Contrapuntal creepy music: Woman in Black

The Woman In Black (2012) is a classic example of a film that uses contrapuntal music. The music is like a children's nursery rhyme, a high melodic tune with pretty synthesised sounds. This is along with shots of girls playing having a tea party, and these shots are in slow motion which make it more creepy and unusual which has a sinister effect. At the end of the opening scene, the three girls walk up to windows and jump out of them. This is completely contrasting to the still nursery rhyme music but it has got more fast paced and more instruments have been added in. I think the music is really effective as it gives a completely different atmosphere to what's going on on the screen, but by doing this it's even more sinister and haunting.

Location scouting: Loose

I went to Loose valley where there is a stream, surrounded by grassy hills and old, cobbled streets. I think this would make a fantastic location for a slasher, as there are lots of places someone could be hiding and it would fit well with being contrapuntal as it is beautiful and idyllic which is completely contrasting with our genre. As well as this, the old and homely impression of Loose makes it perfect for a place in which you wouldn't expect a slasher or horror film to take place. There is a church, lots of old fashioned/style houses and numerous old, winding, cobbled roads.

Practical task: Creating a mask

These are pictures that inspired me to make my mask. I liked the idea of blood/dirt, sewing with thick thread, using rope to tie off the bottom and cutting holes in it.

I then laid out my materials. I got some scissors, some tea/coffee to stain it, some paints, and some black and beige thread and a needle.

I next cut off a bit of the bottom so I could practice on it to see what looked best for my final mask.

I then tried out some red, black and brown paint on the mask. I liked all of them, but the red looked a bit harsh and fake so I thought it would be good if mixed with the black or brown to create a more realistic blood effect.

I then tried out staining it with the tea/coffee. I thought it was a bit pale, but would be good if mixed with the paint or made deeper from more staining.

Then I tried out the sewing. I loved the black thread against the pale brown of the burlap sack, but didn't think the beige was as good so I decided to just use the black thread on my mask.

I then detatched the rope from the sack, as it is obviously similar to the sack so would make a good material to use on the mask.

I then took the mask and folded the top two corners over and sewed them down to make it more of a head shape. I sewed it so you couldn't see the thread, as I didn't want there to be random sewing there because I didn't think it would look as good.

Next I cut two holes for the eyes. I just pinched the sack and cut it, which made it more 'messy' and has a scarier effect.

I then used the black thread to sew a mouth. I used a simply stitch but it made it look like the mouth was sewed shut. However I didn't like it just like that, so I decided I would add some paint and tea around it to make it scarier.

I first tried staining round the mouth with the tea bag. I didn't think the colour was deep or intense enough though, so decided to add more brown paint and tea/coffee later on.

I then started on the eyes. I roughly painted brown and red around the eye holes, but didn't think it looked professional or scary.

Because of this I got a larger paintbrush, dipped it in the coffee water and used this to dilute and spread the paint. I loved the effect this had on the paint around the eyes.

I then added more brown around the mouth to make it more intense and dirty looking.

Here are the final pictures of the mask. When I put it on the model I tied the rope round the neck.

Overall I love the way the mask turned out. I think the staining and paint around the eyes makes it really terrifying and sinister, and I am very pleased with it.

Audience feedback

When we presented the masks to the class, we were given feedback both by the teacher and our peers.  The paint and coffee/tea which I used on my mask had faded by the time we had to take them in for peer assessment, so my feedback was to use paint and coffee which is stronger and stains the sack more so it will last longer. Another thing was to make sure the mouth was actually in the place of a mouth as it was on the chin.

AS Media Research Blog - History of Serial Killers

The Brief:

To research serial killers for my final film opening
To research common conventions of serial killers

Definition:

A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break between them.

