Regulations for music videos

In the UK The "British board of film classification" is responsible for the ratings and regulations from everything such as video games, films, TV shows and music videos that are distributed through the UK. Founded in 1912 by the film industry the BBFC is widely respected and recognised organisation when it comes to the classification of media products. A list of the companies and organisations that recognise and use their regulations would be as follows:

Regulation guidelines and certificates

From these guidelines and also from the websites official guidelines I believe that my music video would be rated as a 15. This is because three of these categories have been strongly met with one category debatable/up for question . The categories which have been met are highlighted and underlined in red.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.
 

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

>>In regards to drugs the only drugs shown in my music video are cigarettes and alcohol. Both are only briefly shown and, from my own judgement, are not glamorised or promoted. Therefore this hits the 15 rating but does not exceed to the criteria of being rated 18. 

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.

>>Self harm is a theme that I plan to touch upon in my music video, however I am still in the editing process and may choose to cut it from my final video. If I do choose to keep the scenes the scenes which are kept only tease/cleverly depict self harm so that gore and Imitable themes are not fully explored and displayed on screen 

 

Language

There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity

There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.

>>Nudity is the category which can be up for debate. In my music video there is a scene which depicts a male laying in the bathtub, the reason why this is up for debate is due to the fact that only the top half of the body is shown and is mostly concealed from the shot. 

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually 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.

Threat

There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.

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 violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context. 

>>The only violence in my music video is that of domestic violence. The violence shown is not gruesome nor strong. Therefore I don't believe that this category is strongly met with my music video, however the part that is up for debate is that of the self harm scenes which do show fake blood and therefore I would still rate my music video 15 on this fact alone.


The British Board of Film Classification, previously the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organization, founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010.

Production Schedual

Production Schedule 

Date	Location	Scenes	Crew	Props/Equipment
1/12/16	Lakes and motorway bridge	Opening scene/sequence (Pre music audio)	Alex, Lorna	Cigarettes/ Tripod + camera
6/12/16	Lorna’s house	Alcohol scene, Domestic abuse scene featuring POV worm angle shot.	Alex, Lorna, Oliver	Alcohol + Bruise makeup + Lorna Outfit/ Tripod + camera
12/12/16	My house	Over shoulder shot of phone, Snake in bath and blood in sink.	Alex, Lorna	Fake blood + Snake + Red lipstick/ Tripod + camera
20/12/16			Alex, Lorna
31/12/16			Alex, Lorna
5/01/17
10/01/17	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
12/01/17	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

I have set aside two dates in my production schedule in the event that I will need to take re-shoots or simply need extra scenes/footage. In either case I would rather have a preplanned set of days in the event such a need would occur. This allows for me to give my team/crew plenty of enough time and heads up, which in turn will reduce the chances of having a clash of availability and not being able to get the last minute footage that is, perhaps, desperately needed. 

Permission to use Soft Cell's "Tainted love"

In order to use the (Remastered) Soft Cell rendition of tainted love I first had to contact their record label 'Cleopatra Records' in order to have the permission to use it. 

I found their contact page at http://cleorecs.com/home/contact/ , filled out the application and sent them a detailed message on why I wish to use the right to their music.  

January feedback

You are working at level 2 now push on to the higher grades.  A risk assessment has detail about risks and how to prevent them and is proficient. Casting is included and shows communication through social media and allocation of roles. Develop discussion of the creative journey including screenshots. Mind maps show development of ideas.  A range of analysis of existing texts shows proficient understanding of a range of texts.

The creative journey has been commented upon very briefly

Targets

The creative journey needs to be documented thoroughly commenting upon progress

Storyboards must be presented

Planning documentation is thin and needs to be presented.

Email asking for permission

Regulation

Manage your time effectively

Risk assessment

Hazard	Potential risks	Severity of risk	Probability of risk	How to prevent
Weather	Things such as rain pose a dangerous risk to valuable water sensitive equipment, which is vital for the production and cannot be completed without	High	Medium	This is preventable by if in any case caught out in bad weather to either immediately shield the equipment from damage or to limit exposure by filming in short bursts.

Animals

A ball python is used in the production, although a docile species of snake if not handled with care the stress could harm either the animal or those handling it.

High

Medium

Making sure the animal is well fed as this will make it more docile and also to minimise the length of filming the animal is exposed to as this would ensure its stress levels remain low.

Prop 1 (Cigarettes)

The prop used contains nicotine which can be a highly addictive substance, if not used in moderation it could lead to long term health problems. Furthermore it can also pose a fire safety risk

Medium

Low

For fire safety I would ensure that the cigarette is Lit and Extinguished and disposed of responsibly. In terms of nicotine I will limit the amount of smoke breathed in and will not intake to the lungs as this is what delivers the dosage of nicotine to the user.

Prop 2 (Alcohol)

Alcohol is also an addictive substance ,which when consumed in large quantities can have damaging or undesirable side effects such as. vomiting. Due to the alcohol being whiskey it poses a higher threat due to its high alcohol percentage . Another risk is that of the glass bottle which if broken can cause cuts and other such injuries.

Medium

Low

To ensure my BAC (Blood alcohol concentration ) remains at a safe level I will use a BAC calculate to ensure I stay at safe levels. It takes my wight, gender and drink which is being consumed + at the rate of consumption to calculate whether or not it is safe. (https://www.healthstatus.com/perl/calculator.cgi this is the one I will use). To prevent injuries from broken glass I will in the case of a smashed bottle wear protective gear and clear the scene so that no one else gets hurt until it has be cleaned.

Physical acting

If not careful injuries can easily be inflicted during the acting process

Medium

High

To prevent injuries in scenes where simulated violence is used both actors will use a pre agreed force and timing of action. Timing is the main precaution as it lets the other person turn just as a “hit” is received. This simulates the illusion of being hit without actually having to hit the other person.

(Task 9) Casting

For the cast of my production I will only require three roles.
I communicate with my cast members over social media through a Facebook group chat so that I can easily sort and arrange days and times to film



The three roles in my production are 'The abusive couple' (Male and Female role) which will be played by Me and Lorna.
The third character will be played by my friend Oliver. His character is only featured briefly as is only needed for the sake of a small plot point within the music video.

I have chosen to be one of the main actors in my music video due to the fact that I understand the direction I want my music video performance to go in. By playing a key role in my production I can easily bring express and display what I envision for my production.

I have trusted the other main role with Lorna because I believe she has the capacity to perform and furthermore the understanding of what I wish to create. Additionally she can fully commit to my production schedule which in turn causes less complications and makes the the recording of my production a lot easier and efficient.

(Task 7) Role allocation

Source
In my project I am working as an individual. Which in the filming industry would be defined as being an 'auteur'. The definition for what an auteur is "a film director who influences their films so much that they rank as their author". This means that I direct everything from my narrative, camera angles and editing.
The only thing I needed help with was camera work and acting.
The times where I needed help with camera work were shots in where I was acting in the scene. If I am in front of the camera I am unable to incorporate handheld shots or panning shots on a tripod without the help of another person. Therefore I needed the help of others to manoeuvre.


There are only three people, including me, that have took part in my production and the roles are as follows:

Camera operator: Responsible for physically operating the camera and maintaining camera angles

Cinematographer: Responsible for artistic and technical decisions on how and what camera angles are used, or any decisions related to the image of the production 

Screen director: Responsible for directing the actors on screen and dictates the tone of the overall production 

Editor: Responsible for piecing together all the media post production. Things such as special effects or added features not apparent in the original film.