"- What's your problem?"
- Every movie has a point of view.
"- I said, what's your problem?"
- Where a filmmaker places a camera and directs a scene is influenced in some
way by their perspective on the world.
"- I was cured, all right?"
- Sometimes, however, a filmmaker wants to put the audience in the
point of view of a movie's character.
Why do films like "The Killer" go to such lengths to put an
audience inside a character's head?
And what tricks do filmmakers use to do it?
This is "How to Create Subjectivity".
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"- We are all just waiting on you."
- Subjectivity can best be understood in relation to its opposite.
Objectivity, which is when a viewpoint is divorced from a personal perspective.
Whereas subjectivity is when personal feelings and opinions
affect the point of view.
But being entirely objective is nearly impossible, especially in filmmaking.
As such, subjectivity is a sliding scale.
Some films rely heavily on a subjective viewpoint
while others are closer to objective and observational.
Subjectivity can quickly get an audience inside a character's psyche.
Creating empathy in an audience for a character and their actions.
Because we see the world through their eyes, we can understand
why they are the way they are.
"- What are you doing?"
- As Roger Ebert once noted, 'Movies are like a machine that generates empathy'.
In movies, a filmmaker can emulate the subjectivity of
a character through writing,
cinematography, and post-production choices.
Today, we'll be using David Fincher's ultra-subjective film, "The Killer"
to understand how the tool can be used effectively.
"- Consider yourself lucky if our paths never cross.
Except, luck isn't real."
- Let's begin with subjectivity in writing.
"- To our suffering, my dear.
- There's not enough scotch in the world for that one.
- Ha, ha, ha."
- Screenwriters are typically encouraged to write objectively.
Screenplays are filled with objective facts like the location, who is
talking when, and what action is occurring in front of the camera.
But screenwriters often bend this rule, hinting at subjectivity through
flourishes in their action lines.
"- To our male diners, we now offer you the chance to escape.
If they do catch... Okay.
- Care to join me inside? It's getting chilly."
- After things have taken a turn in "The Menu", writers Seth Rice and
Will Tracy describe the interiority of the group, noting that they
experience a strange feeling.
"- This is fantastic."
- They then focus on Tyler's perspective.
This tells director Mark Milod which point of view he should inhabit when.
"- Party's over."
- Writers can also explicitly note that a scene is from a
specific character's perspective.
In "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" Ted Elliott and
Terry Rossio note that the opening scene comes from Elizabeth's head.
Writing, 'Were the images we just saw a nightmare?'
Or a jumbled childhood memory?
In rare cases, subjectivity can be established more overtly.
Gaspar Noé wrote the screenplay for "Enter the Void" in first person
indicating the film will be shot entirely in point of view.
He explains in his director's note.
In order to transmit this cinematic bias, the screenplay has been
written in the first person
as the use of I is better for describing the actions of the characters as
perceived by Oscar, thus the spectator.
In "The Killer", subjectivity is established in the screenplay through voiceover.
"- Stick to your plan."
- Which colors our perception of each scene.
"- Anticipate, don't improvise."
- Fincher notes the appeal of the narration.
- I read the comics and it had this voiceover in it and it was
very nihilistic and cynical and, and of course, very appealing.
I kind of honed in on this idea of how to transfer the notion of extreme
subjectivity from comic book to screen.
- Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker also explicitly notes when a scene should
shift to the killer's perspective.
Writing the killer's POV in uppercase.
This happens routinely throughout the script.
Indicating that the world of the film will largely be seen through the killer's eyes.
"- The thing about real wealth, the more you've got, the harder it
is to fade into the wallpaper.
Vanity plates don't help."
- To transfer this subjectivity from the page and onto the screen, a filmmaker may
need to employ subjective cinematography.
"- Winter heat wave bringing temperatures to the mid."
- The most literal form of subjective cinematography is the point of
view shot where the camera sees exactly what a character sees.
But cinematography can suggest a character's perspective in more subtle ways.
In the beginning of this scene from "12 Monkeys", Cole is covered in
tighter shots while the scientists are shot in wide group shots.
So we are closer to his perspective.
But as the scene goes on, the shots tighten on both sides of the conversation.
Making the scientist's power over him clear.
"- We've had some misfortunes with unstable types.
- For a man in your position, an opportunity not to volunteer could be a real mistake.
Definitely a mistake."
- Subjectivity can also be indicated through camera angles.
"Rashomon" hinges on subjective realities.
Each character's perspective on what happened is different.
To emphasize their different perspectives, Akira Kurosawa often covers the incident
from an angle closer to the character
who's currently narrating.
When the bandit tells the story, the camera is closer to him.
When the samurai tells his account, the camera is closer to him.
Camera movement too can underline subjectivity.
"- At first, it felt like ginger ale on my skull."
- In this scene from "The Sopranos", the camera swerves and tilts, simulating the
panic attack that is coming upon Tony.
His world is out of balance.
Len's choice can also indicate a specific subjectivity.
In "Diving Bell and the Butterfly", cinematographer Janusz Kaminski
uses a tilt-shift lens.
Its unique depth of field creates a murky image that simulates
the feeling of the protagonist slowly coming into consciousness.
And also allows for very narrow fields of focus that indicate what he is focused on.
Frame rate can also get us into a character's mind.
In "The Royal Tenenbaums", shooting at a high frame rate creates slow motion
which signifies how enamored Ritchie is with Margot.
In combination with the needle drop, this sequence emulates Ritchie's
feeling of romantic longing.
Color, too, can indicate certain subjectivity.
In "Big Fish", scenes from Edward's stories are highly saturated
emphasizing that he views the past with a magical romanticism.
In "They Live", meanwhile John Carpenter transitions to black and white
whenever Nada puts on his glasses.
