VideoSkip allows three different levels of editing for each category, but what exactly distinguishes, say, level 2 content from level 3 content, which the editor must decide as each edit is made? The general rule is: level 1 is anything problematic for children, but not necessarily for teens or adults; level 2 is anything problematic for teens or sensitive adults; level 3 is anything that even mature adults will find problematic.
But different editors might differ in their interpretation of the content, and this is why I have written a "rubric" (rubrics are popular in education) that might help editors be more consistent with one another. The rubric is presented here as a table, listing problematic content for each category and level. It is also included as an attachment in Word format.
| Categories | Level 1:
problematic for children
| Level 2:
problematic for teens
| Level 3:
problematic for adults
|
|---|
| Sex and Nudity | Kissing. Conversation involving sex. Dorsal or distant nudity. | Implicit sex. Sexual situations. Passionate kissing. Frontal nudity. | Explicit sex. Sodomy. Bestiality. Rape. Pornography. Abuse of minors. |
| Violence and Gore | Hitting. Belting. Distant shooting. Slapping. Corporal punishment. | Suicide. Dismemberment. Close-range or cold-blooded shooting. Knifing. | Sadism. Masochism. Torture. Gore designed to shock. |
| Profanity and Hate | Dirty words in general. Cursing. | Idiomatic blasphemy. Racial slurs. | Intentional blasphemy. Satanism. |
| Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco | Substance use other than incidental. Addict behavior. | Intravenous use. Preparation of drugs. Teen use. | Content designed to incite substance abuse. |
| Frightening, Intense | Spooky. Scary. Emotionally hard for children. | Shocking or emotionally hard for teens. | Shocking to adults. |
| Other | Mild. | Moderate. | Intense. |
So, for instance, a scene where someone is getting shot in war (unless it's quite gory) would be a 1, but a hand-to-hand combat with a knife might be a 2, and you might write the edit as: "Violence 2 (hand to hand knife combat)". As usual, editors must exercise good judgment, keeping in mind the viewers that they are trying to keep safe.