PROGRAM CRITIQUE- THE WEDDING SHOW

THE WEDDING SHOW

The wedding show is a local television programme aired on Citizen Television every Sunday between 6 and 7 in the evening. It is presented by Noni Gathoni. For one to have their wedding aired on this show, they send out and invitation to Noni and if accepted a small fee is charged and she will appear for your wedding. She captures the whole event from when the bride is leaving home, to the ceremony, reception, colors, décor, vehicles and just everything that was used to make up the wedding.

Most of the time she will however go for those that appear unique or have a unique angle to it, because of also the ratings of the show. She also interviews a the wedding couple to find out how they met, how the engagement was done, what went into the wedding, why they chose a particular color, and so on.

At times, after the commercial break wedding experts are interviewed to give tips on how to have a stress-free and successful wedding.

Each show has two wedding ceremonies.
WEDDING 1
This show was elegant. There was the use of spiral white pillars that made it have the Athenian look and the slow zoom in form the centre made you think that the Cinderella wedding had come to life.  The bridal parties were dressed in strong Pink and black colors. The sun was up and bright meaning that flashes were not required while taking photos as the weather would brighten and more so enhance the mood. The camera techniques used were good especially for the viewer at home. There was various zoom-INS when emphasizing on a particular dress, hair styles, the bridal party attire and so much.

Dolly in was used when the bride was dancing while leaving the church and as she was walking in. Panning to the left and right could be noticed as we were being shown the guests from different angles.
WEDING 2
The second ceremony was more or less a typical Kenyan wedding, church, reception, photo shoot and reception, though I must mention that the lighting was perfect. Due to the immense cloud cover that gave it a dull feeling, the camera person used the lighting to our (viewers) advantage that it would have passed for a wedding with the sun up.

 Orange and Chocolate brown were the colors of the day. There was the use of fade in and fade out well placed especially because they were fading in and out both music that the show had incorporated and the actual music playing at the wedding.

The back ground noise could be heard especially when it cam to interviewing the couple.  The noise came from the running page boy and flower girls. This could have been avoided by the use of an omni directional microphone which pick sound from one direction and rejects that which comes from around. The rest of the camera techniques were used well and to suit the production.

WEDDING THREE
I really enjoyed today’s show. It was a Nigerian lady and a Kenyan man form Nyanza. It was not the usual, wedding gown and suit but with the Nigerian Modern fashion comprising of the wrapper, top and head gear for the bride i.e. iro and the Agbada for the groom.

You can just imagine when the camera was zooming in to show their attires how beautiful and African they looked. Noni was astonished at how they decided to do a modern wedding but with a 100% African look and décor normal wedding gown. The rich culture of the Nigerians was displayed through the music and dance. The lighting system was bright and showed the colors as they were meaning the camera had been white balanced.

I also noticed that Noni uses the lavaliere microphone which helps her while mingling with people through out the wedding and when she is pointing out to a unique fashion, the cake and so on. The only time she changes is when she is interviewing the couple.

When music was being introduced like when the couple are making an entry into the reception place her voice is faded out slowly.

This wedding was rich in African culture and the good use of equipment just made it awesome!

WEDDING 4
Mind blowing is what today’s show was. First the groom and his grooms men were dressed in white tuxedos. They stood waiting for the bride to arrive and for me the viewer at home I was wondering where the car was only for her to check in not only in style but elegance.

 A silver grey chopper was bringing her down. The camera zoomed into the sky and slowly zoomed out as the chopper approached the ground.

She looked like a Princess only not on a horse. As her husband to be supported her down, Noni quickly takes us to the dress in detail which was 100% silk white with hand embroidered pearls and diamonds.

One could also notice that there were close up and extreme close up shots being taken during the exchanging of vows and kissing of the bride.

The picture quality was good and enhanced by the background of the venue i.e. Paradise Lost, with waters, trees and lawn making it perfects for shots.  The songs were cued in well such that they followed one another systematically. The commercial break was however too long but the grand of the wedding made it inevitable for the viewers to change channels.

WEDDING 5

We traveled all the way to Kampala, Uganda for this show. This was now the grand of grand wedding that was between a one of the princess and prince of the Baganda kingdom which I was surprised that they not only exist but are recognized in the society.

There is tracking as we learn in Uganda hair, make up and beauty are done the same morning as the wedding, meaning that one shows up at the booked salon at 6am or earlier. The camera movements here are directive because as Noni is speaking on what is being done or applied, the camera moves to that particular area.

Noni had not only been invited for this one but was part of the bridal team. We are zoomed in to see the expensive Gomesi and Busuti which are worn by Ugandan women and men respectively during ceremonies.

There is also panning to the left as the brides maid dance to offer gifts to the parents of the groom as a sign that they are welcome. The groomsmen also do the same but to utter shock their gifts are not in baskets like before but comprised of leather seats, baskets of wine, dinning table and seats. All this time the camera is on focus as the goods are being unpacked from outside the compound to probably emphasize that the man is not coming from a small family.

Later there is more dancing and speeches that run till evening. You will notice that there is no exchanging of rings and the couple, family and friends proceed to the mansion for dinner and more dancing.

This show had a very good display of professionalism, camera angles and movements were also good.

The wedding show is a good study when one wants to identify various camera movements and angles. One is able to see that which they may also want to practice on their own.