12 November 2012

Film Classification: Our Intended Rating


In production of a feature film, it is crucial in understanding the target audience the movie is aimed for. As can be seen in my post regarding our target audience for "Sins Of The Martyr", we have decided to go for a young adult and older demographic. Thus, if our full film is to be classified by the British Board Of Film Classification (it won't) it would likely receive a 12A/15 rating, which would be reflected in the nature and content of the movie.


As we have decided to make an action thriller, you can of course except some violence and intensity. Some profanity may also be uttered, in keeping with the hard nature of the proceedings, and sex or nudity could make an appearance. However, the sequence that opens the film is unlikely to feature a great deal of the latter due to the location and confidence of our actors, but there is the likelihood of blood and perhaps a swear word. Therefore it is more probable that the opening sequence would be classified a 12A than a 15, as films such as "Skyfall" and "The Bourne Legacy" have gotten away with more than we expect will be seen in our finished product.

Typically, films that receive lower classifications do more successfully at the box office due to reaching a wider audience. However, this is not something that we took into consideration when deciding upon the content of the movie, it was a rather a creative choice not to go too overboard with our ideas. We also do not want to alienate older audiences, our intended demographic, with the stigma of having a 12A rating, so a 15 would be preferable in order to draw the right audience. An example of the downsides of attracting younger audiences is for instance, during a showing of "The Woman In Black", a horror film, mind you, there was a high percentage of pre-pubescent young girls in the auditorium, a fact that I found highly distracting to my enjoyment of the film. Much like with Daniel Radcliffe in that movie, our production has a strong cast of highly attractive strapping young men to lure this particular young female demographic to the cinema.

If we feel, during filming or in post-production, that "Sins Of The Martyr" could strongly benefit from an increased level of intensity we will make arrangements to change the content in order to reach a higher classification. Till then, however, we are content with aiming for a 12A or a 15.