What do you think about film censorship generally?
I think film censorship plays has a huge involvement in the film industry. They help regulate films which are shown in the cinema and also realised in the cinema and to a certain extent help regulate who watches what. I believe that censorship is very crucial and significant in helping and preventing younger audiences from viewing film content which is not suitable for them. furthermore from my experience underage viewing of films can have a negative impact on the audience as they are to young to understand and acknowledge that what they are watching is only a film but in contrast i believe as time has gone on film censorship has become more and more ignored and even parents are allowing their own children who are under aged to view content which by law they are not permitted to view. In addition i believe very strict film censorship has actually given the underage audiences more of an urge to watch the films to see what they are ‘missing out on’.
Myself talking about my research on the BBFC enjoy 🙂
In this lesson i did some research on the BBFC and found out about who they are and what they do in brief 🙂
What is the BBFC?
From my research i had found out that the BBFC are a highly expert and experienced regulator of the moving image (especially films, videos/DVDs and video games) and also a service provider for new and developing media.
What are the BBFC’s key roles?
The BBFC have the following key roles:
The BBFC regulates not just as a statutory designated authority but also because we serve a socially useful function.
Through the efficient classification of the moving image into advisory and age-related categories, the provision of consumer advice and the maintenance of our archive:
we give the public information that empowers them to make appropriate viewing decisions for themselves and those in their care. We help to protect vulnerable viewers and society from the effects of viewing potentially harmful or unsuitable content while respecting adult freedom of choice.
we provide media industries with the security and confidence of cost-effective, publicly trusted regulation and help to protect providers of moving image content from inadvertent breaches of UK law.
we are able to assist Trading Standards officers in their enforcement role
When was it set up?
The BBFC was set up in 1912, by the film industry when local authorities started to impose their own, widely varying, censorship standards on films.
How is the BBFC funded?
The BBFC is funded by a non governmental b0dy and is a non profit organisation. In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC’s income is derived solely from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films or DVD works submitted for classification.
Who enforces the BBFC judgements?
Senior examiner of BBFC examining a film
After doing some research on who enforces the judgements within the BBFC i have gathered the following information:
In the BBFC films for theatrical release are normally classified by at least two Examiners using the published guidelines they use.The majority of the time the decision is ratified by the senior examiner who has been appointed.If the Examiners are in any doubt or fail to agree, or if important policy issues are involved, the work may be seen by other members of the Board up to, and including, the Director and Presidential team. DVDs are normally seen by only the one Examiner, particularly when they are viewing the DVD version of a cinema film which has already been classified, however the opinions given from other examiners may be required for more difficult works.
What are the levels of certification in Britain?
Discrimination
No discriminatory language or behavior unless clearly disapproved of. Drugs
No references to illegal drugs or drug misuse unless they are infrequent and innocuous, or there is a clear educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children. Horror
Scary sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome should be reassuring. Imitable behavior
No potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No emphasis on realistic or easily accessible weapons. Language
Infrequent use only of very mild bad language. Nudity
Occasional natural nudity, with no sexual context. Sex
Mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and references only (for example, to ‘making love’). Theme
While problematic themes may be present, their treatment must be sensitive and appropriate for young children. Violence
Mild violence only. Occasional mild threat or menace only.
Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of or in an educational or historical context. Discrimination by a character with which children can readily identify is unlikely to be acceptable.
Drugs
References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.
Horror
Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.
Imitable behaviour
No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons.
Language
Mild bad language only.
Nudity
Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.
Theme
Where more serious issues are featured (for example, domestic violence) nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour.
Violence
Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).
Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.
Drugs
Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.
Horror
Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’) must be infrequent.
Nudity
Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
Sex
Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
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. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification.
Suitable only for 15 years and over
No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.
Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.
Suitable only for adults
No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema.
No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.
In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following areas:
where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault
where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in ‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined to that category.
In the case of video works (including video games), which may be more accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.
Sex education at ‘18’
Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted.
Sex works at ‘18’
Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only material which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’. Sex works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated images, or other very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’ category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.
