Every time you read a book, short story, poem, article, or any type of written work, it is composed in first, second or third person. We all know this, we learned it in, like, third grade. Simple stuff. Now lets take this same simple concept and apply it to film. Every shot is taken from a certain point of view, or “person.” It’s really a little more complicated that that, but to understand the concept as a whole, I enjoy that simple comparison the author of this chapter uses to get the wheels rollin’. Now lets break it down to the hearty stuff.
The point of view helps viewers follow along with the story smoothly and effortlessly. Hence, it answers the question, “where are we going with this?” both literally and in terms of a portrayed message. For filming purposes, the term “point of view” can mean three things.
Point of view can refer to the camera shot that is taken through the eyes of a certain character, so the viewers see what they would be seeing at a given moment.
Point of view can refer to the perspective of the person/character telling the story
Point of view can also refer to the deeper beliefs, attitudes or feelings of a character or group of characters. This presents the viewer with their perspective of a given topic.
Apples to Apples 