Point of View

Point of view determines who the view identifies with in a scene and works alongside other graphical and editorial techniques such as framing, which determines the level of involvement a viewer has with characters on screen. Point of view often changes throughout a narrative film and is largely invisible to the audience and the effects of the changes profoundly affects the way in which the audience interprets and scene. There are three types of narrative in film:

• First person point of view
• Third person restricted point of view
• Omniscient point of view

First person - Exemplified in the subjective techniques established by Hitchcock, we see through the eyes of the character - the 'I' of the story. 

Third person - Presents the action of the film as seen by an ideal observer. The most common style in mainstream Hollywood cinema but rarely the sole viewpoint.

Omniscient - To be truly omniscient we have to also know what the characters are thinking. This is usually achieved through narration, voice-over and graphics.