Some Notes in Objective and Subjective Camera Angles

When the camera replaces a player who must relate with other players in the scene. Whenever other players in the scene look into the eyes of the subjective player they must look directly into the lens as eye connection.

The unexpected appearance of a player looking directly into the lens will startle the audience, because they suddenly become aware of the camera. It is as if the people being filmed detected the eavesdropping camera. Such treatment can prove very distracting, and may disrupt the story-telling.

A sudden switch from an objective to a subjective look-into-the-lens shot is startling in a dramatic film becasue the audience is unprepared for such treatment. Viewers can not immediately adjust to active participation in the event.

The subjective player may be intrduced in an objective shot; but when the camera replaces him, the audience must view everything subjectviely, as he sees it.

Objective Shot

Subjective Shot

There are two pictures from "One Man Band" which is made by Pixar. One is objective shot and the other is subjective shot. The scene following that of a little girl looking off-screen will be interpreted by audience as what that girl sees. The little girl above is looking up- at two taller clowns filmed from her point-of-view. The upward or downward points of view in the subjective shot should be stimulated by similar camera angling in that objective shot which are coherent and make audience more easily understand.

Reference:

Mascelli, J. V. (1965). The Five C's of  Cinematography. The United States: radstone publications.

Those two pictures are from "One Man Band" made by Pixar in 2005.