FilmSpace

Point of view is one of the most important and basic elements of film making. Like with written storytelling, the point of view can range from first to third person depending on the positioning of the camera.

Third Person
The third person is the most objective point of view. The viewer simply watches the action unfold, without seeing the point of view of any of the characters. The camera plays no part in the action and the viewer sees the scene as if it were a play on a proscenium stage. This is the same as in literary works when the author uses pronouns such as 'he', 'she', and 'they'.

First Person
When the camera sees the point of view of one of the characters with either an over the shoulder shot or simply a shot of an object the character is looking at, the point of view becomes first person. The perspective is through the eyes of the character.
A completely subjective shot is when the camera actually is the eyes of a character and other characters communicate directly to the camera. In this case, the viewer can only see what the character sees and nothing more. This is almost never done for a full length film. It is most commonly seen in suspense movies when, for a few seconds, the camera becomes the eyes of the killer, slowly following the victim. This only happens for a short time in the shot usually. The most drastic example of first person film is in the film The Lady in the Lake (1947). This film noir is shot entirely from the point of view of the detective trying to solve the case of a missing woman. The viewer only knows what the detective knows and can only see what the detective sees. Mirrors are creatively used throughout the movie to show the face of the detective when he peers into them. Other than these few instances, the viewer does not see the detective. Characters talk directly to the camera, creating a personal experience for the viewer.
It is important to be careful with this type of point of view within a film. If the subjective shot is unintentional or shot incorrectly, it makes the viewer acutely aware of the camera which ruins the illusion of the film and breaks the 'fourth wall'. When it is well done, like in The Lady in the Lake, this technique can be an effective form of storytelling.

I recently watched the movie American Beauty (1999) starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, and Thora Birch, and directed by Sam Mendes. This movie embodies everything I love about film and the reasons why I want to spend my life working in this field. Not only is the film well directed and the acting spectacular, but the story truly left a lasting impact on me.
The story is about a man and his wife and daughter, each of whom go through their own personal awakening throughout the course of the movie. The part that moved me the most about this film was the story of the man's daughter, played by Thora Birch. At the beginning of the story, she is just another teenager with low self esteem and a best friend who really is not a good friend at all. Then she meets the new next-door neighbor, a strange boy named Ricky Fitts played by Wes Bentley. The way this guy views the world is truly remarkable. He films everything. He doesn't see the world through his camera, he just captures it like pieces of his own memory. The things he films are things he finds beautiful even though most ordinary people would think nothing of them. Most notably is his film of a plastic bag floating in the wind. He shows this film to Thora Birch's character and says the famous line "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it. Life my whole heart is going to cave in".
I think this is a great lesson to take into consideration both in life and in film. In life, it is the idea to never take for granted the beauty that is around you and to try to find the beauty in everyday life. It is impossible to be negative or unhappy when you look at the world like this. For film, the lesson can be used by looking for a great, artistic shot in everyday life and in the places you wouldn't expect to find beauty. As I learned from this film and from my own experiences, some of the most beautiful occurrences in history were never recorded because no one stopped to truly appreciate their beauty. I would love to incorporate this into my life and my filmmaking in the future.