Evaluation - 1

Evaluation  

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Narrative 

Narrative of my film: a killer hidden in plain sight, in the position of love/caring, i.e. someone who we trust. My narrative is essentially a well-known tailor with an alter ego of a serial killer, who kills by night, and is a tailor by day.  Their motive is not fully known, it’s rather personal and a mystery for the audience to uncode and discover. Her motive is past trauma, and her killings are a testament to her emerging from her trauma and growing.

As compared to traditional Thriller openings, my opening features a serial killer who kills with a sharp, deadly object — this is conventional of the thriller openings, as most main characters are either murderers, serial killers, spies, etc, They who kill. 

However, my character doesn’t kill with traditional weapons, but rather a needle, something they’re very familiar with and uses everyday, therefore improving their skill-set, both for their sewing’s and for their killings, respectively. 

Similarly, in thriller openings, there’s lots of jump-cuts and cuts to different parts of the scenes, in order to show fragmented pieces of information. This is best shown in Taking Lives and Se7en. However, my opening starts slow and it gradually builds up tension and its pace, in order to encapsulate what’s happening. 

Themes:

In terms of themes, the main themes of my film are identity, construction and hiding/concealing. The main theme is identity, as it follows the tailor's self, and the audience are first only shown their fingers, displaying their needle work. The killer slowly reveals themselves through the opening, to reveal their face, which ultimately shows her own self to victims, and to also showcase her emerging her from her past trauma. 

Construction is another large theme, as the film follows crafts and stitching which is benign and boring, but as soon as the killings are shown, the equilibrium shifts to a more dramatic tone (binary opposites). 

Hiding/concealment is essentially the whole plot of the film, as the film is based on the tailors deceptiveness, in which she has an alias, a serial killer. Her customers have a certain perception of her, which is kind and trustworthy. 

Montage:

My film is shown through an overtonal montage which combines intellectual, rhythmic, metric and tonal montage. The montage follows the character's movements, from their needlework to their delicate, elegant-like scissors. The structure of the montage is: stitch - needle - death. Rhythmic montage is best portrayed through my opening scene, as the fluid movements of the tailor stitching and inserting the needle, and cutting the scissors all flow in sequence, hence the classical goth music of Bach.  

Fonts:

Fonts are slowly revealed, as the character flicks a light on, or stitches into a piece of clothing. A 'special thanks to' credit is shown when scissors cut through the fabric and it whilst cutting, it gradually disappears. 

The fonts are also differentiated, with different colours and glows, in order to portray the significance of each character. For example, the main lead's credits are shown in purple, 

 The purple firstly is used to portray deoxygenated blood or blood after death, hence the serial killers name's in purple to show what they do.

The film is named Stitched, because it fits in with the narrative, which is the main character being a tailor and the tailor's alias is a serial killer, who essentially, "stitches" people. 

The credits roll in with the production studios at the beginning, then the 3 lead actors, then the production crew, with directors and producers at the very end. 

The location for the opening is set in a traditional, every-day house & home setting, therefore it’s set in an expected, homely setting, but it actually holds terror within. Similarly, the more important setting is that of an actual tailor shop, in which the tailor works and has his profession there. This is important because customers of tailors, would trust them and know that whatever they’re doing is for the best. However, it’s not what a typical thriller looks like, in terms of the setting, because it would take place in a dark, dingy place, rather than a dim-lit shop, but given the props of a very sharp scissors, I’ve been capable of turning what seems like a very normal location, to a rather scary one. 

Representation 

In terms of representation:

• Given the fact that the lead is a female killer, which is not a conventional representation, shows less depth as the reasons behind her killings are not revealed at all, therefore they need to be explained, whilst with men, it’s a conventional and very commonly seen representation, and therefore there’s no need for reasoning. 

• Typically with the female representation in thrillers, they tend to be the victims, i.e. “the damsel(s) in distress”, are often viewed as being ‘weak’ and moreover, powerless. However, with my film, my lead character overpowers her victims, as she closely knows her victim (more well than typical men serial killers).

