I’m hoping today’s post is going to open a lot of people’s eyes to a NEW vendor that is taking the wedding industry by storm!! Slow Motion Video Booths!! If you haven’t heard of Slow Motion Video Booth’s , my interview on the blog today with Joe Curtain — who owns a local SMBV here in Madison — will be a great read for you!! ENJOY!!

1.    What is your name, your company, + your location? AKA — who are you?

My name is Joe Curtin, and I’m co-founder of Bust A Move Slow Motion Video Booth based out of Madison, Wisconsin.

2.    What is a Slow Motion Video Booth?

A slow motion video booth is an open-air video booth equipped with props, professional lighting, a backdrop, music (we take requests all night long… even Bieber ; )!) + TVs. Participants pick their props out (99% of the time it’s the horse head), go in front of the backdrop, + dance (or attempt to) for up to 10 seconds! Immediately after they’re done, they can watch themselves on the big screen TVs in super slow motion. After the wedding or event, all the videos are compiled into a mashup music video complete with any text, graphics, logos, or other videos that the recipient wishes + is delivered electronically, along with a photo album which includes a screenshot from each video.

3.    Who should have a SMVB at their wedding + why?

After going to so many events, I truly believe that our slow motion video booth is the most interactive + entertaining form of entertainment for weddings. With the open-air concept + the instant slow motion playback, it allows everyone to watch + laugh with each other. It also allows people to break out of their comfort zone + have fun with people who are there to have fun with them, not judge them. After an hour or so there is always a large crowd around the TVs pointing + laughing with each other.

As far as deliverables go, having an electronic copy of the photo album + the final mashup music video ensures that everyone can go back + look or watch for years to come. We really do love to customize the videos to make them as perfect + as personal as we can for the recipients.

4.    When + how did you start your company?

It all started when I was sitting down with a client of ours about a year + a half ago, discussing our videography prices for her wedding. She mentioned wanting something like a photo booth, but with video involved, like a video booth she had seen somewhere down south. I told her I would look into it + get back to her. I spoke to my business partners + we did some research + realized that we could not only have a video booth, but provide instant slow motion videos to the audience with an open-air concept.

We then took it a step further + thought about how amazing it would be to compile all the videos into one custom music video. We found out no one was doing it in Wisconsin, so that very night we started Bust A Move Slow Motion Video Booth. We were taking a leap of faith on a new concept that we had yet to truly test out, but our excitement continued to drive us to be inventive + come up with something amazing by our client’s wedding date. Her night ended up being one of the most rewarding nights of our lives. We saw how much fun everyone was having, + the pure joy that our concept was bringing to people’s faces as they re-watched themselves on the TVs. I remember finding myself looking at the groups with a huge grin on my face, so fortunate + proud that what we created was the reason everyone was laughing, high-fiving, + embracing each other.

That feeling is what drives us to introduce everyone we can to our service so they can experience the hilarity + joy that we see at every wedding we do.  At each wedding or event, I still find myself watching the participants as they turn the corner + see themselves in slow motion, waiting for that moment they start cracking up … it’s something that will never get old : ) We have some very exciting new advances for our booth that we can’t wait to release later this year!

5.    Do you have a favorite video from your booth that you can share with us?

The video from our first wedding that I just described is still my favorite. It means so much to me + I’m pretty sure it’s still the craziest night we’ve had so far. There was glitter + silly string everywhere, + at one point in the night people were riding on each other’s backs, shirts off, wearing horse heads. Enjoy 🙂

6.    Completely unrelated, but what is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? 

… once I wore white pants AFTER Labor Day.

Well, I was in Ireland + like all great stories, it started when I was over-served at the local pub (hate when that happens). I was talking to a fellow Guinness connoisseur + mentioned I was planning on backpacking alone through Western Europe after my stint in Ireland. He told me that I absolutely had to go ‘canyoning’ in Interlaken, Switzerland. I had no idea what he was talking about + asked him to tell me about what it was — all he said was “go home + look it up.”

Apparently I looked it up, because the next morning as I stumbled out of bed + contemplated my questionable decisions from the night before, I checked my bank statement + saw I booked a hostel in Switzerland + “The Adventure Package” that a local outdoor activities place offered, which not only included canyoning, but included a zip line ropes course, whitewater rafting, and skydiving. Long story short, I made my way to Interlaken + partook in canyoning.

We drove an hour + a half up to the start of a canyon, put padded wetsuits + helmets on, + walked through the woods, coming out at our first jump of the day. We proceeded to jump off canyon cliffs from as much as 50 feet high into rushing water which would take us to the next jump … and did this for about three hours. Our guides were from Brazil + would point down below as I stood on a slippery rock looking down + say, “No jump there, many rocks. Not there, shallow. Jump there,” + off I went. At one point we were instructed to jump to our right onto a naturally-made rock ‘slide’ + slide off of it + free fall into the water. It was the most exhilarating, intense three hours of my life, but also the best (next to skydiving). None of the people in my group had done it before, and it was an incredible experience to share with them. We all went back to the hostel bar + made a toast to still being alive 🙂