History of Serial Killers:

Who they kill:
- Women
- Children
- Homosexuals


List of mass serial killers in order of number of victims:

Name	Country	Years active	Proven victims	Possible victims	Notes
Luis Garavito	Colombia	1990s	138	0172 !172–300+	Child-murderer, torture-killer, and rapist known as ”La Bestia” (“The Beast"). Confessed to killing 140 children over a five-year period in Colombia. He is suspected of murdering over 300 victims, mostly street children.
Pedro López	Colombia  Ecuador  Peru	1969 to 1980	110	0300 !300+	Child-murderer and rapist, known as "The Monster of the Andes". Targeted young girls, between the ages of 8 and 12. Arrested in 1980 and convicted in 1983 of killing 110 young girls but confessed to killing 300, exact total unknown. Despite being one of the most prolific serial killers of the 20th century, he was released in 1998. Current whereabouts unknown.
Daniel Camargo	Colombia  Ecuador	1974 to 1986	72	0150 !150	Child-murderer, believed to have possibly raped and killed over 150 victims, primarily young virgin girls. Confessed to killing 72 victims, and incarcerated with Pedro Alonso Lopez. He is believed to have been motivated to kill from his stepmother abusing him as a child. He strangled young girls in Colombia and was arrested, but he escaped from prison and he started killing in Ecuador; rearrested in 1989, he was killed in jail.
Pedro Rodrigues Filho	Brazil	1967 to 2003	71	0100 !100+	Convicted and sentenced to 128 years, but the maximum one can serve in Brazil is 30 years. He has claimed to have killed over 100 victims, 47 of them inmates. He also killed his father and ate a piece of his heart. He killed his first two victims at the age of 14; he was first arrested in 1973.
Yang Xinhai	China	2000 to 2003	67		Would enter victims' homes at night and kill everyone with axes, meat cleavers, hammers, and shovels. Executed in February 2004. Known as the "Monster Killer".
Andrei Chikatilo	USSR	1978 to 1990	53	56	Known as The Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper or The Rostov Ripper. Convicted of the murder of 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990. Executed in 1994. One man was previously convicted and executed for his first murder.
Anatoly Onoprienko	USSR  Ukraine	1989 to 1996	52	52+	Known as "The Beast of Ukraine", "The Terminator" and "Citizen O". Convicted of the murders of 9 people in 1989 and 43 people in 1995–1996. Sentenced to death, later commuted to life. Traveled through Europe illegally from 1990 to 1995; whether he killed during this time is unknown.
Gary Ridgway	United States	1982 to 2000	49	71–90+	Truck painter who confessed to killing 71 women. Also known as The Green River Killer. He almost exclusively targeted sex workers from Seattle. Suspected of killing over 90 victims, confessed to 71, convicted of 49.
Alexander Pichushkin	Russia	1992 to 2006	48	60	Known as the Chessboard Killer. Convicted of murdering 48 victims and suspected of killing 60. Claimed to have murdered 62 people, because he did not know that two of his victims had survived; stated goal of becoming Russia's most prolific serial killer.
Wang Qiang	China	1995 to 2003	45	45+	Killed 45 and raped ten from 1995 to 2003.
Ahmad Suradji	Indonesia	1986 to 1997	42	70–80+	Convicted of strangling at least 42 women and girls in a series of ritual slayings he believed would give him magical powers. Executed by firing squad on 11 July 2008.
Thiago Gomes da Rocha	Brazil	2011 to 2014	39		Brazilian security guard who confessed to the murders of 39 people.
Moses Sithole	South Africa	1994 to 1995	38	38+	Preyed on unemployed women, posing as a businessman and luring his victims with the prospects of a job, before leading them to an isolated place, where he raped, tortured, and murdered them. Sentenced to 2410 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 930 years. Known as South Africa's Ted Bundy.
Serhiy Tkach	USSR  Ukraine	1984 to 2005	36	80–100	A former Ukrainian police criminal investigator, suffocated girls aged between 8 and 18 and performed sexual acts on their bodies after they were dead. Claims to have killed 100.
Gennady Mikhasevich	USSR	1971 to 1985	36	43–55	Strangled females. Besides killing, he robbed his victims of money and valuable items (that he would sometimes give to his wife as a gift).
Ted Bundy	United States	1974 to 1978	35	36+	American serial killer known for his charisma and good looks. Bundy officially confessed to 30 homicides, but has confessed to killing 35–36 women in the past, and some estimates run upwards of 100 or more. Infamous for escaping from prison twice and murdering multiple victims in one day; sometimes abducting women from the same location within hours of one another. He was executed in the electric chair in 1989.
John Wayne Gacy	United States	1972 to 1978	33	34+	Known to have murdered a minimum of 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978, 26 of whom he buried in the crawl space of his Chicago home. Gacy was known as the "Killer Clown" due to the fact he often entertained children at social events dressed in a self devised clown costume. Gacy was executed in 1994.
Ali Asghar Borujerdi	Ottoman Iraq Iraq Persia	1907 to 1934	33		Known as "Asghar the Murderer". Killed 33 young adults in Iraq and Iran. Executed on June 26, 1934.
Vasili Komaroff	Russian SFSR  Soviet Union	1921 to 1923	33		Known as "The Wolf of Moscow"; horse trader who killed 33 men. Executed on June 18, 1923.
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour	Egypt	1999 to 2006	32	32+	Gang leader known as al-Tourbini ("The Express Train"). Raped and tortured homeless children, mostly boys aged 10 to 14 years old, aboard the trains between Cairo, Alexandria, Qalyoubeya and Beni Sueif. The victims were usually thrown off the moving train when they were dead or in agony; other times they were thrown into the Nile or buried alive

