ACTING FOR THE CAMERA: THE ART OF THE POV SHOT
Smooth Operator Gretchen Warthen, SOC
Shooting B-Roll in Madagascar where we were filming a documentary about local environmentalists. Photo by Director, Natalee Watts
It was one of our last days deep in the mountains of Papua, New Guinea. We were immersed with a tribe who shared their story of being decimated by tribal warfare. This was a world that relied solely on what their land provided. Their currency was coffee beans, their communication by word-of-mouth only. There was no Facebook or internet. The reaction to the notion of the Western world spending money to sip their coffee in a “coffee shop” made them laugh. Why would a person travel for miles to pay someone to make coffee for them? For most of the tribe, it was the first time they saw white people. For the entire tribe, it was the first time they had ever seen a camera. This particular morning it was raining and two of the women in the tribe were spending time with our young female subject. As our time in this village was coming to an end, our subject felt compelled to share a deeply personal story with these women. A story she had kept locked up inside her during the entire eight-month run of our docuseries.
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As with most documentary scenes, I knew I would be shooting single camera. I also knew I had one chance to get it right. Because of rain, the women had retreated under a thatched roof to wait out the shower. While I usually choose three main positions to cover a scene, I decided to position myself in one spot where I would remain the entire scene. I knew I didn’t want to call attention to myself because I suspected it was going to be an emotional moment, plus these tribal women were still easily distracted by the camera. Relying completely on existing lighting, I chose a spot where light from outside of the hut would wrap around them from behind. I was 15 feet away. Far enough away that I could hear their words only through the earpiece connected to my camera. I needed to quiet my mind and tune out everything except the words and emotion flowing between these women. Not being able to change angles, I knew I would be completely driven by the dialogue and non-verbal gestures within the scene to get the coverage.
SOCIETY OF CAMERA OPERATORS · SOC.ORG