REDACTED

When discussing my characters, I have avoided talking about one big part of my short film: a character by the name "redacted."

Supposed to represent the trauma the main character experienced, redacted is never named or shown throughout the piece. Each time he is shown, I only wish to show him from behind, the side, or simply any part of him that is not his face.

Why? 

Well, quit asking me questions. This is my project, my decision.

Ok, but seriously, let's talk about it.

"THE FACELESS"

When doing research on characters that go unseen, I came across an article from Wikipedia that read:

"The use of an unseen character take[s] advantage of one of the simplest but most powerful theatrical devices: the manner in which verbal references can make an offstage character extraordinarily real [...] to an audience,..."

What exactly does this have to do with my story?

Well, "Under Construction" aims to describe the various emotions that come from recovering from trauma. This is something that everyone will experience to some degree at some point in their life, and, in order to make this more relatable, I feel as if it's important to avoid giving the main character's trauma a face. This can make it easier for the audience to see redacted as more of a symbol rather than an actual character within the piece.

Not showing redacted's face also represents how memories can fade, but still leave a lasting impact on someone. Whether the audience chooses to believe that the main character is attempting to forget him or actually did forget what he looks like, both of these ideas portray that the trauma still sticks, even when the trauma is faceless.