Skill: Sequential POV (Video-Feel Camera)
What
The camera IS a character. The viewer doesn't watch a scene — they ARE in the scene. Every panel is one camera position or movement, like directing a video shoot frame by frame.
The Idea
Traditional comics jump between key moments. Sequential POV decomposes every physical movement into its own frame. The brain fills motion between frames (Scott McCloud's "closure"), but only if the gap is small enough. More frames = smoother perceived motion = video feel.
How to Direct
Think like a cinematographer walking through a space with a camera:
- Lock the POV character — decide who the camera IS. They are never visible except hands, feet, reflections.
- Walk the scene physically — what does this person SEE at each step? Not what's happening — what's IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES.
- Decompose movement — "she runs to the bed" is NOT one shot. It's:
- She's mid-stride 3 meters away
- She's reaching the bed edge, hands on mattress
- She's pulling herself up
- She's crawling across
- Track objects through space — if a character moves left-to-right across your field of view, show that progression across sequential frames.
- Camera moves = panel transitions — the POV character walking forward, turning their head, looking down at their hands — each is a new frame.
Each panel should specify:
- Action: What's happening in this single moment
- POV Position: Where is the camera-person standing/looking
- Model: PRO for complexity, FLASH for transitions
- Why: What makes this shot earn its place (establishing, tracking, emotional, technical)
Panel Count
Video-feel POV stories need 25-40 panels for a short scene. Budget accordingly. Every micro-movement costs one frame.
What This Is NOT
- Not omniscient camera (no switching to "meanwhile, across the room")
- Not traditional comic layout (no gutters, no multi-panel pages)
- Not slideshow (every frame is a unique generated image)
- Not description-driven (the prompt describes what the camera SEES, not what's narratively happening)
Example
"Father enters hospital room, daughter runs to bed, climbs up, settles beside mom."
❌ Comic approach: 3 panels (entering, running, settled)
✅ Video approach: 14 panels (door opening → stepping through → room revealed → daughter mid-stride → daughter at bed edge → climbing → crawling → settled → close-up → looking down → hand to pocket → phone out → phone raised → selfie)