The key to creating each clip that makes up A Woman Scorned is attention to detail. From color schemes to wedding rings, murder weapons to story continuity, so much planning was put into this cinematic series and the vision comes through. I studied popular movies for inspiration and re-imagined classic tropes. The wardrobe department was thoroughly utilized to keep from buying any new outfit pieces, as specific props were going to take the whole budget. The story is character-driven, much like Corrupted. In fact, I like to think of this as the female counterpart in that it explores the experiences in life that can drive a person to become dark and sadistic. This cinematic series also is the last to debut from my epic 2024 film season. Each feature presentation was a learning experience as I introduce new techniques into my work and aimed to give each story a fresh and unique feel.
As with any great work, planning is the first step after conceiving the idea. I had already wanted to elaborate on the Wicked Wife mini-series from the previous film season. This time I wanted to lean heavily into the executrix/femme fatale angle. But how to make one character a serial killer without redundancies that would make the story boring or without fantastic feats that would be unrealistic? Early on it became clear that she would have to employ different methods of murder for maximum excitement and variety. The murders would have to span time, and she would need to have a reason for being with a new husband at different phases of life. So the history of a black widow was developed, including some humorous fixations like a wasted education and disdain for midnight ballerinas. With the story ironed out, props and outfits needed to be collected to make this erotic horror realistic.
First things first, rings. A wife needs to have a wedding ring, and a wife of several men would need to have a different one for each marriage. I looked for the cheapest wedding and engagement ring sets I could find that also conveyed the wife’s elevation through life with larger and more plentiful gems. As her station was increasing with age, her wardrobe and homes would have to reflect that. I used many familiar pieces of furniture with appropriate props, but a few important items were still needed to sell the sets. To polish the tall white table, I bought a couple of yards of dark brown fabric and draped it over the top. That was the extent of my crafting for this series. It was my goal to make an eternal stone for the final scene, but time constrains prevented that. Fortunately, I was able to find a dark and moody rock that had some heft for conking skulls, perhaps. Auction sites were used to find a handful of tokens from a gentleman’s club, as well as a laundry basket with very particular specifications. The basket was quite the find because it had to be the right size for me to handle while also being a proper circle for aesthetic reasons, and the right shade of pink to match the rest of the setting. The clip in which the basket is featured has a pink color palette, which was an idea that came as I was assembling the wardrobe.
I noticed that each of the outfits for the four clips had a palette. Black and navy, teal and olive, pink and purple, and blue and green. Knowing that I had a pink chair and a green chair, I was confident that I could piece my props together the right way to match each unique set to my variety of outfits. Furthermore, it was an obvious decision to wash each scene it its respective color. Corresponding filters were placed over the spotfill and tubelights set to match were placed at either side of the frame for an even spread across the scene. Even small details like a purple plastic bag and a green-dyed cocktail were incorporated to immerse the viewer in an ethereal world of suspense and danger. Wes Anderson is known for using controlled color palettes in his films, so I watched The Darjeeling Limited for inspiration.
Another film I watched for inspiration was Forrest Gump. Throughout the movie, Forrest meets different people who sit next to him on a bench as he recounts events from his life. The delivery in A Woman Scorned is a flashback-style with an introduction by the wicked widow in the current time. It just so happens that the widow is also sitting on a bench as she tells the stories of her previous husbands and their betrayal. As for the dark mood of the story, I watched Gone Girl. What better movie to study than a suspense thriller following a wife gone crazy after being let down by her husband? The Reznor/Ross soundtrack is an added bonus to rewatching that particular film adaptation.
The music for the series is simple, yet suspenseful. While there is a lot of dark comedy in A Woman Scorned, it’s a psychological thriller at its core. The mood is unsettling and the main character is serious. A combination of full body and close up shots were used, nearly none of which have a viewer-POV. Another experimentation I was working with for A Woman Scorned was creating a more movie-like atmosphere. Very rarely in movies do the characters talk directly to the camera/viewer. In solo fetish clips, POV is an important element to create a power dynamic over distance and time, so naturally that’s how I write and film cinematic series. However, I wanted to try something different and make this series more typical of what we all might see when watching a movie. So a tennis ball was slit open and placed on a tripod and I spoke to it for most of the series. Another cinematic element that I relied on was the insert shot. I’ve used this technique before but this time I wanted to rely on it as part of the storytelling, so tight shots were filmed of discoveries and murder weapons.
A Woman Scorned is the final series to be released from a season that I’m so proud to have produced. I learned so much and had a lot of fun writing stories inspired by other stories. So many ideas are made better when a confident woman and her power are made the focus. The next chapter of OLA will be familiar and experimental and will debut in late 2026. After that? OLA 4.0 is already in the works and soon you’ll be able to contribute directly.
