Dear Distributor,

The BBFC is pleased to announce a new policy for classifying Imax Digital works which further reduces industry costs for our Theatrical customers. From today (Tuesday 8th May 2012), the policy which has been agreed with the Film Distributors Association, is as follows;

New policy for classifying IMAX Digital

(i) The BBFC will continue to classify separately IMAX shot films;

(ii) The BBFC will continue to classify separately IMAX Digital films which contain any IMAX shot material;

(iii) The BBFC will continue to classify separately films being shown on the massive IMAX screens such as the one at Waterloo;

(iv) The BBFC will not classify separately films not falling into (i), (ii) or (iii) above which are to be shown on IMAX Digital screens which are no larger than 25.6m wide x 11m high. (NB This figure would include all the existing IMAX Digital screens which are equivalent to a regular screen but would exclude screens such as Waterloo (the proper IMAX Waterloo is 26x20m)). IMAX Digital films falling into this bracket should use the same BBFC black card issued to the classified DCP version.

We hope you find this new policy useful and if you have any questions (or have any suggestions to help us improve our services further), please email me.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Barrett

Dear Film Distributor,

I am pleased to announce a new service to our Film customers for cinema releases. Pre-Booking Express (PBE) is a fast track classification process for film submissions which enables you to get a category decision within 24 hours. The service will go live on Monday 13th February 2012.

Although the BBFC’s film turnaround time is under 3 days, the FDA and its members have indicated that a premium fast track service would be beneficial to help cope with the ever reducing lead times in getting product to screen, especially when that product is delivered late. Having successfully introduced PBE to Video customers in 2010, we have every confidence the BBFC’s Film customers will find PBE a very useful addition to our service.

Being a premium service with additional administrative costs, PBE will attract a higher fee than the norm. The fee will be based on the booked running time and rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes (or to 5 minutes for works with a running time of less than 5 minutes). This rounded up running time is referred to as ‘booked time’. The fee will be based on the booked time, and a rate of standard tariff + 20% will apply.

Please note the service is subject to availability and designed to classify straight forward material that does not test the boundaries of Board examination policy or falls on the border of two categories. The attached guide provides further details of the service but here are some FAQs which will give you an instant picture of how PBE can work for you.

FAQs:

Why does PBE cost more?

The increased fee reflects the additional work we do to ensure that your submission receives its category decision within the extra-fast time frame. PBE utilises a workflow stream radically different than the standard process, and as it is the only classification process in which you will know in advance when you will receive your category decision, administrative costs are higher than for other submissions.

Why are certain types of submission not allowed?

We want to make sure, as far as possible, that every work submitted under the PBE service is passed within the published turnaround times. PBE submissions are fast tracked at every stage of the process right up to the point we deliver the category decision and register number to you. This means that the category decision has to be straightforward. In order to minimise the risk to you of not receiving the category when you thought you would, we have issued guidance (see the attached document) designed to help you determine whether your work would be suitable for the service.

Why would a PBE work be disqualified from the service while still in progress?

Until our Examiners have completed a viewing, we can never know whether a particular work will contain issues that make the category decision difficult to arrive at. If a submission has to drop out of the service, we will let you know as soon as this comes to light. The attached ‘guidance’ document gives full information on how such instances are handled. The vast majority of our submissions are passed without any issues whatsoever, so it is only a small percentage of works which we can’t handle under PBE.

I’d like to use PBE but I see that you have to be on the BBFC Extranet. How do I join?

Simply contact IT Helpdesk and they will set things up for you.

If I don’t use the PBE service, will my submissions go through the BBFC more slowly?

No. One of our main objectives while developing PBE for Video was to implement a process that would also maintain the standard workflow and turnaround times for all other submissions. Having achieved this for Video works, the same will apply to Film works.

Film PBE customer guidance

I hope customers find this new service useful, and if you have any questions regarding this, or any other BBFC service, please contact me.

Kind regards,

Dave Barrett

The BBFC is pleased to announce a new digital process for VPRC (packaging) submissions.

From Monday 6th February 2012, customers will be able to submit packaging via their Extranet account by completing an online packaging submission form and uploading a PDF copy of the sleeve. This service improvement will speed up the approval process and reduce your paper/postage costs.

To realise the benefits as quickly as possible, we expect you to start using the digital process straight away, and to that end, we will be phasing out paper VPRC submissions over the next 6 months with the final cut off point being 31st July 2012.

