Certificates - Research

Certificates are an essential part of a film as they are given by the bbfc (British Board of Film Classification) in the UK, as well as other boards in other countries, and decide who films are suitable for. However, it is common in the promotion of films and the marketing campaigns that a film is not yet certified. That is because the bbfc have many films to go through and give a certificate, and it is not necessary to give a film a certificate a long time in advance. This is common, so when films are marketed, their is usually an indication (on teaser trailers, not necessarily posters) of whether there is a certificate or not.

The bbfc have guidelines to help them decide what certificate a film will be given;

12/12A

• 12A requires an adult to be accompanying a child under the age of 12, whereas a 12 is suitable only for people aged 12 and over.
• Tone of movie must not be dark and unsettling, must not disturb the audience.
• Strong language such as "F***" is acceptable depending on the manner that it is said. Aggressive use of strong language is deemed unacceptable. Moderate language is allowed. Discriminatory language and behaviour is also not tolerated.
• Some nudity is allowed but sexual content should be brief and discreet.
• Moderate violence is allowed. Should be no emphasis on injuries or blood. Action sequences and weapons are acceptable, although easily accessible weapons (knives etc.) should not be glamorised.
• Dangerous behaviour (hanging, suicide etc.) may be present, but not focused on.

15

• Strong language is accepted, although certain words (C***) are allowed, but with moderation and restraint.
• Racist and discriminatory language and behaviour is allowed, but the work as a whole should not endorse this.
• Nudity and sexual activity can be portrayed, but without strong detail. Strong references to sex and sexual behaviour are allowed, but crude references are unacceptable unless justified by context.
• Strong violence is allowed, but it should not dwell on the affliction of pain on an injury. Strong gory images and sadistic violence is unacceptable.
• Drugs and drug-taking is acceptable as long as it is not encouraged. The misuse of drugs is unlikely to be allowed to be shown.
• Horror films can include a strong threat, as long as there isn't a focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.

18

• No limits to strong language
• Racist and homophobic discrimination is allowed, although the work as a whole should not breach any relevant legislations.
• No constraints to the amount of sex and nudity in the work. Very strong, rude and crude sexual references are allowed.
• Strong violence allowed. No constraints to the showing of pain and injury, as well as to scenes of strong sadistic and sexual violence.
• Horror films may contain gore or a sustained threat.
• Drug-taking is allowed, but work must not promote or encourage drug misuse.

Music For Teaser Trailer

When preparing my teaser trailer, I had to decide what music to play on my trailer. Music plays an important part in setting the tempo and tone of a film, and that is no different on a teaser trailer, as music is used to create drama and suspense, as well as creating peace and harmony. As my trailer is from the Thriller genre, I knew the shots I would be creating for my trailer would be fast paced and dramatic. My trailer would also tell a story.

I know for the first part of my trailer, I would need a piece of music that would help make the trailer flow, but would also reflect the shots in the trailer. Therefore, I am choosing to use a piece of music called "Coast to Coast". It is a jazzy, comedic-80's gangster movie type of music, a piece of music that you could envision hearing in a Quentin Tarantino movie. The music would make it easy to follow the trailer, as it reflected the almost comedic goings-on that will occur in my trailer.

For my montage, I need a fast-paced, exciting, and consistently enthralling piece of music, that reflects the action shots that are occurring at this stage of the trailer. I looked at many options, such as Led Zeppelin's Kashmir, but in the end I decided to use the intro to Kings of Leon's song "Crawl". The reason I decided to use this piece of music was because of the sound of the opening 45 seconds of the song. The use of the electric guitar is key to me using this piece of music, as the tune is perfect as there are a lot of quick shots in the montage, and it contains a steady rhythm and beat that the shots can be measured to follow.

Shot List

In preparation for my filming, I created a shot list for my trailer so when it came to filming, I knew exactly what shots I needed to do.

My Teaser Trailer Billing

My billing consists of real crew members who have worked on similar films to my own, but includes fake cast members and a fake director, as well as a fake novelist.


New Line Cinema Presents A Europacorp MG Films Production
A Film By James Boyd Danny Robins "The Cleaner" Alexander Harvey Nicola Rose Jeremy Carver Julian Durand Arter Groling and Christoper Dean
Casting - Nathalie Cheron (Taken movies)
Costume Designer - Jeffrey Kurland (Law Abiding Citizen)
Cinematography - Robert Elswit (Nightcrawler)
Music Supervisor - Harry Gregson-Williams (The Equalizer)
Screenplay - William Monahan (The Gambler) Oliver Reed
Product Design - Donald Graham Burt (Gone Girl)
Editor - Lee Smith (Inception)
Producer - Jennifer Fox Tony Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
Executive Producer - G. Mac Brown and Doug Davison (The Departed)
Reference to source material - based on the best selling novels by Oliver Reed
Director James Boyd

Billing for the Poster

Billing/Credits Analysis

Billing is an important component of a teaser trailer. It is necessary for there to be a list of the cast and crew involved in a film, as well as an indication to the companies involved in the making of it. The billing is listed in a specific order, as the billing for Reservoir Dogs will highlight.

The billing on this poster lists the cast and crew in the way that is conventional, and is listed in all other film posters. The order is as follows:

- Production companies
- Director
- Cast (In order of importance)
- Music Supervisor
- Costume Designer
- Editor
- Production Designer
- Director of Photography
- Co-Producer
- Executive Producers
- Producer
- Writer and Director

All films follow this order, however, some films vary in the amount of crew members they include.

The credits in the trailer for Reservoir Dogs is very similar to the billing in the poster. The same cast and crew are mentioned, and in the same order.

The font is the same, as is expected, although the spacing and layout is different. The noticeable difference is that of the production company logos. Although numerous posters contain production company logos, the Reservoir Dogs poster does not.