Visual Entertainment – Multimedia Is a Big Hit for Wedding Guests
| By Chris Garrow ~ March 22nd, 2013 ~ Cinematography | Comments Off |
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Photo: Abella Studios
If your goal for your wedding reception is to create an amazing experience for you and your guests that will be remembered forever, you must think of ways to engage your guests and keep them entertained. There are probably hundreds of ways to do this, but for many, hiring a band or DJ is the solution. Wedding entertainment has gone through some incredible changes. You might not recall, but not so long ago, DJ’s were almost non-existent on the wedding entertainment spectrum. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, DJ’s embraced their role as entertainers, providing a master of ceremonies and leading guests in line dances. There was a time when this was what was expected. About ten years ago in 2002, when I started my venture with Unforgettable DJ’s, we recognized that there were many couples who wanted a personality to host their reception, without the cheese that was often associated with audience participation and hokey entertainment options. Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, a new era of entertainment is upon us… er.. you. It is becoming commonplace to engage and entertain your guests with visual entertainment. Part of this relates to the many facets of lighting. Another form of visual entertainment is video or multimedia.
Have you ever gone to see a move at a movie theater? Have you every surfed YouTube or watched a video on your smartphone? When was the last time you went to a restaurant, bar or club that didn’t have a TV hanging from the wall with sports, news or video playing on it? If you’re being honest with yourself, you know where I’m going with this. Video is all around us in this technological society, for a good reason. It’s awesome! Video is stimulating, entertaining and energizing.
If utilized correctly, video screens can be a welcome form of entertainment that will excite your guests and turn on the visual receptors as added encouragement to dance. So you have these big screens at your reception, now what? What goes on the screens? If you have an experienced professional to rely on, they will be be able to offer ideas for the many uses of the screens. You may be able to leave it up to and trust them, or they may give you a list of the many options for a more customized experience. Here are some popular ways in which TV screens are used.
Event/Theme Branding: For corporate and social events alike, weddings included, it is just cool to see your theme, colors or your names on the screens. Much like your name in lights (the popular monogram projection), a bold and powerful statement that can personalize your reception with a contemporary feel is a custom designed screen or motion graphic consisting of your name, colors, or other personal touches.
- Candid Wedding Day Photos: With the permission of your professional photographer, a candid photographer can capture images throughout your day. The images captured can be displayed on the screens, making your guests feel special. It’s a sense of surprise that engages people, seeing images displayed only moments after being taken. If your photographer doesn’t permit this service, ask if they would consider displaying some of their professional images on the screens.
Photo Montages: A well produced photo montage edited to music can create powerful and sentimental moments. A through the years style montage features images of a couple through childhood and their early years together with close friends and family. Another option is to put pictures or video to the music used for special spotlight dances, such as when a bride dances with her father or a groom with his mother. A fast paced montage could be played immediately before or during your grand entrance.
- Music and Ambient Video: This is perhaps one of the most powerful, yet underestimated utilites of the TV monitors. Music is good alone, and video is good alone, but together they are amazing! The mixture of colors, textures, ambient graphics and well produced music video content is what subconsciously excites guests and encourages them to get out of their seats to dance. When you go to a sporting event, watch the Grammy’s or hit the clubs, you will see video screens used to enhance the mood and atmosphere. This well accepted form of visual entertainment is not out of reach for your wedding. Just as it engages thousands of people at a live concert, it will engage your friends and family at your reception
- Live Simulcast: With the right equipment your entertainment could be able to go through a live feed from the reception on the screens. It could be a stationary camera with an overview of the dance floor or a roaming camera that is in the action. Your guest will get a kick out of seeing what’s happening around them, some of which they might otherwise never see. Additionally, with a high speed internet connection, this live feed could potentially be streamed for guests that are far away or with health issues, which keep them from attending.
- Interactive Media: Text messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are amongst our society’s most popular communication platforms. It’s understandable that some couples prefer to discourage their guests from typing on their mobile devices, but with people’s passion for immediate gratification and communication, it might be unrealistic to think they won’t grab their phones to tweet a pic, check in or instagram throughout the night. By displaying a hashtag, the screens can be turned into your hub for an interactive experience amongst your guests. Guests can instagram, tweet or facebook photos which can then be displayed on the screen.
- Video Speeches or Toasts: Want to surprise your family, friends, husband or wife with a special appearance by someone that couldn’t make it to the wedding? The TV monitors might be the way to do it. This can be done with a prerecorded video message or a live video call. Imagine the surprise!
- Same Day Edit (SDE): Cinematographers are breaking new ground with creative films which are directed, filmed, and edited on the wedding day. These films are then displayed during the wedding reception. Breathtaking immediacy. With audio being played from the professional sound equipment and the creative film boldly presented on the TV monitors, everyone will have goosebumps as they are mesmerized by this seemingly impossible reality. If you have never experienced a same day edit, below is perfect example, which shows the newlywed couple’s reactions while it’s being played at the reception. This film is by Abella Studios.
These are just a few of the popular uses for TV monitors. As you can imagine, the options are practically limitless.
Having a good group of uninhibited guests is an assuring ingredient for a successful reception. An experienced and reputable host or emcee is always essential to guide your event, open the dance floor and catalyze dancing. The right music at the right time makes for a seamless flow. Now, you are presented with a new element to consider–visual entertainment. Multimedia can really turn up the entertainment experience for you and your guests.
Interesting facts:
- Over 800 million unique users visit YouTube each month
- Over 4 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
- 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
- 500 years of YouTube video are watched every day on Facebook, and over 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter each minute
These statistics can be found on YouTube’s press page.
“What did you just say? Did you just ask me to “trash my dress”? Wow, that sounds like an excellent idea…Let’s do it!!!” This is the kind of reaction that I imagine happens when a bride is beginning to discuss what to do with their wedding dress with their photographer. According to 