Building (looks very dull and cold, showing that the atmosphere must be very serious)
Man is wearing FBI hat, suggests it is a police thriller
It is a male dominated environment and she is the only female there,suggests to us the woman can carry out jobs and tasks usually associated with men
Camera Work
Establishing shot – long shot showing the scenery and surroundings.
Tracking- tracking woman whilst she is running, it can show that she is the main character and potentially the antagonist.
Focusing- the camera work is orientated around the woman and her running from the start of the shot. Makes it seem as if the audience is also following her every move along with the camera and also that are witnessing such a thing in real life.
Zooming- showing the woman amongst all men in the elevator.
P.O.V shot of the pictures.
Sound
Music- Creates tension, In-Sync with woman’s movements.
Dietetic Sound- Birds and Leaves (nature).
Sound of nature can suggests that she is alone no human sounds just the sound of her surroundings (isolation).
When man approaches the woman, the music sounds very sinister as if something is going to happen.
The sound of bell drills tell us that she is in some kind of train camp.
Eerie
Editing/Special Effects
Match on action
shot reverse shot
Voyeuristic (watching someone)
credits stay on for longer then usual
minimal editing
tracks woman for so long
long shots of just the woman
slow zoom to woman trying to suggest she is i a govermant building and she is trapped in a building
Lesson Objective: To analyse variase thriller opening sequences and identify how they create suspence.
Task: During the screenings, consider the following question while making note; How do the technical elements tell the audience it is a thriller?
Film Opening 1-The Shining
Notes Taken In Class:
Mis En Scene
Valley (Surrounded by mountains)
Remote Area (Secluded)
Car driving along a long never ending road
Hotel (Old hotel building,dull,Gothic and castle like)
Car portrayed as an ant (insignificant in comparison to the surroundings)
Mum looks weird ( big eyes and pale with jet black eyes)
Son and mum are wearing red (implies the idea of blood,anger and danger)
The hotel manager waits for a reaction from Jack Nicholson after telling the story but it does not shock him and he remains calm and stable
Both the mother and son never make eye contact, this illustrates their relationship as not being very close and loving
Jack Nicholson’s facial expression is not surprising when the hotel manager tells him about the disturbing incident that took place in the hotel (represents him as being brave but something will happen to him later in the film)
Sound
Tuber instrument (aggressive sound)
orchestral
Chiming echo – resembles screaming
The hotel manager uses the words “killings & axe” a lot. This foreshadows what is to come and the prop’s which will be used for a murder
the boy also says this in a strange voice that he puts on which sounds eerie
The little boys deep sound voice
High pitch screeching is relentless, echoing links with location which is high up in the mountains
Words used in dialogue- ”Killing”,”Axe”,”Isolation”, ”Castro Phobia”.
Editing/Special Effects
Sharp font
Cross dissolve
Shot reverse shot
Slow camera work
Match on action of car moving
Camerawork
Establishing shot (Shows the scenery)
Tracking of the car
Car tracked from a birds eye view
extreme long shot on the car is used to show how tiny and insignificant it is to the mountains and the cliffs etc (also makes the viewers feel isolated)
After the assassination of President Kennedy, political thriller and paranoid thriller films became very popular. The brightest examples of thrillers are the Hitchcock’s movies. The cover-up of important information from the viewer and fight/chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own characteristics and methods. Common methods in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. More common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit technique. Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/deathtraps, horror-of-personality, and obsession. Elements such as conspiracy theories, false accusations, paranoia, and sometimes action are common in paranoid thrillers.
Key directors in thriller films:
Over the years we have witnessed many great thriller films in our cinema’s, here is a list of my top 5 thriller directors along with some films they have directed.
Thrillers are often hybrids with other film genres; there are action-thrillers, crime-caper thrillers, western-thrillers, and even romantic comedy-thrillers.
Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations. They are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, and a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened anticipation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. The acclaimed ‘Master of Suspense’ is Alfred Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock the 'Master of suspense'
Thriller/Suspense Film
How does it differ from a Horror?
