Directions: Perspective

Perspective is important in film and TV as it defines the point of view which the audience see the scene taking place through, which can change how they react to the scene and the emotions they develop for the characters. The point of view can be changed in two different ways, by being either inside or outside of the action, which can be seen during shot-reverse shots.

Being outside of the action means the audience sees the scene from a more detached point of view, so can become less emotionally attached to the characters, instead forming opinions about their actions and even how these reflect on the other character that can be partly seen in the shot:

Placing the camera inside of the action makes the scene more emotional as is focused closer to the characters' faces, and therefore expressions:

When the camera is inside the action like this the actors can be 'cheated' out, so the camera is placed into the position they were in during the establishing shot. However, it is important that the character look where the other character had previously been, which can be done by standing the other character behind the camera, as this ensures the eye lines of each character in their individual close-ups match when they are later cut together in editing. 

Using this script to practice both inside and outside perspective, we made two films:

Inside Suburbia:

What I liked about being on the inside of the action was that it meant there was much more emphasis and focus on the character's emotions and actions but not on their relationship to each other, so the audience are able to speculate and form their own opinions on how each character affects the other. I found that putting the camera on the inside of the action meant that as the character's eye lines had to match in each take, the actors had to be positioned roughly where they were going to be in both close ups, even if they didn't both appear in the shot. However, this was difficult as the camera was in the way, but could be refined by comparing both shots during filming so they are more accurate to one another in the completed film. I also found that the actor behind the camera sounds louder than the one in front of it because they ended up closer to the microphone, but this could be improved upon by using a boom pole or two clip mics instead of a gun mic attached to the camera. 

Outside Suburbia:

Being outside of the action created a more detached viewpoint for the audience, but I liked that I was able to experiment more with different angles and actions, such as having them sit in an L shape and walk around the table. Getting the character whose bag is being rifled through into the shot during this moment was hard at first because one character was on the floor and the other standing, but this was solved by getting him to crouch down to say his line so he appears in the frame, although it could also have been solved by using a wider frame size. Shooting for continuity in this film proved difficult as the character's arms move between takes, but this could be eliminated by giving the actor's more precise direction on set when they are handling props. I also think it would be more interesting when they are sitting in the L shape to add selective focus so that when a character is speaking the focus is on them, as this could make the audience more involved as their viewpoint is constantly changing.