For my series, I decided to focus on a significant series of murders that were recently solved 30 years after they were committed. This murderer is the Golden State Killer. He committed over 100+ burglaries, 50+ rapes, and 13+ murders from 1973-1986 in California.
(click to view)
The first piece in my series is a gif that I made using Photoshop. I collaged all of the composite police sketches that exist from surviving victims, as I think its fascinating how so many people saw this man yet he was never caught for over 30 years. I was inspired by the time period for all my pieces and “Hotel California” by the Eagles inspired this piece. The font on the album cover is what I based my constructed font on. I made the font using many layers and the paintbrush tool on Photoshop. The images are all small except the middle three, which were the three focused on during the investigative periods once the case was reopened.
(click to enlarge)
The second piece is a room I made on Photoshop, inspired by 70’s furniture. The image depicts a generic scene of a murder the killer would have committed. I included shoelaces, his material to tie people, and a towel covered TV, a trademark of his. The room shows a murdered woman, dimly light by the TV, in the warm toned room. The scene is supposed to be initially beautiful then, upon noticing the victim, eerie and unsettling.
(click to view)
The third piece is a zoomed in aspect of the photo, transformed into an animated gif. This shows the husband of the victim, entering the room and encountering the murderer. I decided to show the murderer’s shadow instead of him, as no one knew who he was for so long. As the two encounter, a gun is drawn but the gif stops right before a shot would be fired, leaving suspense for the viewer. I originally wanted to make a video with specific audio relating to aspects of the murder, but I ran out time as my other video took very, very long to edit.
(click for the link to video: https://youtu.be/EPDYww7keRc )
This fourth piece is also a zoom on the second work. I zoomed into the TV, showing a video playing about the murder that I composed of news clips, podcasts, victims stories, and recorded calls from the killer himself. The towel, as mentioned previously, was draped over part of the TV, as the killer would do this to provide dim light and use the volume to cover his noises in the house. I made this video using Photoshop, PremierePro, and AfterEffects.
(click to view)
The fifth and final piece is a mirror of the first piece. The killer was discovered and arrested on April 24, 2018, over 30 years after his first attacks. Because we could finally put a real human to what had been an imagined face and name, I decided to conclude the series in the same way I started as the story has been finally resolved with the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo. I used the same techniques as the first work and replaced the composite sketches with the all of actual photos of DeAngelo I could find.
Overall in my project, I was able to use new techniques like video editing, gifs and develop my photoshop skills. I am super happy with the outcome of my project as I am super interested in criminology and I think the work is a good reflection on the amount of research and knowledge I tried to incorporate into the series. I also love that the murders were finally solved and the dozens of victims and their families can have closure knowing the Golden State Killer is finally in custody. While the trial is ongoing, DeAngelo has been charged for 13 murders so far and his DNA was a 100% match, giving him a minimum of one life sentence for at least the murder the DNA is directly tied to. This gives a happy ending to a horrific, decades long investigation.
