What is the point of view?

Your opinion isn’t obvious in the subject and themes you choose to write about.

Your opinion or point of view will transpire through a choice of characters, aims and obstacles that all give your film its particular angle.

The point of view is a simple but fundamental issue; the point of view is what you think about your story.

Your point of view is essential. It is what makes your film unique.

Example You want to tell the story of an elderly man repairing an old car in his garage to take part in a rally. This is your subject. But what are you talking about? (theme): old age? Car races? Solitude? Mechanics? Childhood dreams? …

Several themes co-exist in one story, but you decide which one to develop in particular. You can never choose them all. According to your choice of main theme, you will give your character a large family or none at all, he will be rich or poor, healthy or frail, the car will have been wrecked in an accident, or just need simple repairs, the character will have bought it or inherited it, etc. As you see, nothing is left to chance.

The meaning of your story will depend both on the way it unfolds and how it ends. How the hero achieves his/her aim, for what reasons, which obstacles must be overcome to do so, and what consequences all of this has on the hero, the people around him/her and the world he/she lives in; the answers to all these questions will HELP define the meaning of your story.

Maybe your story suggests that perseverance always pays, or, to the contrary that there is no point in fighting. That youth is in the heart, or that what counts most is the way our loved ones remember us. That playing is more important than winning, or that happiness is having a reason to get up every morning. One single story, according to the way you tell it, or the account you give of it, can have different themes and meanings.

EXERCISE 4 Define how your hero initially perceives the world he/she lives in.

HELP Know everything about your character (personal history, background, etc.). If you only vaguely know a person, how could you possibly make anyone care about him/her?

It is essential you know everything about your character. Do your research!

Make your character face various situations and decide how you want him/her to react.

EXERCISE 5 How does your hero perceive the world at the end of your film?

HELP Use the situations from the previous exercise and see if your hero would react in the same way at the end of the film.