“GESUALDO” is a short film musical directed by Morgan Martini for her Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) senior film.
RUNNING TIME: 13 Minutes and 12 Second
LOG LINE:
A Morose Musical About a Composer’s Fear of Retribution
SYNOPSIS:
Haunted by past sins, and fearful of damnation Carlo Gesualdo, the Prince of Venosa writes songs of redemption and salvation. He is a talented, rich, and reverent man yet on the streets of 1591 Italy he is met with fear, and loathing from both the common and noble man. He escapes their words by retreating into his memory, of happy times with the woman who was once his wife, the beautiful Donna Maria. Back and forth he lets his mind stray from pleasant memories to the dark present day. He honors God in music as a plea, to be forgiven for the murder of his wife, her lover, and her baby (Whom he killed out of doubt of paternity.) He receives no formal punishment for his crime. His social standing served him well, now he is left with the fear of a vengeful God, and the threat of hell.
FILM SHOOT DESCRIPTION: “GESUALDO” pre-production process began March 13th, 2011. Inspiration derived from Michael Morford’s Italian renaissance class. Fascinated by Carlo Gesualdo’s life, Morgan Martini continued researching and collaborated with Italian Renaissance Scholar, Michael Morford, to grasp a better understanding of the history, along with Screenwriter/Lyricist, Annakate Blackford, to develop the screenplay. After the screenplay was written, Morgan collaborated with head music composer, Liam Farmer, and two assistant composer’s Colin Harden and Kurdice Neal to create three original songs for “Gesualdo”. Head costume designer, Grace Mimbs, spent many hours sketching, sewing, fitting and styling original costumes that appeared time-period appropriate yet, encompassed a unique style. While head art directors, Jenny and Pat Sipes worked together researching, finding props, constructing props and styling each set. They teamed with Prop Constructor Lance and Diana Parker, owners of Reclaimed Furniture, to build each market stand. The film was shot in Savannah, Georgia in three locations including: Congregation Mickve Israel (representing the cathedral), Brockington Hall (representing Carlo Gesualdo’s castle) and Factors Walk: City of Savannah (representing the market place). Most of our equipment was rented from the Savannah College of Art and Design Film Cage including the camera we used which was the Sony NEX FS100. The film shoot lasted for the duration of four and a half days which occurred on October 20-21 and 28-30. The film was edited and color graded on Grass Valley‘s editing software, Edius, and completed March 13th when “Gesualdo” was shown in the Trustees Theater for the SCAD senior showcase. The process from pre-production to post-production lasted a year.
LINKS:
FACEBOOK GROUP If you are interested in this film, and would like to stay in touch with cast and crew members, feel free to join the “GESUALDO: Short Film” Facebook group.
CASE STUDY Also take some time to check out this exceptional international article about “GESUALDO” http://www.grassvalley.com/assets/media/4631/PRV-4154M_EDIUS_Martini_CS.pdf
POSTER:
GESUALDO 