Thrillers are any sort of exciting film. They can be car chases, explosions, or suspenseful situations. The film “Phone Booth” is classified as a “thriller”, even though it’s mostly about people talking on a telephone, though several people also get shot.
Horror makes its excitement in many different ways, through use of graphic violence and pain. It’s more about being scared than being excited, especially if there’s a strong use of physical horror involved.
At its broadest, “thriller” can include “horror”, but most thrillers avoid using graphic violence. But there can be considerable overlap. “Silence of the Lambs”, for example, is primarily a psychological thriller, with the focus on the relationship between the cop and a disturbed informant. But it also has elements of horror, whenever it shows the killer that they’re tracking at work.
The Omen is called both “horror” and “thriller”, for the same reason: there are many deaths in it, which are horror, but there are also scenes of suspense without immediate threat of physical harm.
Horror films tend to involve a lot of meaningless deaths, and the thrill is about the fear, and the focal character is often the villain, especially when that villain is a motiveless killer. Thrillers are more about pursuit, and the main character is either a hero or an anti-hero whose motivations are explored.
What are the typical conventions of a Thriller film?
Typical Location- The typical setting of a thriller is in an urban city. Usually the main colours used will be grey, black and white to emphasise the helplessness of the first character we see. Thrillers can also be set in quiet country villages, where everyone leads poor and simple lives; often the villain will come from a small village.Usually only a small range of colours will be used, the main being black or grey if it is set in a city environment, to show how normal and mundane life is. However other strong colours are often used at particular plot points; for example if there is a lot of blue we can assume that someone has or is going to die, and if there is a recurring theme of red (i.e. alarms) then we understand the characters are in danger.
Most thriller films tend to be set in two types of locations. The first one is Hitchcock’s classical idea of it being set in someone’s house. This is perfect for a thriller film as people are meant to feel safe in their own home but when there is evil and danger in their own home it will create a very tensed & nerve racking situation. This will make the audience very anxious and engaged with the storyline as they are witnessing what may happen if such danger ever occurs in their own home.
Image from thriller film 'Disturbia' located within the home.
The second most common location for thriller films is somewhere very isolated and empty usually natural environments such as forests or middle of nowhere (remote area). It could also be dark empty rooms such as attics and lofts. Thriller film posters show an unclear and brief image of the location the film is set in.
Image from thriller film 'Buried' located in an isolated casket
Typical Characters- All thriller films always include a antagonist (villain) and a protagonist(hero). All posters of thriller films include an image of either the antagonist & protagonist showing the audience that they play a significant role within the film. In thrillers characters may not always be what they seem to look, meaning that a protagonist may come across as being the hero but towards the climax of the film the truth is all revealed.
The heroes in thrillers are often men that are accustomed to danger in their jobs or lifestyles (i.e. policemen, spies, etc) or are ordinary citizens that have been pulled into danger by accident. The male hero usually has an aim to defeat the evil of the situation and will persevere even if nothing is going according to plan.
The Dark Knight (Hero) in The Dark Knight
Kale the protagonist in the film 'Disturbia'
The villains in thrillers are also typically men, usually tall and/or well-built, and with a shady sense around them that gives the impression that they shouldn’t be trusted. This character may have some physical deformity (if their identity is secret for the majority of the film), or a traumatic experience that has changed their outlook on life or humanity,Usually they will work alone.
The Joker plays the antagonist in the 'Dark Knight'
Mr. Turner plays the antagonist in the film 'Disturbia'
Typical Plots- Generally, thrillers show justice and injustice (or good and evil) fighting against each other, with an overall feel of suspense. Most often, the identity of the antagonist is known and the protagonist must intervene with their plans; a thriller movie usually has a growing sense of threat and/or danger and there is a clear sense of pursuit, the typical most common plots are Kidnapping, Murder, Stalking and almost always there is a race against time. These are the most common story lines within in thriller films.