Common Actions Carried Out By Killers:

- Rape
- Torture
- Murder
- Cannibalism

Commonly Serial Killers are psychologically unstable or clinically insane. There have been a surge of medical and pseudo-medical professionals becoming serial killers by killing patients or other people in a medical fashion.

The Reality of Serial Homicide in the U.S. 

  Serial killings account for no more than 1 percent of all murders committed in the U.S. Based on recent FBI crime statistics, there are approximately 15,000 murders annually, so that means there are no more than 150 victims of serial murder in the U.S. in any given year The FBI estimates that there are between twenty-five and fifty serial killers operating throughout the U.S. at any given time. If there are fifty, then each one is responsible for an average of three murders per year. Serial killers are always present in society. However, the statistics reveal that serial homicide is quite rare and it represents a small portion of all murders committed in the U.S. Persistent misinformation, stereotypes and hyperbole presented in the media have combined with the relative rarity of serial murder cases to foster a number of popular myths about serial murder. The most common myths about serial killers encompass such factors as their race, gender, intelligence, living conditions and victim characteristics.

 

Differences Between Serial Killers and Mass Murderers

 

It’s important to note that there are some fine distinctions between serial killers and mass murderers. Mass murderers have just a single killing spree (e.g. the Arizona shooting, Columbine killings, etc.) before being apprehended by police or committing suicide. On the other hand, serial killers try to remain undetected and they can go on killing for several years.

Also, mass murderers kill a large group of people all at once, whereas serial killers are often much more selective with their targets. A serial killer could spend months trying to find the right individual to kill, and can have 'cooling off periods' between murders. The victims often all share a trait, something that has important symbolic meaning to the murderer.

 

Common Traits of a Serial Killer:

1. Statistically speaking, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class upbringing. In fact, over 90 percent of serial killers are men.
2. Most serial killers are in their 20s or 30s.
3. Most mass murderers are single or divorced.
4. As children, soon-to-be serial killers often torture animals.
5. More than 60 percent of serial killers wet the bed beyond the age of 12.
6. According to the A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, many serial killers are obsessed with starting fires. Ottis Toole, George Adorno, and Carl Panzram are just a few of the many serial killers with a childhood history of arson.
7. Many mass murderers and serial killers have an extraordinarily high IQ. For example, the Unabomber is a genius.
8. A lot of serial killers come from dysfunctional families with an absent father.  Marc Lepine (mass murderer of 14 people) is one of the many examples of fatherless serial killers.
9. Many serial killers suffered through childhood abuse.   “The Boston Strangler” Albert DeSalvo was even sold off as a slave by his alcoholic father.
10. Serial killers often have a history of attempted suicide. Charles Edmund Cullen, the most prolific serial killer in the history of New Jersey, had 20 suicide attempts throughout his life.
11. Mass murderers are often loners who have very few social connections.