Hello all you AddVision fans! I know you have been anxiously awaiting our next post. It’s been quite a while, but I think you can now rest at ease as I have come to fulfill all your AddVision update needs! Let’s start with some quick introductions: my name is Austin and I am the cinematography / marketing intern for AddVision. This blog was bequeathed to me by the charming and talented Bryce Koechlin, who has been tirelessly climbing the mountain that is the Columbus wedding season. Any who, each week I will give brief descriptions of the weddings I attend, little things that are going on inside the office as well the obligatory pop culture reference. Shall we?
So this past Saturday, the cinematography team of AddVision made one of its frequent adventures to the Columbus Athenaeum. There is no doubt that the Athenaeum is a beautiful venue. Its vintage veneer harkens back to athletic clubs of yester year, where well to do families sipped on martini's and leisurely discussed politics after a round of squash. The ornate decorations and architecture would make some stain glass encrusted churches blush. Couples always want the location’s beauty to be featured in the their wedding video, but there’s just one problem with this request: it's too dark.
I understand mood lighting, but what’s the point of eating in a beautiful room if it’s so dark you can’t even enjoy the fancy atmosphere let alone distinguish the prime cut fillet from great aunt Suzanne’s beefy hand. The lights go down even lower when the dancing starts. People seem to abide by the same pubescent dancing principles as they did back in middle school, i.e. make sure the dance floor is pitch black to hide everyone’s graceless pelvic thrusting.
By using off-camera flash, photographers can easily adjust for these lighting conditions, but those of us in the video department need a constant lighting in order to get the shots that aren’t marred by the grain of the high ISO range. The moral of the story is: if you want to get good dancing video, turn up the lights and embrace your terrible dance moves. If you consider yourself a shy person, go get some liquid confidence from the open bar - that’s what it’s there for.
AJ and Renee included a video/testimonial booth that has yet to be tested for quality in the editing room, but proved to be a popular option for many of the wedding guests. We aimed to get the Real World testimonial aesthetic, but replaced the catty whining with tipsy well-wishers and goofy stories from friends. People often came with sweet and simple messages of luck for the future, but there were some like uncle Bob (there’s always an uncle Bob) who explained the roots of the groom’s name and its reference to uncle bob’s brother who died at a young age.
In my opinion, the video booth captured the perfect balance of wedding festivities – carefree silliness and jovial celebration punctuated by moments of love and teary-eyed happiness. As said before, the results of the video booth have yet to be seen, but for anyone willing to sacrifice some of the cinematic glory for a more personal touch, I highly recommend the testimonial booth option. Good Luck AJ and Renee!
