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Point of View (POV)

Point of view (POV) refers to the way the reader sees the characters or story. High angles and low angles are often used to show POV. The terms high and low angle come from film and making movies. A high angle shot is when the camera is positioned up high and is often used to take away power from the subject or make the subject appear weak. A low angle shot is when the camera is placed lower than the subject and this can make the subject appear empowered.

 

Along with high and low angles, sometimes the illustrator or director will show the action of the story through the characters eyes. This is called first person point of view and puts readers or viewers directly into the shoes of the character.

Example 1: Welcome, Brown Bird is a story written by Mary Lyn Ray and illustrated by Peter Slyvada that tells the story of the Wood Thrush, which is a migrating song bird. The bird migrates twice per year spending its fall and winter in Central America and its spring and summer in the eastern United States. At each end of its journey, a boy is there waiting to hear its sweet song.

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  • What type of angle is used in this illustration?

  • Whose point of view is this angle meant to show?

  • Why did the illustrator choose to portray the boy from this angle?

Example 2: In this spread from Lotus Seed, written by Sherry Garland and illustrated by Tasuro Kiuchi, the boy has just stolen something very important from his Grandmother.

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  • What type of angle is used to show the boy and why?

  • How does the point of view impact how we interpret this moment in the story?

Lotus Seed Sherry Garland POV-high.jpg

Example 3: Point of view is a popular storytelling technique in movies as well as graphic novels, comics, and more. In this scene from the award-winning movie, Finding Nemo (2003), father Marlin has just realized that his son, Nemo, has been taken by divers.

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  • How is Marlin feeling in this scene? How do you know?

  • What type of angle is used to show Marlin when he surfaces to look for the boat, and why?

  • What other Ps are used in this scene?

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