Molly Owens A2 Media Studies

Legal Considerations for my Media Trailer Category

Age Classification




















For my trailer itself, I am planning on rating it a 12A, as I am planning on it not going outside of the following criteria of:

• 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. Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy). 

However, the feature length of my film would work out as a 15 as its horror theme's would be more than moderating touched on. But for my trailer I only want it to be subtly their to allow the audiences imaginations to fill in the gaps.

Legal Responsibilities are a massive responsibility that I have to take into consideration when I am making my trailer is the sensitive issues surrounding filming children as I am using two children within my trailer.
Engaging Child Actors
Any child under the age of 16 needs a licence from their local authority to perform in any film. The application for this licence will include, amongst other things, a medical certificate and detailed statement on the likely performing hours.
Health and Safety 
I must complete a detailed risk assessment for each individual filming location that I have because there will be different factors to consider. For example, there are less risks when filming in a house, compared to filming in an outdoor location like a forest. However, there are always different possibilities that could happen to I will do my best to cover all possibilities through my risk assessments.
Film Censorship and Regulations
Film censorship has definitely changed over time, this is due to something called desensitisation. An example of this is previous films that have been banned for reasons that would appear so petty in today's society.
The first films banned is called The Wild One, this film was submitted to the board in 1953 and was banned for 14 years for the reason of it containing influences of current post war culture. The film is now rated PG.
The second film banned is called The Garden of Eden, this film was released and shortly banned in 1954 for reasons of nudity. As Britain emerged from the austerity of the post-war years, long-held values came under pressure so nudity was a big deal at this time. However, the board's decision was only ever advisory. Local councils could choose to allow these films to be shown, a choice more and more of them began to make.
The third film banned was called Women in Love and this film was banned again for nudity, but specifically male nudity. 1969 was another watershed moment as full-frontal male nudity in Ken Russell's film Women in Love was finally passed by the censor.
The fourth film to be banned was Rambo III, this was banned for too much violence as the censor stated 'there was heavy use of guns'. All of these films reasons' for being banned show that today's society has become desensitised and in some cases more accepting to films released today.
Within my trailer I must ensure that there a no copyright issues, by doing this I must insure that there are no clear brands visible or used within my trailer. As well as insure my ideas are fully original.