Point of View: Why Your Screenplay Needs One     

By David Terruso

You know that family member that no one ever keeps in touch with? The one you haven’t seen in years? This relative isn’t fighting with anyone, but is just out of sight and out of mind. No one really knows why. But maybe, just maybe, if you give this third cousin a call, she’ll be so elated to be in contact with the family that she’ll leave you a huge chunk of change in her will.

That little story was an allegory. The family represents your screenplay. The forgotten cousin is point of view. You are you. The chunk of change is a better writing style.

(I didn’t say it was a good allegory.)

In my fiction writing classes, we spent a few weeks on point of view-- first person limited, third person omniscient, and whatnot. But point of view is seldom mentioned in screenwriting classes, articles, and how-to books, and yet it’s a very important tool that can’t be overlooked. Having a consistent point of view is something all great screenwriters do. In short: if you don’t have a point of view, your script will suffer.

So, what is point of view in a screenplay? It’s not one of those shots in a movie where you’re seeing things from a character’s eyes; that’s a point of view camera angle. Point of view in a screenplay is more like following someone’s consciousness around. For example, if a screenplay is in strict first person limited point of view, then we will follow around one character throughout the entire piece, and they will be in every scene. Basically, we only get to experience what that main character experiences. If the main character isn’t there to see it, then neither are we.

A great example of a script that adheres to the first person limited point of view perfectly is Memento. Our protagonist, Leonard, is in every single scene in the screenplay. We see only what he sees. In this particular story, seeing things only from Leonard’s point of view creates suspense and mystery that last until the final scene in the film.

Some films come very close to keeping this strict point of view, but they cheat a bit, and it makes the work just a little less tight. Take Castaway for example: Tom Hanks’ character (Chuck) is in almost every scene in the screenplay, which would give the screenplay a first person limited point of view. But there are two places where this point of view is broken: 1) the opening, which is a series of scenes of packages being delivered around the world, and 2) the scene near the end when Helen Hunt’s character gets a phone call telling her that Chuck is still alive. If these scenes had been removed, the story would be that much stronger, and nothing would be lost in terms of plot or theme.

There’s also a split first person limited point of view, meaning that we only read scenes that contain a limited number of characters. In the screenplay for Seven, every scene contains either Morgan Freeman’s character (Somerset) or Brad Pitt’s character (Mills). If they’re not there to witness something, then neither are we. Many scripts with an ensemble cast (like The Royal Tenenbaums and Magnolia), use a split first person limited point of view that includes five, six, seven, maybe even a dozen people.

Finally, there is the omniscient point of view, where we can see scenes involving anyone anywhere in the world. This is an unwieldy point of view that should be reserved almost exclusively for genre films:

In an action script, seeing the bad guys on their way to find our hero can build suspense for the reader and enhance his experience.

In a science fiction script, we’ll often need to see scenes of asteroids hurtling through space, or lava moving under ground, and obviously no one is going to be there to witness those events.

In a horror script, seeing our heroine through the eyes of her would-be killer is always chilling.

In a character-driven piece, however, breaking away from the main character(s) will break the emotional connection between the character(s) and the reader, even if only for half a page, and that has a subtle effect on the reader.

Here’s an example of the difference using two films about alien invasions:

Independence Day employs an omniscient point of view, giving us scenes of the White House, the surface of the moon, a strip club, Area 51, China, etc., etc. This makes sense for this kind of summer blockbuster screenplay, where the reader is more concerned with special effects and action than with dialogue and character development. It’s more about the big budget and the grand scope of things, and the point of view reflects that.

In contrast, Signs uses a split first person limited point of view. We only see scenes that involve Mel Gibson’s character (Graham), his brother, or his children. When we see the aliens or their spacecrafts, it’s either through a character’s eyes or on television. We hear the aliens talking on a baby monitor in the house. There are no cutaways to aliens assembling, spacecrafts landing, etc. The effect is a focus on the characters themselves, on their internal struggle. This limited point of view also creates a lot of tension and suspense because, when Graham’s family decides to barricade themselves inside the house, we have no idea what’s going on outside. We’re forced to use our imagination, and that lends great weight to the scares in the screenplay.

The worst thing about breaking point of view is when you completely throw your reader for a loop and he says to himself, “Wait, why am I reading about this guy now?” Oftentimes, you’re breaking away from characters the reader loves to show him characters he doesn’t care about and may never see again.

Just because point of view in screenplays is somewhat esoteric doesn’t mean it’s hard to master. All you need to do is, before you start writing, decide on the character(s) through which the reader will be experiencing the story. Then outline your script and make sure there are no scenes without that character (or those characters) present. It’s simply a matter of being aware.

While this may seem like a limit on your writing, it usually forces you to be creative. If you can’t just cut away from your main character to show us something that is happening elsewhere, you’ll have to find a clever way to get that information to the reader through the main character.

You’ll be amazed at how much more a reader will empathize with a character that is in every scene in the script, because subconsciously he knows that he’s been in that person’s shoes for 115 pages. A perfect example of this is Sideways, where Paul Giamatti’s character (Miles) is in every scene in the script. By the end, the reader feels every emotion that Miles feels.

Novels and short stories may have many different points of view, but in screenwriting,  there are basically just the three I’ve mentioned here: first person limited, split first person limited, and omniscient. Stick to the first two for character pieces, and use the third sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary, in genre pieces. (Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, so use your judgment in deciding what is best for your story.)

I believe the reason point of view is overlooked in screenwriting is because the audience is not consciously aware of it while watching a movie. But, I also believe that the right point of view, properly executed, will enhance the audience’s experience greatly.

Using a specific point of view is one of the things that successful screenwriters do to sharpen their writing. Now that you know how to do it, you’re one step closer to being a success yourself. 

No need to thank me.

No, stop it, you’re embarrassing me.

Well, you’re very welcome.

I wouldn’t call myself “ruggedly handsome,” just regular handsome. But thank you.

Oh, Reader, flattery will get you everywhere…

By day, Dave Terruso is a mild-mannered editor at a standards publisher. By night, he's a screenwriter/novelist/actor/director/singer-songwriter who loves separating things by slashes and hyphens. Dave is currently a member of the Philadelphia-based sketch comedy troupe Animosity Pierre. He's working on his third spec script, a romantic comedy set on a college campus.    

Sponsored links

Ring binders

 

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer!

How to find a book publisher

Home

Text on this site Copyright © 1998-2007 Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
Please contact the authors if you'd like to reprint articles on this site.  All copyrights are retained by original authors.  And plagiarizers will be rounded up, handcuffed, and stuck into a very small and humid room wherein they must listen to Barney sing the "I Love You, You Love Me" song over and over again.

writers writing software