Okay, so today I wanted to mess around with something I saw in “Hannibal” – those super intense point-of-view shots. You know, where you’re basically seeing the world through Hannibal Lecter’s eyes? Creepy, but super cool from a filmmaking perspective. So, I grabbed my phone to give it a shot.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed a “victim”. My roommate was busy, so I decided to film a shot of making coffee. Not quite as dramatic as, uh, other things Hannibal gets up to, but hey, it works for practice. I used a smartphone, It’s not fancy, but it shoots decent video.
Figuring out the Angles
The trick with these POV shots is really thinking about how a person actually sees. It’s not just about pointing the camera forward. When you look at something, you tilt your head, you shift your focus, you blink. So I tried to incorporate that. For the shot i needed these:
- Coffee grinder on the table
- Hand reaching for coffee beans
- Coffee cup waiting to be made
I started by holding the phone at roughly eye level, looking straight at the coffee grinder. Then, I tried to mimic a head tilt, moving the phone slightly downwards as I “focused” on the hand reaching the coffee beans. I even threw in a couple of quick “blinks” by briefly covering the lens with my finger. It felt silly, but I think it added a touch of realism.
The “Action”
Then came the “action” – which, again, was just making coffee. I tried to keep the movements slow and deliberate, just like Hannibal in the show. So, I filmed the hand carefully put the coffee beans to the grinder. A quick “blink,” and then the camera/my “eyes” shifted to watch the grinder do its thing. Another “blink,” and then a slow pan over to the mug as i put the coffee into the cup.
Review and Redo
I watched the footage back, and… yeah, it needed work. The first few takes were way too shaky. I realized I was moving the phone too much, trying to mimic natural movements but overdoing it. I also forgot a key element: breathing! In the show, you often see a slight up-and-down movement in the POV shots, simulating the character’s breathing.
So, I did a few more takes. I focused on keeping the phone steadier, using my body to absorb some of the movement instead of just relying on my hands. I also added in that subtle “breathing” motion, just a tiny bit of up-and-down. Much better! It still wasn’t perfect, but it definitely felt more like a real person’s perspective.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun little experiment. It really made me appreciate how much thought goes into those POV shots in “Hannibal.” It’s not just about pointing a camera; it’s about mimicking human vision in a way that feels both realistic and stylized. I definitely want to try this again, maybe with a slightly more… interesting scenario. Maybe not involving food preparation this time. And, yeah, I might need to invest in a phone gimbal for smoother shots. But overall, a good learning experience!