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Apoint-of-view shot (also known asPOV shot,first-person shot orsubjective camera) is a film technique where the camera is positioned to show what a certain character is seeing from their perspective. While traditionalestablishing shots,wide shots,medium shots, andclose-ups offer an objective perspective of the scene, a POV shot offers a subjective point of view.
A POV shot need not be the strict point-of-view of an actual single character in a film. Sometimes the point-of-view shot is taken over the shoulder of the character (third person), who remains visible on the screen. Sometimes a POV shot is "shared" ("dual" or "triple"), i.e. it represents the joint POV of two (or more) characters.
Point-of-view, or simplyp.o.v.,camera angles record the scene from a particular player's viewpoint. The point-of-view is anobjective angle, but since it falls between the objective and subjective angle, it should be placed in a separate category and given special consideration. A point-of-view shot is as close as an objective shot can approach a subjective shot—and still remain objective. The camera is positioned at the side of a subjective player—whose viewpoint is being depicted—so that the audience is given the impression they are standing cheek-to-cheek with the off-screen player. The viewer does not see the event through the player's eyes, as in a subjective shot in which the camera trades places with the screen player. He sees the event from the player's viewpoint, as if standing alongside him. Thus, the camera angle remains objective, since it is an unseen observer not involved in the action."
- —Joseph V. Mascelli,The Five C's of Cinematography[1]
Supporting narrative elements are required to indicate the shot to the viewer as a POV shot. These may include shot sequencing (e.g.shot/reverse shot),sound effects,visual effects and acting. The next sequential shot often showcases the character's reaction to the event, which helps convey the feelings and emotional state.[2]
Some films are partially or totally shot using this technique, for example the 1947film noirLady in the Lake, which is shot entirely through the subjective POV of its central character in an attempt to replicate the first-person narrative style of theRaymond Chandler novel upon which the film is based.[3]
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POV footage has existed since the first cameras were mounted in early airplanes[4] and cars, anywhere a film's creator intended to take viewers inside the action with the psychological purpose of giving viewers a feel of "What he or she is going through", he or she being a participant in the subject matter. Cameras were increasingly introduced into more difficult experiences.
Dick Barrymore, an early action filmmaker akin toWarren Miller,[5] experimented with film cameras and counter weights mounted to a helmet.[page needed] Barrymore could ski unencumbered while capturing footage of scenery and other skiers. Though the unit was heavy relative to its manner of use, it was considered hands-free, and worked.
Numerous companies have developed successful POV designs, fromlaparoscopic video equipment used inside the body during medical procedures, to high tech film and digital cameras mounted to jets and employed during flight, or on helmet based systems used by cinematographers. These designs are expensive, and mostly bespoke or DIY solutions. There are systems made by camera equipment manufacturers, but they require professional filmmaking experience and training.[6]
Up until the 2010's, the race for hands-free POV cameras for use on a consumer level has faced problems. The technology has had issues with usability, combining lenses with microphones with batteries with recording units; all connected using spidery cables, which proved cumbersome in use when compared to the quality of the end content. Since then, improvements inmobile phone camera systems and the introduction ofaction cameras from companies likeGoPro,DJI, andInsta360 have risen to the occasion and offer sophisticated camera stabilization with video quality that is impressive for their small camera sensor size.[7][8][9]
1927'sNapoléon, directed byAbel Gance, is considered the first example of the POV technique in film. The camera was wrapped in sponge padding and mounted on a breastplate worn by main cameramanJules Krugerg. Gance wrote in the technical scenario that the camera "defends itself as if it were Bonaparte himself... as if it were human. A punch in the lens. Arms at the side of the camera as if the camera itself had arms. [Krugerg] falls on the ground, struggles, gets up."[10]
Alfred Hitchcock used POV shots extensively in his films, often to explore the subjective psychology of the characters. His filmRear Window (1954) famously employs this technique to position the audience in the voyeuristic role of the main character witnessing a crime from his window.[11]
InDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), directorRouben Mamoulian uses a beginning point-of-view shot.
The long running British sitcomPeep Show is filmed entirely in POV shots. At a 2015 preview screening of the final series, David Mitchell half-jokingly said: "Filming things POV is astupid way to film things. It's much harder to do than the normal way of filming. It could not be clearer to me after all these years why no other programme is filmed that way."[12]
The filmFriday the 13th often portrays the killer's perspective, and the killer is not revealed until the end. Introducing the killer through their point-of-view is a common trope in horror and thriller movies.[13]
The filmThe Silence of the Lambs (film) (1991) utilizes the killer POV trope, and contains a large number of shots shown from protagonist Clarice Starling's (Jodie Foster) POV, adding suspense.
The Plainclothesman, an early US television series, assumed the title character's POV.
Enter the Void (2009) byGaspar Noé is shot from the first-person viewpoint, although in an unusual way, since most of the movie involves anout-of-body experience.
The action filmHardcore Henry (2015) consists entirely of POV shots, presenting events from the perspective of the title character, in the style of afirst-person shooter video game.
Nearly the entire filmManiac is shot from the murderer's point of view, with his face being shown only in reflections and occasionally in the third person.
The season 5 premiere ofBroad City, titled "Stories", is almost entirely filmed in a point-of-view (POV) style, specifically resembling a social media story captured on iPhones.
The documentaryI Didn't See You There (2022) is shot from the physical perspective of director Reid Davenport, largely from his electric wheelchair. The film expands the scope of point-of-view cinema towards a disabled aesthetic generated by Davenport's embodiment.
The Australian filmsAustralian Rules (2002),Romulus, My Father (2007), andTrue History of the Kelly Gang (2019) each use a point-of-view shot to illustrate the perspective of a young boy protagonist.[14]
