First Person Movies?

[Abras]

I've been thinking about this recently and I've finally decided to post here to see what you guys have to say on the subject. So let's cut to the chase: movies shot from a first person perspective, are there any? If not, what would they be like? I know some video games, especially FPS games, use that perspective in some cut scenes. And I know some movies use the perspective, though very sparingly. For example, I've seen short scenes when the camera takes the perspective of an animal, like a mouse scurrying through a house.

Still, I wonder what a movie shot entirely (or at least mostly) from that perspective would be like... I imagine it would be rather difficult, though still possible, for a live action movie. It would certainly open up a brand new area of cinematography. But where it could really shine is 3D animation movies, for reason I'm sure you can all guess based on your experiences with 3D games.

So what do you guys think? What would that be like? Is that an area worth looking into or would it just be too cumbersome? How much would current ideas about film making have to change to accommodate movies shot from this perspective? I have no answers to any of these questions, but heck, I think it would at least be worth a shot. I can picture some indie film makers taking a whack at it and at least producing a decent animated short.

[IcKy99]

the Doom movie had some First person scenes, but that movie sucked

[Limewater]

I've been thinking about this recently and I've finally decided to post here to see what you guys have to say on the subject. So let's cut to the chase: movies shot from a first person perspective, are there any?

Sure, there are lots. You can see commercials for them late at night on Comedy Central, and you can get two of them for only $9.95 with a new one coming every month at the regular price. I can't seem to remember the title of the series... Something Gone Wild?

So what do you guys think? What would that be like? Is that an area worth looking into or would it just be too cumbersome? How much would current ideas about film making have to change to accommodate movies shot from this perspective? I have no answers to any of these questions, but heck, I think it would at least be worth a shot. I can picture some indie film makers taking a whack at it and at least producing a decent animated short.

I honestly don't think you could have a decent story with decent acting with the first person constraint except possibly as a short. Since you can really establish framing shots, you'd just about be limited to something that took place in real-time if you wanted the audience to be able to follow along. You'd also probably have to make the main character silent for the entire film, because hearing a voice come from your own perspective can be pretty jarring if you're trying to immerse the audience in a story. You also risk making your audience motion-sick with too much first-person.

"The Office" (at least the American version-- I've never seen the British original) is sort of first-person, in that the camera crew is acknowledged and occasionally interacted-with by the characters in the show.

Also, this isn't quite what you're thinking of, but I am reminded of the film "Alexandra's Project". It's not all first-person, but a good half of the film consists of playing a home video a woman made of herself alone in a room with a camcorder. In that sense, you see what one of the characters sees for a large portion of the film. I don't know if it is rated in the US, but it is pretty graphic and disturbing, so don't watch it with kids.

So, I guess it would be possible to make a feature-length film that is entirely first-person, and I am almost certain that such a film exists, but it would be quite a feat for such a film to have an actual plot and not suck. If plot is not a requirement, and it's more of an art film (not to imply that art films tend to not have plot), then it might be doable.

I don't really know all that much about film, though.

[Nanten]

I saw this old movie called Lady in the Lake that was filmed entirely from a first-person perspective (link).

[Pullmyfinger]

It could work, have you seen The Prodigy's Smack my bitch up video? I especially like the ending

[Ack]

Yeah, Lady in the Lake is a film noir filmed entirely in first person from the perspective of Phillip Marlowe. It actually works pretty well from the few short clips of it I've watched. So yes, it has been done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AKDw2hwi5I

There are quite a few films from the perspective of a camcorder, like The Blair Witch Project or Diary of the Dead(several Japanese as well. Parts of Marebito are filmed like that), though in terms of true first person...not much.

[vejita]

*ahem* Cloverfield...

[Limewater]

*ahem* Cloverfield...

I thought he was interested in movies shot in first person that don't suck...

[slowslow325]

*ahem* Cloverfield...

I thought he was interested in movies shot in first person that don't suck...

It wasn't that bad. Actually, I liked it. A lot.

[ubelaffe]

I was once told that halloween (michael myers) was the first movie to use explicit 1st person/pov. Much of early silent pornography and stag-film is set in 1st person/voyeur. At least according to Rabkin...

It can be difficult to get over jarring techniques like pov. I'd be very interested in something like that.

Smack my bitch up is a great example of a short.