"Point of View" Review

After reading Douglas and Harnden's chapter titled "Point of View", I realized how much thought producers must put into their work. Point of view basically determines how the audience views the film. If ballerinas and football players went to go see a movie about ballet dancers, there would be two different point of views in that particular theater. Here are my notes from the chapter:


Point of View 

1. a camera shot taken as if seen through the eyes of a character.
2. refers to the perspective of the storytelling.
3. actually the source of the phrase itself. Refers to the interests, attitudes, and beliefs associated with a character's or group's particular perspective.

Point of view is ultimately the message of the creator.

POV Shots

Moving POV shots are effective in horror and monster movies in order to build suspense. POV shots momentarily shift the storytelling to a first-person account from a character's point of view.

Perspective of the Storyteller

First Person

• First person perspective can be achieved by voice over. This gives the character's thoughts and provides opportunities for characterization.
• First person narrative can shift the balance from visuals and dialogue, to commentary and contemplative language.

Second Person

• "You" really isn't addressed in shooting a film because the "you" would be the audience.
• Advertising sometimes uses "you".

Third Person

• Most productions are in third person.
• Presentation in the third person is common in nonnarrative and narrative productions.

Character Point of View

• Storytellers can tell stories of storytellers telling stories.
• In film and video, point of view as perspective tends to be much more limited in variation.
• Film audiences share the point of view of the leading character.
• The lead in the story provides the focus for the audience.

Attitude

• We regularly see various film and video productions that present the same subjects from differing points of view (attitudes).

The Audiences Point of View

• Audience members are active participants in the production.
• What we see in the movies, we see as a created reality.

Defining the Audience

• It's important to identify the audience's point of view, its prior experience and attitude.

Discussion Questions

1. How do film makers know whether audiences will like their film before they make it?
2. Is it more important for audience members to be able to follow one lead character for an entire film, or is it better to follow multiple characters in order to get multiple viewpoints?