ABSTRACT
The subjective shot is cinema’s most rigorous visualization of a first person perspective; unlike other conventions designed to allow audiences to identify with a character’s physical or psychological subjectivity, a subjective shot lets viewers feel as if they are active participants in the story they are watching. A subjective shot may be taken with a lens attachment that blurs a section of the frame if a character suffers from impaired vision, or with an unsteady, swaying handheld camera if they are inebriated, or through a device if they use it during a scene. The subjective shot’s effect is complemented with a composition that places Lecter dead center in the frame, with underlighting that produces unnatural shadows across his face that make him look even more menacing.
