Aspects of Angles

The book The Five C’s of Cinematography, by Joseph V. Mascelli is well known amongst filmmaking professionals. It’s an old book, first published in 1965, but it is very good on the fundamentals of cinematography

Tamil version of "THE 5c's OF CINEMATOGRAPHY" which translated by Vettai S. Kannan & published by BHARATHI PUTHAKALAYAM, Chennai (INDIA).

And I started to study the book (Tamil Version) on 2021, still I'm getting a new enviornment, engage, explore the cinematography from this one.

I discussed to many cinematographers about Camera Angles, but there confuse themself angles & what's the perspective and purpose of angles. So, now I share some details with you about the "CAMERA ANGLES" what i learnt from 5C's of Cinematography.

Camera Angles are classified into three types.

1. OBJECTIVE Angle

2. SUBJECTIVE Angle

3. POINT OF VIEW (pov)

OBJECTIVE Angle:

An objective shot is a shot where we are not seeing the scene from any character’s point of view. Objective camera angles are impersonal.

The objective camera films from a sideline viewpoint, that means Audience vision is like 3rd person who watching everything in that geography, but there is no connectivity from audience to subjects who played in the screen.

Like, Someone is hiding and watch the entire scenery. In an objective shot nobody will ever look into the lens because the camera is not really there.

Basically, we are looking at the scene as if we are spying on the action.

It acts as visioin of unknown person.

SUBJECTIVE Angle:

Most of the film industry using Subjective angles to add dramatic feel to us. Because, We can easily get emotional attachment on visuals. The subjective camera films from a personal viewpoint. The audience participates in the screen action as a personal experience.

A personal relationship might be set up in a dramatic film by having the narrator, or a performer, step forward, look directly into the lens and introduce the event, the characters or the setting; or to explain or interpret what is happening.

Character to Audience and Audience to Character's view.

This is not like stranger vision (objective angle). It's has the vision like 2nd person's perspective who stay in the screen, show the subject and their view what they can watch.

From Character to Audience to make the Emotional communication.

Eye contact creates a personal relationship between Character and Audience, because each is looking directly at the other.

POINT OF VIEW (pov):

A point-of-view shot is as close as an objective shot can approach a subjective shot and still remain objective. Now, Audience is the first person view.

We looking her from the Character’s viewpoint.

Subjective and point-of-view are similarly same, but not in exact. Don't confuse.

Point-of-view shots often follow over-the-shoulder shots, when a pair of characters face each other and exchange dialogue. The over-the-shoulder sets up the relationship between the two characters and the p.o.v. moves the the audience into the character's position.

Each character seeing from the opposing character's point of view.

Any shot may become a point-of-view if it is preceded with a shot of a character looking off-screen. The audience will accept the following shot as being from the character's viewpoint.

Yusuf, DP & Director (India)