• She’s hidden in plain sight, having been a well-known tailor – tailors are trusted, as customers have their height and waist measurements, which in turn, allows for the tailors to customise their clothes for their customers, therefore it’ll be easy to kill her clients (and also get close to their customers). Through repeat purchases; it creates brand loyalty and ultimately customer loyalty, and therefore the customers have developed a relationship with the tailor, and are more inclined to their needs, as they trust them to know what they’re doing. (measurements, fabric cuttings, etc.) without much questioning, all due to the trust held between them. 
• Having been hiddn in plain sight, most often than not, they're deceptive, and able to reveal different personalities and personas, ultimately putting up a facade, and a show...

• Often, women who kill is odd and unconventional. However, my character has a motive and a reason for killing, which is past trauma from many of her peers. She was thoroughly pressured to constantly do things she never wanted to and it stirred her to go out of her mind. Her past trauma led her to her killings and wanting to overpower those who believe they are over others. She absolutely loathes them. Typically in film, women who kill is indifferent from the stereotypical representation, in which the females are often seen as nurturers, carers, nurses; those who have a more motherly archetype. However, my character is independent and is wealthy and almost always striving to do the best she can for her customers.

In terms of representations, I’ve challenged the traditional gender stereotypes, in which men are seen as being more ‘powerful and strong’, whereas my lead character is female, who’s more than capable of killings and overpowering people. 

My character is from a wealthy background, they have a high income due to their profession of being a well-known tailor. 

In terms of issues, my character suffers from mental health problems, this is especially shown when the character is shown wickedly smiling back at the next victim. However, despite their issues, they seem to have good intent, where they kill only those who deserve cold-blooded revenge, due to their actions. 

Women who kill (in real life)

1. Juana Barazza - Mexican "lady killer"

Juana Barazza was an infamous professional wrestler, and serial killer. In 1998 and 2006, 16 elderly women, over the age of 60 were strangled to death. They all lived alone and were specifically targeted by Barazza.

She would pretend to be a government worker and once she'd gained their trust, she attacked and strangled them via phone cables or clothing items.

Barazza was apprehended in 2006, and was sentenced to 759 years in prison, where she remains to this day. Her motivation to kill had apparently stemmed from her hatred of her mother, who allowed men to rape her as a child.

Her motivation was from past trauma, in which she would deceive vulnerable elderly people and kill them. Her case is the most similar to my character.

2. Joanna Dennehy

Joanna Dennehy didn't have a specific motivation for her killings, she just liked the idea of it.

In 2013, Dennehy stabbed 3 people to death and wounded more within mere days of each other in Peterborough, United Kingdom.

The first victim was lured into her home, in which she blindfolded him under the pretense of a sex game, and stabbed him to death. 2 more victims were murdered in the same manner ten days later.

Dennehy was almost effortlessly discovered and she pleaded guilty to all 3 murders and 2 attempted murders. She was sentenced to life imprisonment.

3. Amelia Dyer 

Amelia Dyer was a nurse and midwife turned baby farmer and serial killer, operating in Britain during the mid-to-late 1800s.

Baby farming was a profitable trade during the Victorian era. For a fee, 'carers' would adopt unwanted children under the pretense of looking after them, but would actually mistreat and often kill them. Children were placed under the nurses care, in the trust that they would look after the babies. 

Dyer took in babies and then starved them to death, which in turn allowed her to pocket the fees for her supposed care work. Later, Dyer progressed to faster methods of killings, which gained her lots of profit.

A local doctor was suspicious of the number of deaths under Dyer's care and ordered an inquest. Eventually, the remains of a number of murdered infants were found in the Thames River and traced back to Dyer. 

She was hanged for her crimes in 1886. 

According to research, the most common motivation for female serial killers is financial motivation, in which they would collect their insurance payouts. The second most common is power or thrill-seeking, which is similar to my character, as their killings allows them to overpower her victims. The third motivation stems from lust or sexual deviance. 

Characters and existing media products similar to my film:

Characters

1.  Patrick Bateman from American Psycho (2000). Bateman is a character who leads a double life, where he works in Wall Street as a wealthy investment, but “leads a secret life a serial killer”. His kills are viscous, and eerie, especially when he kills Jared Leto’s character.  Bateman is also psychotic, therefore relating to a mental illness aspect. His character is almost a direct reflection of my character.  

