Monday, 25 January 2010

BBFC Ratings

As my film will be extremely bloody, gory and generally scary I will have to consider what rating the BBFC will class it as it may affect the broadness of my target audience, which are male youths in general.

12A/12 –
Suitable for 12 years and over

Horror- Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.
Violence- Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context.

15 – Suitable only for 15 years and over
Horror- Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Violence- May be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

After reading these boundaries, I do not believe my film should be rated any higher than a fifth teen. On the other hand some scenes I have been planning in my script are quite extreme, such as smashing a crowbar into a zombies face, which I may have to remove from the film or re-plan how they will be acted and filmed. However I am still unsure whether a rating of 12 is appropriate as the main theme of death, desertion and dead bodies in the opening sequences may be too disturbing even for young teenagers, so I believe a 15 is more suitable.

Monday, 11 January 2010

Using Copyrighted Music

For the soft piano music lasting through the background of the opening scenes of my film I will use the final 2 minutes of the Muse song 'United States of Eurasia' which ends the song on a short piano symphony played by Mat Bellamy. This music will be suitable for my film as it has been relatively unused in other films and videos, therefore making my own production that much more unique.
•However it is still copywritted music, even if its use is only for educational uses rather than me distributing it as my own work, I must contact either the artist or record label, requesting permission for me to use their product in my project.
I can do this by sending them an email, either to the bands fan base or email the record label directly. Another option is to leave a comment on Muse’s MySpace page, requesting permission for the song, however it is more likely to be ignored compared to an email sent straight to them.
I will also be music other music for the action sequences of my film to make them more exciting a keep the audience thrilled with the accompanying action footage.
For this I will use the track ‘Masyaff in Danger’ off the ‘Assassins Creed Official Soundtrack’, as it is the music used in the game whenever the player engaged in combat, again to make it more exciting, and I believe it will work extremely well for my film.
Finally I will also include a short segment of the track ‘The Last Spartan’ off the ‘Halo 2 Official Soundtrack’ as this musical score was used for a dramatic effect in the cut scenes, I feel it will emphases extreme suspense as the first zombie pounces on my unsuspecting main character.
Even though these are merely soundtrack used for games and were not music released in the chart like Muse’s work, it is still copywritted material I must contact the distributors via email before I finish my film.