Advice on shooting 1st Person POV restaurant scene?

Question

I have an upcoming shoot where I will need to capture a restaurant scene in first person point-of-view. It seems pretty straight-forward, but I want to make sure it truly looks like the subject's point-of-view. At first, I thought a steadicam would do the trick, but wasn't sure if that would actually look like first person point-of-view. Then I thought about mounting the camera to a helmet, similar to the one here...https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/new-approaches-to-online-video-at-the-wall-street-journal-/s2/a553636/Does anyone have experience with these kinds of shots? How did you capture them? What camera and lens did you use? I'd like to be able to get as much as the scene in the shot as possible, so going wide would be ideal. However, I don't want to go too wide if it doesn't look as if we are viewing the scene through the subject's eyes. Any advice?

Answer 1

Hi Kimora!

Your question is an interesting and important one, yet quite basic in terms of approach. Honestly, much of what you're asking depends on the nature of what you're shooting (narrative, doc, vlog, "reality"), and whether you're filming dialogue/voice in real-time or adding voice over in post.

Nevertheless, here are some points to consider. Camera movement should mimic 1st person POV via shoulder mount or handheld so that you can view what's being shot (not sure you can do that with a helmet). Add more speed, less stabilization to camera movements for more real-time point-of-view... less speed, more stabilization for reflective point-of-view.

Wide or close depends again on what's of interest in the scene and what the 1st person is doing. Is he/she stationary or moving toward the object of interest? Whichever, move or set the camera on the point of interest as if the camera is actually the 1st person's head/eyes. That means, avoid zooming or pulling or any camera techniques that our eyes can't do. When we want to see something wide, we move back. When we want to see something closer, we move in. So move (don't zoom) the camera similarly. Wide or close just depends on the object of interest and how close the 1st person is to the object. If he or she is stationary, set up the shot close to the object of interest (e.g. a cake). If it's a bar, set the shot wide (or the camera further away). If you pan or tilt, remember the point on movement above.

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