rejects is set out at the end of these Guidelines.
Coming into this course i had a vague idea of what was to come and what i was about to learn. I have actually been suprised by the curriculum and i am very happy about the things i have learned in semester one.
Starting with script writing was really exciting for me as i have never done something in the league we were taught in. The amount of thought and depth that I learned must be put in them was a good way to test if i was ever capable of writing a script for any situation i.e. Leaving Home and my thoughts about Radio, written in the form of a story, very descriptive and readable for radio.
Working with Pro Tools was also very new to me, previously, the softwares i had used for editin
g audio were; Adobe Audition and Garageband and have been introduced to Reason and Cubase but have never really got the chance to understand it and learn how to use it properly. After Gill had taught me the basic elements of using Pro Tools, i feel that i am much more confident in using the software.
The phrase "Vox Pop", was also very new to me, after doin media studies for 5 years from GCSE's through to A-Levels and 1 year at my previous university, i had never come across the phrase Vox Pop but had definately done that form of interviewing on several occasions. From experiencing one semester at Weston College, sometimes i wonder if i was ever being taught anything properly previously, it feels like i have learnt more important things and the curriculum actually makes sense and teaches what it says in the title of the course!
I have also learnt that creating the right interview/vox pop question is the best way to get the right editable answer without too many prompts from the interviewer.
Working in a group always proves very difficult for me, but this time round i have found an easier way of dealing with this kind of task. The group members assigned themselves roles that made it much easier to know what was going on, we all knew what we had to do and just got on with what with it. The ideas were diliberated on excessively to make sure that we had covered all the important areas and topic of our show, and made the absolute best of what we had. I thouroughly enjoyed that project and i am totally happy with the outcome of our radio production.
Overall, i have learnt something from every lesson i have attended and so far happy with my progress, i am also excited to know what is to come.
