I'll just come out and say it in one broad sweeping generalization: Most guests don't sign guest-books at weddings. This started out as an observation after running the gauntlet of matrimony as I watched couple after couple tie the knot. I take that back, grandmothers do, but what about everyone else? Why not enable users to contribute messages to bride and grooms in a party atmosphere, in a format accessible to all. The video Lovebox was born, name established tongue-in-cheek, by yours truly.
The Concept
Three months before my wedding in August of 2009, I was looking to execute a pie in the sky idea I had lurking for some time. I handled the design and development of the application (built in Flash, leveraging FMS technologies) while two college cohorts framed out the structure that had to positively contribute to the wedding experience -- or it would undoubtedly be veto'd by my loving wife to be. The premise was remarkably simple, but I was curious if anyone had blazed this path before, I love learning from the trials of others! Well, as it turns out there were a handful of clunky solutions doing something similar but disjointed and much less elegantly than I hoped to achieve. This opportunity to create a cool product was also hinged on the belief that we were tapping into a market where emotions signed checks.
The Hardware
I utilized an old tower running Windows XP, a humble Logitech webcam, a Planar 15" touch-screen monitor and an auxiliary microphone on the hardware side. Simple, and more importantly, cost-effective for the inevitable drunken abuse my glorious videobox would endure. In hindsight, I wish we had more time to test the audio, but as you'll see in the video teaser below, the impact was awesome! We dabbled with the idea of a closed-curtain setup, but soon realized our ineptness to plan ahead meant for phenomenal opportunities for group recordings and a huge draw for others, wondering what the legion of obnoxious wedding goers were fussing about in the corner.
All Assembly Required
A few mediums were kicked around for the sake of prototyping the physical unit. Wood was the cheapest and most durable for our first pass. Safety was of the utmost concern -- guests would be bumping, leaning and physically interacting with the booth. We demanded stability. Justin and Tom did a bang-up job assembling the woodwork. A few careful measurements were made, a trip or five to the hardware store and we were cutting/drilling our way to a workable unit in time for me to walk down the isle.
Post Mortem
The prototype was a hit! We collected over 60 video entries from our 160 guests. Most entries were collaborative efforts which became became exponentially more interesting as the night hit its stride. Myself and the project contributors were having so much fun that nobody thought to formally photograph the Lovebox unit. All that I could source was this lone image, overexposed and not truely conducive to the soft glow provided from the corner of the entryway. It was inviting, piqued curiousity and was a great accent to the beautiful venue decor, the guys had worked some skillsaw, chail-rail trim magic for certain.
We were literally buttoning this up as it was time to put on the tuxes. Technical difficulties (Windows XP drives...boo!) hindered our unit's external microphone reliability and forced us to fall back on the camera's internal microphone. Live and learn, thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for video footage and who knows, maybe some Lovebox 2.0 scraps.