This article by Alfred Hitchcock states that every maker of mystery movies aims to get the audience on the edge of their seats, and the ingredients used in order to achieve this is ‘suspense’. Hitchcock believes you have suspense when you let the audience play God. Meaning when there is uncertainty in whats going to happen in a film and the audience makes their own guesses. The writer calls it playing god because the audience know the fate of the characters and what may happen to them in the future. This will create suspense and keep the audience interested as they know everything that is going on but the characters are not aware and are blind of the situation, therefore the audience will constantly want to know and ask themselves “what’s going to happen next?”.
Hitchcock goes on to mention that for 17 years he has been making pictures described alternately as thrillers, dark mysteries and chillers. Even though he claims he has never actually directed a puzzler or whodunit. He also thinks that puzzling the audience is not the essence of suspense, followed by an example of a drama Hitchcock recently filmed at Warner Bros called Rope. He goes to describe that in the drama Rope John Dall and Farley Granger strangle a young man in the opening shot. They then put his body in a chest, covering the chest with damask cloth and silver service, they then serve hors d’oeuvres and drinks from it at a party for the victim’s father,mother, sweetheart and assorted friends. He says everyone is gay and charming and that when Stewart begins to suspects foul play late in the film John Dall puts his gun in his pocket in case things get too hot and that the audience knows everything from the start and that there is not a single detail to puzzle the audience so therefore not a whodunit as everyone out front knows who did it. He believes suspense is created because the two characters walk through blithely through an atmosphere that is loaded with evil.
Hitchcock believes that in order for questions such as ‘Will the murders break and give themselves away?’ and ‘Will Jimmy get killed before he discovers the actual crime?’ to pop up the following needs to be achieved; one ingredients of the formula is a series of plausible situations with people that are real.
This ‘Let Em Play God’ method is very similar to Hitchcock’s other theory the ‘Bomb Theory’, this is because both of these methods keep the characters of the film in the dark but make the audience aware of the truth and real situation and what a certain character is hiding. Both of these methods create suspense. The rule for the two methods is that the audience should know everything from the start but none of the characters apart from one or two who are usually the murderers or the antagonists.
Below is a video from a Hitchcock documentary in which the ‘master of suspense’ explains the famous ‘Bomb Theory’:
All in all the Hitchcock believes that puzzles and “who done it?” films do not create suspense. This is because these types of films keep the audience in the dark and puzzled therefore it does not create a sense of suspense and thrill and only causes the audience to be confused , therefore all characters should be believable.
In this lesson we discussed and noted down what the typical conventions of a thriller may be with film posters and picked out similarities withing a series of posters in terms of their Mis-en-Scene. Lastly with my group i analysed a film poster from the film Premonition and what its codes and conventions are and what makes us realise it is a thriller film poster.
Aims Of Lessons:
To find out what the typical conventions of thrillers are within film posters.
Understanding Codes and Conventions
Conventions: whats within a poster.
Text style
Font
Images
Format
– Location/Setting: natural environment and believable, not surreal, remote or neighbourhood.
–Typical Characters: antagonist and patogonist.
-Typical Plots: Mysticle and Unknown.
-Typical Iconography (recognizable symbols signs and styles): Guns and Knives.
Film Posters and Genre conventions:
Exploring Mis En Scene
Examples of thriller posters:
Key Similarities Of Posters Above:
Dark Tone
Low-key Lighting
Sharp Fonts
Close Up (Shows emotion)
High Contrast (Use of shadow)
Sinister Images
Ominous Colours (Not vibrant and not in your face)
Expressions on faces gives away that films are thrillers
Limited Colours
Primary Colours
Sharp N Snappy
Poster Images Cropped (minimal/limited info given)
In today’s lesson we had made notes during the screening of a documentary on Hitchcock and then told to type up detailed reposes from our notes.
Aims Of Lesson:
Watch Hitchcock documentary.
Make notes from screening.
Type up detailed response for homework (below)
(After watching the documentary on Alfred Hitchcock as well as making notes, i then typed up a response to what i had analyzed whilst the screening)
Response:
Hitchcock’s first memory of being scared was during his childhood, it was when Hitchcock’s father who was a wholesaler sent Hitchcock along with a note to a prison, Young Hitchcock was locked in a holding cell for five minutes. When the cell was opened, the constable told him, “This is what we do to naughty boys.” This experience, among others, left Hitchcock psychologically scarred at a very impressionable age, Hitchcock also explained how the sound of the door shutting, and the sound of the vault when slammed was most frightening of all he described it as being the ‘clang of the vault’.