The technical specifications are;

File Format	PDF
File Size Limit	10MB per file
Attachment Limit	 5 files per submission

I also attach a website link to the Board’s labelling guidance which reminds customers of their legal obligations for labelling DVDs;-

Labelling Guidance

I hope you find this service improvement useful and if you have any questions on this, or any other BBFC service, please email us.

 

The BBFC is committed to providing a cost-effective and efficient classification service to its customers. To that end, we are pleased to announce a concession in our tariff to identical Video feature versions of classified Theatrical feature works which were given a certificate on or after 1st December 2011, and under the current BBFC classification guidelines.

Any work matching those criteria will receive a 25% reduction on the existing tariff.

We hope you find this change useful, and if have any questions that do not appear in the short Q&A section below, please email us.

Q&A

Q Does the reduction apply to DVD Audio Commentary/Audio Descriptive versions of the Theatrical work?
A No, the Video version must be content-identical to the Theatrical release including the soundtrack to qualify for the discount.

Q Will the reduction be applied to a Video work if it has been submitted within a component work?
A No, component works are invoiced under the normal tariff. Therefore to attain the discount the work must be submitted separately. The BBFC is willing to apply a further concession where technology allows for a digital comparison between the theatrical and video files. This comparison would not be possible if a component work was involved.

Q The theatrical version of the work was classified before 1st December 2011, will an identical video version qualify for the discount?
A No, the commencement date is 1st December 2011 and it is not retrospective.

Q How will the discount be applied?
A On submission, the Information Services team will research the work and link it to the existing Theatrical record. The examination will determine whether the Video is identical to the Theatrical work, and if so, the concession will apply.

Dear BBFC customers & suppliers,

With the forthcoming Crossrail Project* making headway and disruption to Soho Square expected, we would like to inform all of our customers and suppliers that deliveries to 3 Soho Square will be possible throughout this extended period.

Crossrail have assured us that access to our property will be maintained, however parking will be limited around the Square.

Parking restrictions will commence on the 19th September 2011 – 30th August 2012.

Please call us if you have further questions 020 7440 1570 or email Crossrail – helpdesk@crossrail.co.uk, or call 0345 602 3813

Many Thanks,

BBFC
* please see Crossrail map below

Dear Video Customer,

The BBFC is always looking to make its submission process easier for customers. To that end, and in light of recent feedback from the BVA and its members, we will be reducing the amount of information required on the Video online submission form by 30%. Mandatory fields will be reduced from 18 to 8 leaving only the essential information we need to process your work. This includes the removal of Director and Cast details for Value Added Material which was a key request.

We hope you find this change useful and if you have any other suggestions to help us improve our service to the industry, please email me.

The new Video online submission form will go live on Monday 26th September.

With best regards,

Dave Barrett
Assistant Director, Operations & Business Development

Following a proposal from the FDA and its members, I am pleased to announce a reduction in the cost of classifying content-identical 2D versions of 3D theatrical trailers and advertisements (including DCP and IMAX). This follows on from our similar initiative in December 2010 for theatrical features.

As of now, if the distributor receives classification for the 3D DCP or 3D IMAX version of a theatrical trailer or advertisement first, the content-identical 2D version will, if requested, be processed as a ’3D/2D technical comparison’ and attain the same category. The charge will be 50% of the standard tariff + VAT.

Please note that the reduced rate will only apply if the 3D DCP or 3D IMAX version is submitted and approved first. Should the 2D version be approved first, the 3D version will be examined and charged at the standard tariff because the enhanced visual experience retains the potential to receive a more restrictive classification.

A further reduction is on offer for a simultaneous submission of a DCP file containing the 3D/2D versions. In this case, if requested, the 2D classification will receive the minimum film charge of £100 + VAT.

This initiative entails a risk that the subsequent works may be overclassified. So, to give distributors maximum flexibility, particularly in those borderline cases where, say, the 2D work might be acceptable at a lower category than the 3D/IMAX work, the option to have the 2D work classified separately remains. In this case the standard tariff will apply.

The ‘Film Trailer’ and ‘Film Advert’ submission forms on the extranet have been redesigned to enable you to indicate if your submission may qualify for one of these options.

These cost-savings further underline the BBFC’s commitment to its customers in providing the most efficient service.

Dear Distributor,

The BBFC is always looking for ways to improve its customer service. To this end, I am very pleased to announce that on Monday, 6 June, we will be launching a range of enhancements to our extranet facility.

