Emily Smail

Short Film Analysis - Scars

 

As my film is based on mental illness, I find it useful to explore all mental illnesses and how they can sometimes result in self harm.

Scars is a short film describing how scars appeal to others and what they can mean to a person who self harms. 

The story is a description of the difficulties of self harm and how addictive and appealing it can become. The camera shots are very basic and seem to hardly alter from close ups to self harm scars and marks. The 6:06 minute long film is narrated by a young girl but no one is ever identified. The way she describes self harm is that in a way only one who has suffered through it would understand. "Your own snowflakes drifting over your skin. Some lift like gentle hills, hughes of soft pink and purple, inviting others" 

 

I am very intrigued to find that the narator, nor the person who displays these scars, are ever identified. This relates to my film as I intend to hide the fact that my protaganist is schziophenic, and may have resulted to self harm in her life. I think that the director intended this deliberatly as depression/mental illness/self harm can effect anyone atall and no one has to be seen or identified personally for it to be applied to them. 

 

There are only two pieces of sound portrayed in this film. The diagetic sound of the narrators voice, and the non diagetic sound of a soft piano track playing whilst she speaks. 

 

The close ups on the scars appeal to me as they come across as very real and meaningful.