Example of a vault which Hitchcock speaks of when being locked in a prison cell - 'Clung of the vault'
Due to these traumatic event which took place during Hitchcock’s childhood it had permanently made him fearful of policemen and driving a car in case he receives a ticket which could get the police involve. Lastly he also mentioned that it was the method of the punishment, which created the fears he has today.
The Bomb Theory is what made Hitchcock “The Master of Suspense, The ‘bomb theory’ is as follows: Two men are sitting at a table discussing baseball. They talk for about five minutes, when suddenly, there is a huge explosion, which gives the audience a terrible shock, which lasts for about fifteen seconds. According to Hitchcock’s Bomb Theory, when the scene opens, you show the audience that there is a bomb under the table, which is set to go off in five minutes. While the men are sitting casually discussing baseball, the audience is squirming in their seats, thinking ‘’don’t sit there talking about baseball…there’s a bomb under the table! Get rid of it!’’ The audience is overwhelmed with the sense to warn the characters of the danger which they perceive, and which the characters are not aware of.
The scene doesn’t always need to contain a bomb in it to build the tension it can be any object or person in some cases. Furthermore when using this theory it is better if the bomb doesn’t go off as it can have a negative impact upon the audiences and the audience will be very mad at the director, as it hasn’t given the audience a sense of relief. All in all this theory’s main purpose is to manipulate the audiences mind and to play around with them.
The Bomb Theory:
Usually, though not always, the Maguffin is the central focus of the film in the first act, and then declines in importance as the struggles and motivations of characters play out. It may come back into play at the climax of the story, but sometimes the Maguffin is actually forgotten by the end of the film. It can at times be what the spy’s are after but the audience do not pay much attention to it.
The Maguffin can usually have the characters willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the Maguffin actually is. In fact, the specific nature of the Maguffin may be ambiguous and left open to analysis or otherwise completely unimportant to the plot. Common examples are money, victory, glory, survival, a source of power, or a threat, or it can simply be something entirely unexplained. It is usually an object that motivates the actions of characters, while having little actual meaning to the plot.
The ‘art of cinema’ for Hitchcock was his style he believed any art form is there for the artist to interpret in his own way. He believed it was about the style in which films are told rather then the content and themes the ‘art of cinema’ was merely based around the way the films were constructed and edited. The Psycho shower scene lasts for 45 seconds, this particular scene consists of 78 pieces of film. A point of view shot is used directing at the female victim, therefore the killers (antagonist) face is never shown as it is shown from their point of view.
The shower scene from the film ‘Psycho’:
I also found out that the Point Of View Shot shows what the antagonist is looking, followed usually with their reaction (transforming the menace from the screen to the audience), and then eventually leads to the climax. Hitchcock also discussed the use of the Shot-Reverse-Shot which in thriller films is used to transfer the menace to the victim repeatedly until it became unbearable for the audience to watch then eventually leading onto the climax of the film.
An example i found which shows what a POV shot is and how it is filmed:
A Shot Reverse Shot example shown in this Youtube link:
Alfred Hitchcock also discussed that the ideal locations used for suspense and thriller were usually natural environments such as houses where family live, school playground full of kids and everyday locations which are not over the top and complicated just simple locations. He believes evil is found everywhere especially where you feel safe and the more simple the location in thriller the more effective it is.
Lastly he explained how villains (Antagonist) in thrillers should be the opposite to what you expected them to initially be at the start of the film. example being uncle Charlie who was a sycopath in one of Hithcock’s films but was portrayed to be charming,sophisticated(barely tell one person from another) and that also antagonist can come in other forms such as animals and human spirits not always just people. All in all the ideal villain should be someone who fits in with the other characters (family/group) and someone who you wouldn’t ever think would be so ‘evil’.
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