The primary improvements are:

Greatly improved speed when searching. Some search tasks could previously take upwards of a minute. We have slashed search times to a few seconds for most searches.

Improved options for searching. Previously you could only search via a single field that would search every field on the document for the search query entered. You can now search by ‘title’, ‘category’, ‘submission type’, ‘reference number’, ‘BBFC internal code number’ or ‘register number’. And you still have the free text field as before.

Improved display of results. When searching your back-catalogue, you used to have to click through the pages to get the title you want. Now all works view can now be filtered by a specific letter to make finding works easier and faster. (You can put the list into alphabetical order if you don’t see the title you want straight away.)

Additional improvements include:

The work in progress view can now be filtered by ‘submission type’ and also by status. For example, if you click ‘Video Feature’ and ‘Approval (Packaging)’ it will just show those works, so it is easier to see what is at this status, while works at other statuses or of different submission types will be hidden.
The existing submissions and the area in which you can create a new submission area were previously separate. They are now accessible from the same place.
The ‘all works’ view didn’t used to include the category in the table. It now does.
All the extranet view designs have been updated to match the new look for online submissions.

I’d also like to mention that the old extranet will be running in parallel to the new extranet for 30 days. After this, we will turn the old system off. During these 30 days you can use either system but we would very much like you to get used to the new system as soon as possible.

Finally, if you don’t already have an extranet account it’s very simple to set up. Please contact ithelpdesk@bbfc.co.uk for access.

I do hope you find the new extranet useful and if you have any queries, feedback or suggestions for further enhancements, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Barrett
Assistant Director, Operations & Business Development
Email Dave Barrett Tel (+44) 020 7440 1583
Mob(+44) 7841 286 590
3 Soho Square London W1D 3HD

Further to our emails of June 2010 and January 2011, we would like to remind you that from 1 July 2011 we will be discontinuing paper submission forms for video works. This means that, for all DVD/Blu-ray submissions under the Video Recordings Act 1984, we will require you to submit using the online submission form on the extranet.

Many of you have been extranet users for some time and are using the online submission forms for all your works. We hope you agree that this is a much quicker, easier and more environmentally friendly way of submitting works to us.

For those of you not yet on the extranet, we would like you to sign up as soon as possible. With extranet access you can fill in submission forms, track the progress of your works through the classification system and accept category decisions, all online, providing significant improvements in turnaround times.

If you don’t already have an extranet account it’s very simple to set up. Please contact the IT Helpdesk for access.

In a couple of weeks’ time we will write again to any of you still not on the extranet, to give you a further reminder before paper forms are discontinued on 1 July.

If you have any queries, please contact the BBFC customer helpline (helpline@bbfc.co.uk or 020 7440 0299).

Following a proposal from the FDA and its members, I am pleased to announce a reduction in the cost of classifying content-identical versions of 3D theatrical features (whether DCP or IMAX).

From Tuesday 4 January 2011, subject to the film distributor receiving classification for the 3D DCP or 3D IMAX version first, the content-identical 2D version will be processed as a ’3D/2D technical comparison’ and attain the same category. The charge will be 50% of the standard tariff + VAT.

Please note that the reduced rate will only apply if the 3D DCP or 3D IMAX version is submitted and approved first. Should the 2D version be approved first, the 3D version will be examined and charged at the standard tariff because the enhanced visual experience retains the potential to receive a more restrictive classification.

A further reduction is on offer for a simultaneous submission of a DCP file containing the 3D/2D versions. In this case the 2D classification will receive the minimum film charge of £100 + VAT.

This initiative entails a risk that the subsequent works may be overclassified. So, to give film distributors maximum flexibility, particularly in those borderline cases where, say, the 2D work might be acceptable at a lower category than the 3D/IMAX work, the option to have the 2D work classified separately remains. In this case the standard tariff will apply.

The Film Submission Form has been redesigned to enable you to indicate if your submission may qualify for one of these options, as follows:

Option	Box to tick on form	Classification fee
2D submission of classified 3D DCP version	‘Work already classified in 3D and/or IMAX’	50% of standard tariff + VAT
2D submission of classified IMAX 2D version	‘Work already classified in 3D and/or IMAX’	50% of standard tariff + VAT
2D/3D DCP or 2D IMAX submission of classified IMAX 3D version	‘Work already classified in 3D and/or IMAX’	50% of standard tariff + VAT
2D version of work submitted simultaneously in 3D DCP	‘3D submission includes 2D version in same DCP file’	£100 + VAT

 

These cost-savings further underlines the BBFC’s commitment to its customers in providing the most efficient service.

