The Dutch Angle

The "Dutch Angle" is when a filmmaker tilts the camera, which tilts our point of view. People are pretty good at compensating for the angle of our heads, and therefore our line of sight. Most folks have no trouble laying on their side on the couch and watching TV. Our brains know where our heads are. But in a movie, we aren't able to compensate so well, because if our heads are straight up and the vision on the screen is tilted, well, it makes everything appear somewhat wrong. We have lost control of our point of view, which is unsettling. Vox takes us through the history of the Dutch Angle and how filmmakers use it to make us feel the way they want us to feel. (via Kottke)