Charmed Opening Credits | Original Concept | Season 8

Finally! The season 8 original concept version is here. Let's talk about it...
This was actually easier than the previous 2 seasons, as I had less things to worry about and more material to work with, considering the usual limitations. For the exception of a few necessary shots, I mostly didn't need to using anything past episode 6, which I guess is more "realistic".

Starting with the overhead "Starring" shot, yes that's the one from 8x10. I never liked how off-centered it looked, so I fixed it up and redid the camera rotation. I didn't have to use this shot, especially that it was 10 episodes into the season, but really just wanted to fix the blocking.

The Zoom on Piper's freeze is a mimic of Prue's first power shot in season 1 (I do love making things come full circle). Holly's title shot was originally her medium closeup of that same shot, but I changed it at the last minute. Although I had to crop in slightly, it just felt refreshing and more dynamic using this shot.

Ugh, most of their power uses stopped looking iconic a while back, but Phoebe's will always be the worse. Let's not get into how useless her powers were this season, because that still pisses me off. But I did enjoy recreating her season "power" shot, which references her dodging an energy ball in the seasons 2-3 credits.

Let me explain why I used a s7 clip for Alyssa's name shot: Yes there were a few options in episodes 8x01-6, but nothing felt authentic, just some beauty shots that do nothing to the character. Just because it's a cute shot doesn't mean it's fit for the credits. I chose a shot (for each sister) that reflected the best qualities of their characters. Piper in a busy club with a little smile, her eyes wonder, a foreshadowing of her losing her soul mate but being forced to cope with it. Phoebe on campus, seeking knowledge, truth, growth. Paige realizing her true self is her best self. (yes, everything's there for a reason).

Now... Paige needed some work. She rarely orbs to save her life nowadays, so I added a red energy ball to suggest actual danger when she orbs out. The orbing effect in seasons 7-8 often looked like crap, so I recreated the orbs on the lamp, just so it resembles orbs from earlier seasons. Didn't come out perfect, but it does the job. I've been dealing with some frame rate problems, which didn't help. Although she gets the power to heal on her own this season, it does come way later, so it made no sense to add it here. I incorporated some of the 7x22 shots that were in the original credits, but of course gave them the "original concept" treatment. Then we get to the supporting cast, now bear with me. Yes, no Leo in this one, sorry, but you'll be ok. I was not gonna allow Billie to have a telekineses power shot before her title shot, because some of us actually still respect Prue as the original and ONLY telekinetic female character. I did, however, include a power shot later because those near the end don't mean as much.

And here we arrive to the anomaly of this entire "original concept" video series... Brandon Quinn... the guy who was there for 4 episodes... Why, Shiny? Why would you include him and not Brian? Explain! Make it make sense! ...OK! Hear me out... I personally believe Agent Murphy got the Jenny Gordon treatment, they had something planned for him but it quickly got scrapped and he got written out. A part of me feels he was the original Henry, possibly Paige's love interest (at least that's my head-canon). Was he an amazing character overall? No, but he sure had potential to being the new Andy (ironically Paige married a cop, so close enough). It was such a good title shot that I had to include him. Anyway...

I sorta went with the flow with the rest of the clips, did what felt authentic to the original style and used whatever worked best. Of course, I had no choice here but to use the sisters' photo from 8x22 because THEY NEVER TAKE PICS ANYMORE! But it was worth it. The animation turned out well.

And finally, our Prue reference... our Charmed Fanon really pays off here, since almost all of us believe it was her who closed the door in 7x22, so I had her be the one closing the door/credits this season. And with that, the "original concept" series is now complete. I hope you've enjoyed watching these as much as I've enjoyed making them. I do want to clarify that there's no right or wrong way of doing these, and I certainly think I could've done some better work, or had better shot combos, but the point here is to attempt something new, and practice mastering the original credits. I can easily create a second set of these all with new clips, but maybe I'll save that for the tutorials. Yes, I will be making tutorials soon to share the methods I've developed for these videos. I also look forward to creating some "new concept" credits for seasons 1-3 soon, so stay tuned! And yes, will do a tutorial for those after I'm done. Blessed Be, Shiny Puppies! #Charmed #OpeningCredits