Dear Video Customer,

Following a proposal from the BVA and its members, I am pleased to announce a reduction in the cost of classifying content identical 2D or 3D anaglyphic* versions of 3D stereoscopic works.

From Monday 22nd November, subject to the customer accepting the category of a 3D stereoscopic version first, the content identical 2D or 3D anaglyphic version will be processed as a ’3D/2D technical comparison’ and attain the same category. The charge will be the standard comparison rate of £225 + vat. The Online Submission Interface and Video Submission Form will carry the ’3D/2D technical comparison’ option from this date.

Please note the reduced rate will only apply if the 3D stereoscopic version is submitted and approved first. Should the 2D or 3D anaglyphic version be approved first, the 3D stereoscopic version will be examined and charged at the standard tariff because the enhanced visual experience retains the potential to receive a more restrictive classification.

The option to have the 2D or 3D anaglyphic classified separately remains should you be seeking a lower classification.

This cost saving further underlines the BBFC’s commitment to its customers in providing the most efficient service possible within the framework of the Video Recordings Act.

*3D anaglyphic is the red eye/blue eye 3D which has less visual impact than the new 3D stereoscopic which carries the potential of a higher classification.

If you are planning to distribute recordings of live events, you should be aware of the attached new certification process which has been worked up by the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS), the BBFC and the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association in cooperation with providers of alternative theatrical content.

 

The new process will commence on 1 October 2010 in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland to commence at a later date).

The certification process applies to those recordings of a live event which take place within 7 days of that event, and which are screened after 1 October (‘within 7 days’ being defined as an exhibition which begins before midnight on the seventh day following the start of the live event).

If you have any queries, please contact the BBFC customer helpline on 020 7440 0299 or helpline@bbfc.co.uk

Dear BBFC video distributor,

In continuing our drive to reduce turnaround times and provide the industry with the best possible service; I am pleased to announce the BBFC is launching on-line submission forms.

Feedback from the home entertainment and on-line digital delivery sectors indicated replacing the paper submissions with an electronic alternative would save both time and money. With this in mind, and since the start of 2010, the BBFC has developed and trialled the service with several industry partners. In that period over 1800 online submission forms have been successfully processed via customer BBFC Extranet accounts and we are now ready to offer the service industry wide from today; 5th July 2010.

By introducing electronic submission forms our aim now is to phase out paper submission forms by the end of June 2011 which gives customers 1 year to switch from paper to online. We will send several reminders about the online switch over between now and then but I urge customers to adapt to the electronic route quickly to realise the full benefits which are;

• saves time writing submission forms – particularly for multiple episodes
• allows the BBFC to research the work 24hrs earlier, thereby speeding the process up when the disc is delivered
• utilising your BBFC extranet account to its fullest, including having the ability to accept classification decisions on-line rather than the (post delayed) paper Interim Clearance Form, should see further improvements in turnaround times
• less paper usage is environmentally friendly and in line with the BBFC’s ‘green policy’

FAQs:

Do on-line submissions cost more?

No, you will not be charged any more than a normal submission. In fact trial feedback suggests customers savings are made through time and materials.

Why are certain types of submission not allowed?

We are launching with DVD features and trailers but will be developing similar systems for all submissions.

If I don’t use the on-line submissions service, will my submissions go through the BBFC more slowly than usual?

No, they will still be processed in exactly the same way as they currently are, so you won’t notice any difference. However paper submissions will not benefit from the increased efficiencies noted above.

How does the system work?

The system is very simple to use and can be done by anyone with an ‘Extranet certificate’. If you don’t already have an ‘Extranet’ account it’s very simple to set up and means you can track your works on-line, providing significant improvements in turnaround times, as we eliminate the paper side of the classification process. For an account, simply email ithelpdesk@bbfc.co.uk or call on 020 7440 3299 requesting a certificate for the extranet.

To help customers make the transition from paper to online submissions, the attached video tutorial provides a step by step guide on how to create an online submission form

[flowplayer src=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/extranet2.flv width=640 height=360 splash=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/onlinesubs.jpg]

For more information on this new service please call our customer helpline on 020 7440 0299.

Alternitively, if you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Barrett

Head of Operations

dbarrett@bbfc.co.uk

+44 (0) 207 440 1583

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