Link to his notorious killing scene: 

2.  Norman Bates from Psycho (1959). He’s the serial killer, Mother, embodied by a split personality tulpa (a being/object that’s created in the imagination by visualisation).

Norman’s character is a reflection of a severe emotionally abused character at the hands of his mother, who preached to him that sexual intercourse was sinful and that all women (except her) were whores. Their relationship may have been incestuous. Bates has split personality disorder, and is declared as insane, where “Mother” takes over his mind.

As mentioned by peers, my film links to Silence of The Lambs, in the way everything’s portrayed, and it moreover relates to Hannibal Lecter’s character.

3.  Hannibal Lecter from Silence of The Lambs (1991) 

Lecter is a notorious serial killer and cannibal. The character enjoys classical music, and his kills take place whilst his classical music of Bach is playing — this directly links to my film, as my character thoroughly enjoys listening to classical music, preferably the most famous pieces, and the opening sequence features Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, also by Bach.    

The music in the sequence gradually builds up and its tempo increases as Hannibal breaks away from his chains and starts killing (and eating) the officers. It starts off peaceful and calm, before the action becomes faster and builds on tension. 

4. Raymond Reddington from NBC's The Blacklist 

Reddington is (another) notorious well-known, fugitive on the run. He's labelled as the world's most wanted person, due to his countless: killings, murders, and all counts of violence imaginable. He turns himself in to the FBI after being on the run for 20+ years, in a vow to help them with their cases, and ultimately become an accomplice.
 

Despite being an accomplice, he still kills, murders and does commit any acts of crime if it's someone or something he knows/needs, that's thoroughly important. He's overseen many different killings and sometimes gets his hands dirty (but mainly makes his small team to do it), and he's sort of desensitised to this sort of violence, as my lead character is. 

More so, he's very traditional and speaks rather formally, and often begins speaking to one with what seems like an extract out of a book. 
He's also very formal in terms of his attire, he wears suits and handmade clothes, often which are made from tailors he goes to and knows very well. He's got a lot of random, acquired knowledge, but always is one step ahead of the killers, and more importantly, the FBI. 

Reddington specialises in mystery, as not many people know about him; he has his many personas, shown to different people and therefore his identity is not revealed to those who he does not know personally. 

Reddington is almost another direct reflection of my lead character, as they both have alias' with different personas shown to people, and he's always formal in both his speech and his attire. He also develops close relationships with many people and is seen a a loyal, trustworthy person to those who know him very well and are close to him. 

Existing media products:

1. Se7en 

Seven is a psychological crime thriller based on a serial killer who murders according the 7 deadly sins and 2 detectives who were about to go off, have to bring the killer to justice. 

The 7 deadly sins

In Se7en, each victim is based off each of the deadly sins. 

Se7en's opening scene is similar to my own opening scene, as it has quick close-ups which contain fragments of information. 

As shown in the pictures above, the credits are shown in white on a black background, which effectively acts as the transition between the credits. 

2. Taking Lives

Similarly, in the opening scene of 'Taking Lives', the credits are shown through fragmentations of newspapers, with the dates, headlines and key parts being shown, and the victims being shown later on. The quick cuts between each fragment of the opening scene builds on its main theme of identity, which is one of my main themes. Both Se7en and Taking Lives feature quick edits of information. 

3. Killing Eve 

The BBC TV drama Killing Eve (2018) features a thriller show, in which a trained assassin, Villanelle is hired to kill an MH5 agent, Eve. As in my film, my serial killer is able to develop relationships with people who she kills (prior to, of course), and similarly in Killing Eve, Villanelle develops multitude of relationships with people, and does kill them (unbeknownst). Villanelle (one of the main characters), is deceptive and works on split personalities, which allow for her to essentially manipulate people. In my film, my tailor is deceptive and has an alias, her serial killer, and therefore she's able to change her personality and protecting her authentic identity, as does Villanelle, who's got her psychotic self hidden under a facade. 

The opening of Killing Eve, essentially shows her manipulation and deceitful self: