Step 07 – Point of View

The more time spent with a character, the more opportunity to witness his choices.
The result is more empathy and emotional involvement between audience and character.
-Robert McKee

In his introduction about point of view (POV) in the scene, Robert McKee focuses on screen time and the physical location of the camera.

POV is much more. It is about one character’s emotional experience of that scene.

Writing from a specific POV means: to write from the character’s ‘centre of consciousness’, to share with the audience what the character sees, knows and feels.

Managing POV can be done without including camera direction on shots and angles. The drama will determine this indirectly anyhow.

The heart of McKee’s statement is essential to good screenwriting. Few – even experienced – screenwriters exercise full control over POV. Yet a good understanding of the dynamics of POV is important in establishing empathy with the protagonist and making an audience forget they are in a theatre watching a movie.

In screenwriting literature, POV is almost always brushed over. Yet it is a common reason why screenplays – and screenwriters – fail.

It is impossible to discuss structure without first establishing the POV. You cannot discuss character without first knowing which character(s) to focus on, either.

So let’s see how we can improve your script in terms of its POV. Today we look into the following questions:

  • Why is POV so important in film?
  • What is Omniscient POV?
  • Can you change or shift the POV?

Most of this step is exclusive to feature films. POV behaves differently for television, where shifts are part of the format.

If you haven’t registered for this course, you will only see the introductory page for each step. Registered users can see links to all the pages in the right hand sidebar.

If you would like to sign up, click anywhere on the text in this box to go to the registration page.

Improve Your Life, Go The myEASY Way™