Indicating that we're seeing what he's seeing.
And the drastic shift between color and black and white suggests that what
he's seeing is an entirely new reality.
"The Killer" uses many of these techniques to get into its protagonist's subjectivity.
Much of the film's opening sequence is told through point-of-view
shots, which quickly establish that this movie will focus tightly on
the killer and his perspective.
Cinematographer Eric Messerschmidt explains.
- We find the killer in his nest, in his place of observation.
David wanted to explore the concept of subjectivity, and part of the
conversations that we had with him evolved around the idea that this
is a character who never allows anyone in his personal space.
- Thus, the non-POV shots heighten this isolation by
showing how barren his lair is.
Mashismet elaborates.
- We wanted to play with the rhythm of the audience seeing him and then
being inside his head and seeing exactly what he's looking at.
So we have this subjective camera position, subjective concept,
and then the objective camera position and the objective concept.
- To truly emulate the killer's POV, Messerschmidt filmed on a telephoto
lens from the actual distance the killer would be from the apartment.
The cinematographer also used camera movement.
to further insert the audience in the character's head.
- When the killer is in control, when he's confident, when he's secure,
the camera is perfectly secure.
It's in lockstep to his position, we're not following him, we
are moving exactly with him.
The frames are rigid and structured like the character.
Then, when he's not, and he becomes frantic and confused and
he's surprised and he's failed.
The camera breaks free and the camera is no longer steady with him.
- Subjectivity can be created further through careful
choices in post production.
"- Camera one, camera two, camera one.
- What is this? - This is a chemical."
- Through simple cutting techniques
an editor can get an audience into the headspace of a character.
"- I tried not to think of the word serum or flesh. Stop it!
- This is your pain. This is your burning hand.
- It's right here. - I'm going to my cave.
I'm going to my cave and find my power animal.
- No!"
- More rapid cutting can make us feel the character's emotional distress.
Like when Marion is stabbed in the shower.
Or when Patrick can't find his wedding video.
"- You think I can't handle it?
- Please stop yelling!"
- Cross dissolves and fades can also conjure subjectivity.
In "Apocalypse Now", dissolves are used to show that Willard
has never really left the war.
"Pulp Fiction", a fade in and out of black indicates losing
and regaining consciousness.
An editor can also disorient an audience through subjectivity.
In "The Exorcist 3", editors Peter Lee Thompson and Todd Ramsey
cut between two different actors playing the same character.
It is unclear to both the audience and to Kinderman who he's talking to.
"- You must get them to do that, Lieutenant. It's important.
- The Gemini is dead.
- No, I am not! I'm alive!
I go on!
I breathe!
Look at me! Look at me!
And tell me what you see."
- Michael Haneke begins "Cache" with an unexpected use of subjectivity.
The audience is led to assume the opening shot is from a
relatively objective point of view.
This is subverted when we begin to hear voices.
And the film fast-forwards.
We are in fact looking at a piece of footage the characters are looking at.
This disruption of subjectivity makes the viewer hyper-aware of perspective
throughout the rest of the film.
Visual effects too can get us in a character's point of view.
In "Midsommar", Ari Aster slowly introduces subtle distortions
as he pushes in on Dani.
The push-in signifies we are entering her subjectivity and the distortions
are what she is hallucinating.
Music is perhaps the quickest way to make the audience feel
what a character is feeling.
In "The Graduate", playing 'The Sound of Silence' over Ben's montage
encourages us to feel the listlessness he does.
Creative sound design can also allow us to get into a character's head.
In "Saving Private Ryan", the sound cuts out to highlight how overwhelmed
Miller is during the invasion.
In "Little Miss Sunshine", a honking horn subliminally adds stress to a viewer,
simulating the anxiety Dwayne is feeling.
"- You can't fly jets if you're colorblind.
- Okay, we've got an emergency back here.
I think we just need to pull over."
- In "The Killer", subjective picture and sound editing work together to keep us in
the headspace of the protagonist.
"- Brand new."
- Editor Kirk Baxter uses cutting to show how
comfortable the killer feels at any given moment.
Baxter explains his approach to the film's lengthy fight scene.
- It was about the killer losing control, when it's his process, when it's the
killer's process, it's exacting, and when he is not in control of process.
So it's the contrast of what leads up to it, which is the stretching as he sort
of works his way slowly into danger, and then it exploding into violence, and I'm
slightly clipping action, just little tiny bits to sort of go, this is spilling.
He does not have a handle on this yet.
- Sound too is crucial to the subjectivity of the scene.
The killer nor the audience can initially see the target and
therefore we have to rely on the sound design to hear where he is.
Sound designer Ren Kleiss explains.
- As we're coming into this space we are identifying with the killer.
Where is the brute, this incredibly scary guy?
I guess he's in the shower and he's listening to a home and garden show.
The film's numerous needle drops further situate us within the killer's interiority.
The music is only heard when we cut into his POV.
And cuts out when we are not.
Thus, we are both in the killer's head
while also seeing how isolated he is.
He's in his own world.
"- If I'm effective, it's because of one simple fact.
I don't give a f*ck."
- Subjectivity is a powerful tool for filmmakers.
There are few ways to make an audience understand a character more than
placing them inside their heads.
"- We can do pretty much what we want to."
- Creating subjectivity can put a viewer in the shoes of a character
they may have nothing in common with.
And experience stories in a way that no other medium can replicate.
"- What kind of bird are you? - I'm a raven."
- What are some of your favorite scenes that capture subjectivity?
Let us know in the comments.
Creating subjectivity begins with creating a unique character
with their own point of view.
Start crafting your own characters with StudioBinder screenwriting software.
Your next project can be great.
At least, that's our perspective.