FIRST OFF . . .

The newly formed Independent Video Programmers Assn. and the 12-year-old Film Advisory Board announced Tuesday that they will begin placing their own parental advisory ratings on videocassette copies of movies sold to video stores. The ratings scale contains six general designations--C for children, F for family, M, MM and MMM for gradations of maturity, plus X for hard-core pornography--and will also include the symbols V (violence), N (nudity), L (language) and S (sex) to specify the content within the films being rated. Member companies of the Independent Video Programmers Assn. produce mostly “B” movies that are not submitted to the Motion Picture Assn. of America for ratings. The Film Advisory Board is an ad hoc group of more than 300 people from inside and outside the industry who monitor film, TV and videos for quality and content. Danny Kopels, chairman of the video programmers group, said the ratings were established as a self-policing guide aimed at deterring local communities from passing laws banning the sales and rentals of non-rated videos.