M2 - Legal

Legal issues

BBFC

At the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), their focus is on helping children and families choose well by providing them with the guidance they need to help them choose what’s right for them and avoid what’s not. They do this by assigning age ratings to music videos and programs etc. BBFC have chosen what can and can't be shown to people of certain ages

BBFC have 6 different age ratings to assign videos to, these are:

- U

- PG

- 12A

- 12

- 15

- 18

according to the BBFC rules for age ratings there are some that apply to my music video and I have seen this. My video needs to be an age rating of 12A. the following are the factors that apply to my music video:

Nudity

There may be nudity, but in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet.

There are shots of 2 of the people in my video not wearing t shirts but this still complies with the BBFC  guidelines so these clips can be put into my video without risks of breaching the 12A guidlines.

Drugs

Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give detailed instruction.

Alcohol can be classified as a drug, one of the key factors of my video is the use of alcohol, to appeal to my target audience, so to tackle this I decided to use fake alcohol in my video to make sure I am not promoting the use of alcohol or drugs whilst also keeping the target audience engaged.

Language

There may be moderate bad language. 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.

I have seen this and decided to use a song with no explicit lyrics, Ur Eyez I the chosen song for my video and it doesn't have many lyrics, which means there is no language which may have put the video over the 12A age limit

OFCOM

Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It regulates the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.

- OFCOM aim to protect under 18s who view these videos, I have followed these guidelines because I have followed the rules and regulations from the BBFC's rules about age ratings, I have ensured that nothing in my video is in the 18+ category. 

OFCOM recognise that the majority of music videos are not aimed at children. This applies to my video because the target audience are viewers aged 18-24, I have made sure my video targets this age range whilst also ensuring that the age restrictions for it is 12A and not 18+.

OFCOM state that channels or shows (including music videos) should not be shown to TV before 9pm as there will be a lot of younger audience at earlier times in the day. My video can be shown at any time of day as the age rating is a 12A. I can also have my video shown after 9PM as this is the time of day that my target audience will watching.Ethical issues