BBFC Research

The British Board of Film Classification

BBFC stands for the British Board of Film Classification and known as the British Board of  Film Censors. They are a non-governmental organisation, which are founded by the film industry in 1912. The BBFC is accountable for the national classification and censorship of films in the United Kingdom. According to their criteria they classify videos, DVDs and some video games.

Before any film is released it needs to be classified by at least two examiners using the published guidelines. The examiners will look at various matters such as drugs, discrimination, imitable behaviour, sex, theme, sexual violence, nudity, language, horror and violence when making decisions. In addition, they consider the text as the tone and impact of a work, an example of this is how it makes the viewer feel. Moreover, they include the release format, for instance, DVDs are bought and watched at home, this means there is a higher risk of underage viewing.

As for music, "Vevo" and "YouTube" are in a partnership with BBFC. They are creating permanent scheme to age rate all music videos by artists who signed to Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK, that are unsuitable for younger children (under 12). Also, some independent UK music labels have decided to join the phase of the pilot scheme. This is because it proves the consumers awareness about the content of a specific music video and enable to increase children's online protection.  All the rating for each music video will be displayed online on "Vevo" and "Youtube", including smart phone Apps.

The BBFC classify each video by watching the entire video and will then assign an age rating to it according to the content advice. For example, strong language, sex references or nudity, based on the BBFC published "Classification Guidelines". Parts of the issues considered by the BBFC when they classify a music video include: drug misuse, bad behaviour displayed as safe, bad language, sexual behavior, nudity and threatening behavior, gesture and violence.

As for our music video we think that the age restriction will be 12 or 15. This is because through our research we have watched and analysed music videos that  included content which wouldn't have been suitable for a young audience. Therefore, our video may contain some dangerous behaviour, drug misuse or other unsuitable content for young viewers. For that reason, we will first complete all our research and planning, which includes scenes, message which may be portrayed and the content of the music video. When this is complete we will then consider the BBFC classification guidelines in order to find out what would the age restriction for our video.