Choosing a Point of View: Who Is Telling the Story

The same story becomes a different story when told by a different narrator. This is not a statement from literary theory, but a practical technical choice in creation: whose point of view the audience follows determines what they know, what they care about, and when they finally learn the truth. In many works, this choice is made by "default"—without deliberate selection—and the result is a confused point of view: at one moment the audience knows everything, and at another they know nothing. This confusion makes the audience lose their sense of orientation.

1. Point of view determines not "what is seen," but "what is known"

First, clarify the scope of point of view: it does not change the events themselves; it changes the informational relationship between the audience and the events. For the same plot point (the protagonist discovers at a party that a friend has lied), the audience’s feelings are completely different under different points of view:

1. If the audience discovers it at the same time as the protagonist → surprise, and empathy with the protagonist.
2. If the audience has known all along and is only watching the protagonist remain unaware → tension, and anxiety for the protagonist.
3. If what the audience knows is wrong (they have been misled) → there will be a later reversal effect.

All three approaches are valid, but their effects are completely different. This is the value of point of view—it determines the audience’s position.

2. Three basic points of view

1. Omniscient point of view

The audience knows more than any single character.

Effect: the audience stands in a "God’s-eye" position and sees the whole picture. It suits stories that need to present relationships among multiple sides.
Cost: suspense is reduced. Because the audience knows more, it is hard for them to be moved by "surprise." So an omniscient point of view usually relies on other sources of tension—not "what will happen," but "how did it come to this."

• Common uses: ensemble stories, epic narratives, and stories that need to convey a sense of fate.

2. Limited point of view

The audience knows the same amount as (or slightly more than) one character.

Effect: it creates the strongest sense of immersion. The audience discovers and feels confused in sync with the character, and their emotions follow completely.
Cost: the field of view is limited. If you follow only one character for a long time, other characters may seem thin.

• Common uses: mystery, thriller, and coming-of-age stories. This is the most commonly used point of view.

3. Multiple points of view switch among several main characters.

Effect: it can show different positions at the same time and create information gaps (the audience knows something A does not know about B).
Cost: management costs are high. If switches are too frequent, the audience will lose their orientation; if switches are too arbitrary, the technique will feel too visible.

• Common uses: multi-line narratives, ensemble dramas, and stories that need to show opposing sides.

Which one you choose depends on what effect the story needs to create through an "information gap."

3. The information gap is the core tool of point of view

Once you understand point of view, you can understand an even more useful concept: the information gap. The information gap refers to the difference between "what the audience knows" and "what the characters know." The type of gap determines the emotional effect:

1. The audience does not know + the character does not know → curiosity (wanting to know)
2. The audience knows + the character does not know → tension (anxiety)
3. The audience does not know + the character knows → suspense (what is the character hiding)
4. The audience knows + the character knows → usually no tension, unless another layer is being handled

The practical value of this framework is that when you want to create a certain emotion, you can adjust the information gap in reverse.

• Want tension? Raise the audience’s amount of information above the character’s—let the audience see danger approaching.
• Want curiosity? Put the audience and the character on the same level—let them explore together.
• Want suspense? Let the audience realize that the character knows something but has not said it.

This is much more specific than saying "this part should feel a little tense."

4. Several signs of a confused point of view

Point-of-view problems are not always about "choosing the wrong one"; more often, they are about "inconsistency."

• Sign one: arbitrary switching. In the previous section, the audience is omniscient; in the next, they are suddenly confused along with a character, with no transition. The audience will feel as if they have been "temporarily blindfolded."
• Sign two: giving information only when needed. When the plot needs a surprise, the audience is kept from knowing; when the plot needs tension, the audience is allowed to know. This kind of "on-demand adjustment" feels deliberate, because the audience can sense the rules changing.
• Sign three: the point of view does not match the emotion. You use a limited point of view to follow a calm character, but hope the audience feels fear—the point of view has not provided the information needed for fear.
• Sign four: multiple points of view have no boundaries. The story jumps back and forth among several characters, but each point of view is not given enough time to be established.

A practical principle: once the main point of view is set, do not easily violate its information rules. If a certain section must let the audience know a little more, there needs to be a clear method (for example, switching to the point of view where that information is located), rather than quietly giving it away.

5. How to put point of view into practice

Point of view is a script-level choice, but it affects production. At the structural level, point of view determines how episodes are divided. If multiple points of view are used, then "who serves as the thread" becomes the basis for episode division.

• NadouPro’s workspace is organized around script, subject, storyboard, and shot production. After script parsing, it outputs an episode structure, with each section managed independently—writing point-of-view threads into the structure helps prevent confusion later.

At the character level, point of view determines which characters the audience should follow. These characters need to be established; they cannot look as if the audience is meeting them for the first time in every shot.

• NadouPro’s character asset library supports filtering by name, tag, gender, age range, skin color, hair color, body type, and other conditions—fixing the images of the main characters is the prerequisite for letting the audience "recognize them." In multi-point-of-view narratives, there are more characters, so this is especially important.

At the shot level, point of view lands in specific handling.

• NadouPro’s storyboard nodes carry video storyboard processing and include information such as shot size, movement, and camera angle—from whose viewpoint the same scene is shot, and what shot size is used, determines whom the audience follows. This is also where topics such as "subjective and objective" take practical form.

6. Several common misconceptions

• Misconception one: not considering point of view. Information is given arbitrarily according to plot needs, causing the audience to lose their orientation.
• Misconception two: choosing a limited point of view but being unable to resist giving more. This destroys the effect of a limited point of view without achieving the completeness of an omniscient point of view.
• Misconception three: multiple points of view mean frequent switching. Cutting too finely prevents any point of view from holding together.
• Misconception four: treating point of view as a technique. It is a setup of information relationships, not a "trick."
• Misconception five: ignoring character establishment. In multi-point-of-view narratives, the audience needs to recognize every person.

7. A self-check checklist

1. What is the main point of view? Omniscient, limited, or multiple points of view.
2. Are the information rules consistent? Does the amount of information the audience knows match the chosen point of view?
3. What effect should the information gap create? Curiosity, tension, suspense, or something else?
4. Is there a basis for switching? Are switches among multiple points of view clear and restrained?
5. Have the characters been established? Can the audience recognize the main characters?
6. Does the point of view serve the story? Or is it just a habitual way of handling things?

Finally

Choosing a point of view is, in essence, answering one question: who is this story’s "not knowing" left to? If it is left to the audience, that is suspense; if it is left to the characters, that is tension; if it is left to the future (neither the audience nor the characters know), that is curiosity. All three effects can work, but you must first decide which one it is. And the earlier this decision is made, the better—because it will affect every arrangement of structure, characters, and shots. Adjusting the point of view afterward is almost the same as rewriting.

Contains AI-generated information that may be incorrect. Please verify independently.