How do low-budget films go about movie ratings when they want to distribute globally?
Imagine a low-budget production that will be running on multiple festivals and cinemas around the world. After the theatrical tour they'll start home distribution through DVD/BD, VOD and SVOD (like Netflix, Amazon, et al).
In theory they would need to get the movie rated in every country that they want to distribute to. In Europe each and every country has it's own rating agency/system. In Germany for example, it's called FSK and it costs around a thousand bucks to get a feature length film rated. Imagine the costs and time needed if they do this for every country!
How do low-budget productions get around spending tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on movie ratings?
- Do they just not rate their film and only screen, stream and sell to adults? (This is quite legal in the EU - not sure about the US - but also limits the size of their potential audience.)
- Is there anything like a world wide rating or fast-track that they could go if they already had and MPAA rating for example?
- Are there services that would at least handle all the foreign paperwork?
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How movie ratings are decided?
Ratings are assigned by a board of parents who consider factors such as violence, sex, language and drug use, then assign a rating they believe the majority of American parents would give a movie.How much money does it take to make a low-budget movie?
Low-end movie production budgets There's some conjecture as to what the low-budget movie range is (especially when accounting for inflation) \u2013 but most analysts agree anything below $5 million USD can be characterized as low-budget.Why do low budget movies look cheap?
There are a number of cinematographic reasons for a cheap look in a film. Lighting is a huge one. Either the lighting is good, or it isn't. Lighting is the one art in cinematography that can't be bullshitted by having the newest 4K camera package.Who assigns rating to movies?
Ratings are determined by the Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA), via a board comprised of an independent group of parents. Follow @FilmRatings on Twitter for daily updates on film ratings. Looking for more information on how the film rating system works?5 Rules For Effective Low Budget Filmmaking
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