Point

Point of
of View
View & Camera Techniques
Point of view & camera techniques
- What is point of view?
- What are camera techniques?
Point of view & camera techniques speaker notes
Point of view & camera techniques are very closely related. The point of view or perspective of a film is
about which character’s perspective the audience views the story from. A film can be in 1st person, which
is from the perspective of individual characters or narrated to the audience which would be 3rd person.
Changing the point of view of a film or even a single scene from one character to another can drastically
alter the way the audience feels about the story. The best way to evoke a certain point of view is visually,
by using different camera angles and types of shots.

Camera techniques refers to the way the camera is positioned, the size of the shot, or the way the camera
moves. This is fundamental in filmmaking, and it can change the tone of an entire film. Some camera
techniques that relate to point of view are shot-reverse-shot (where the audience sees the character then
a shot of what the character is looking at), POV shot (where we see exactly what the character would
see), and subjective & objective shots. There are also many camera techniques that are typical of the
thriller genre and that Hitchcock uses in Strangers on a Train, such as extreme closeups of the protagonist
to show exactly what emotions they are experiencing, and some ambiguous shots like this one of Bruno’s
shadow from the murder scene.

These two codes and conventions are very closely linked. It is hard to have any sense of perspective in a
film without employing different camera techniques.
Subjective and objective shots

Objective shot Subjective shot

Subjective and objective shots speaker notes
There are two types of shots that directors can use to affect the point of view of a scene; subjective shots
and objective shots. A subjective shot is one that is filmed in first person, from the point of view of a single
character. An objective shot is filmed without bias towards a particular character; all characters are shown
within the frame. These two ways of filming come in varying degrees; filming something subjectively could
be as subtle as an over-the-shoulder shot, or it could be a full POV shot. An objective shot can be
anything that looks onto a scene without bias towards a particular character.

This is an example of an objective shot. This first train scene switches between over-the-shoulder shots of
both characters and objective shots like these, because we are just getting introduced to both of the
characters and don’t know their intentions yet.

This is a subjective shot. This is from the murder scene, which is filmed entirely from Bruno’s perspective.
The way this is done is through using a camera technique called shot-reverse-shot, meaning a shot of
what the character is looking at, and then another shot of their reaction. In the case of Strangers on a
Train, this means showing what Bruno can see of Merriam and her two friends, then a shot of his face.
Seeing the murder scene through the antagonist’s eyes establishes the threat before the victim becomes
aware of it, which can add a lot of suspense to the scene.
Camera angles and perspective in the opening
scene
- How camera techniques helps in showing the two
characters meeting for the first time
- How the first scene shows how the film will switch
perspectives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bjA-4no1ZY
Camera angles and perspective in the opening
scene speaker notes 1
Everything in the first scene of the movie describes the concept of two characters’ meeting for the first time. The
camera angles, music and misé-en-scene shows in detail how Guy and Bruno meet and how their lives will
inevitably become intertwined. The shot that Hitchcock uses to introduces Bruno and Guy are almost identical,
which serves in part to highlight their most obvious differences; the way they dress and their luggage. This also
shows each characters different ideals and values; conservative, neat shoes and pants for Guy, and eccentric,
flamboyant shoes for Bruno. We know that these two characters are walking towards each other, or at least
converging in the story, by the camera angle, and movement. Guy walks on-screen from left to right, and Bruno
walks from right to left, as if they are mirroring each other. This also sets up the doubles motif that is prevalent in
most of the film. Tennis, marriage, divorce and double-crossing, and even the ‘crisscross’ pattern that Guy wears
on his tie for a most of the film are just a few of the many references to the idea of doubles that Alfred Hitchcock
puts in this movie. This scene ends with a shot from the front of the train converging to another line, symbolising
the two paths crossing and the characters meeting. Even the score tells the audience about two people meeting.
When Bruno steps out of his car we hear a recognisable theme. This same tune is played again when Guy steps
out of his car, but in a different key. The reason they would choose to introduce these characters with the same
theme could be to represent the similarities of the two characters and also restate the double motif. As they walk
the theme is played lightly, in the strings for Bruno and the woodwinds for Guy. Finally, as the train converges and
the two characters meet, the theme is played by the brass again in many different keys, almost overlapping one
another, again representing the two paths crossing.
Camera angles and perspective in the opening
scene speaker notes 2
From the opening shot of the movie we are shown how the film will
present the two characters’ points of view. Having the camera jump
between the Bruno and Guy without having them both on screen at the
same time sets up the way the movie will change who’s eyes we view the
story from later on. Subjective shots of both of the characters is something
that occurs quite a lot in Strangers on a Train, and from the very first
scene we see Hitchcock doing exactly that; switching between subjective
shots of both the characters. The film continues to switch it’s perspective
between Bruno and Guy. Some notable scenes that are filmed from
Bruno’s point of view are the murder scene and the strangling scene at
the party.
Point of view summary
Point of view is an essential tool for making a film that is more than just
one-dimensional. Allowing your audience to see into the mind of the antagonist
creates a lot more depth than there would be normally, because we can see how
he thinks and his motives. Strangers on a Train utilises this convention by having
several scenes in Bruno’s perspective such as the murder scene and the
strangling scene at the party. We know these scenes are filmed from Bruno’s
perspective because they use subjective shots of Bruno as well as
shot-reverse-shot.
Camera techniques summary
Alfred Hitchcock employs a wide variety of camera
techniques, some of which are typical of the thriller
genre at the time, and some of which are not. Shots like
the extreme closeups and ambiguous shots of the
antagonist are used throughout the thriller genre,
especially from that time period, and serve to heighten
the suspense of a particular scene. There are also many
examples of subjective and objective shots in the film,
that Hitchcock uses to change the point of view of a
scene and therefore add an extra layer of depth to the
story.