Brow Beat

How Point-of-View Shots Fundamentally Change the Movie Experience

Still from Vimeo

There are only two kinds of people at the movies: those on screen, and those in the audience. Leigh Singer’s latest video essay explores a technique—the point-of-view shot—that blurs that distinction, and it’s a masterfully curated look at how a camera’s foray into first-person perspective can jar and immerse a viewer.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these shots is how they create a subjective experience—the camera is no longer just presenting an image but acting as a proxy for the audience. Whether in Rear Window or 2001: A Space Odyssey, that approach inherently changes the viewing experience, and Singer’s video does a good job illustrating how.

(via Press Play.)