A CRITIQUE ON THE WEDDING SHOW PREPARED BY DZUNU MARGARET KAFUI-09 0613

The wedding show is a local television programme aired on Citizen Television every Sunday between 7-8pm and is presented by Noni Gathoni. What she does is to visit the wedding ceremonies of people and capture the whole event from the decorations to the dressing of the bridal party and to the reception ground. She also interviews a few people especially the wedding couple to find out a little bit about them-how they met, how the proposal was done, what went into the wedding, why they chose a particular color, decoration and so on. In the middle of the show, there is a commercial break and some wedding tips are displayed on the screen for viewers. Some times, wedding experts/ planners are also interviewed to give tips on how to have a stress-free and successful wedding. Three different wedding ceremonies are shown each Sunday.
This programme would have been better if it is mixed with the African traditional wedding. There are many people in the community who wants to get married but cannot afford the expensive types of weddings were there are lots of brides maids, flower girls, page boys, beautiful decorations and honeymoons as portrayed in the wedding show. Such people should be encouraged to go the simpler traditional ways were the families of both parties meet, the bride price is collected and a small feasting is done. This could only be done when such weddings are also shown on TV to let society no that they are also appreciated.



WEEK1: 24TH JAN. 2010.
The show was beautiful. The bridal parties were dressed in Gold and Maroon, Pink and violet, and Green colors. Though the weather was dull, the lightening system covered up for it and the picture quality was bright and good. The camera techniques were used appropriately. There was a zoom in for viewers to take a closer look at the shoes, jewelry and hair styles of the bridal party. There was also a dolly in as the bride walked into the church and during the dancing session at the reception ground. This created the happy mood of the occasion. The presenter wore a lavalier microphone that made her hands free to express herself. However, the commercial break was too long with so many adverts; it causes people to loose interest in the whole show.


WEEK2: 31ST JAN. 2010.
The pink, purple and green colors used made the whole show colorful and bright. The melodious music at the background was faded well when ever the presenter wanted to talk. During the interview, there was noise at the background but the signal-to-noise ratio was high so it did not affect the interview. The audience who dressed nicely were given some recognition which emphasized the importance of friends and relations in a wedding ceremony. However, there was some pop out sound from the couple during the interview which needed to be taken care of during the editing process. Also, the camera was moving too much when the couples were reciting their vows; it should have focused on them.


WEEK3: 7TH FEB.2010.
Today’s show was a unique one between a Kenyan lady and a Scottish. The groom was dressed in his Scottish traditional wear while the bride was in her normal wedding gown. The rich culture of the Scottish was displayed through the music and dance. The lighting system was bright and since she used the lavalier microphone, an objective representation of audibility and loudness was projected. The combo was done well and each time, the music fades away slowly to usher in her voice. However, on few occasions, noise from the audience could be heard especially during the interview. Also at the very beginning of the show, the host seemed not to be ready because the camera was on her for about a minute before she started talking again; the commercial break was too long.

WEEK4: 14TH FEB.2010.
Today’s show was nice. It was not the usual church wedding but a garden one. The scenery and decorations was beautiful with friends and relations attending in their numbers and beautifully dressed. The sound and picture quality was good. The camera angles brought in every detail in the dressings and decorations. The songs were cued in well such that they followed one another systematically. However, the presenters pitch was high at a point such that it almost sounded as if she was shouting; also, the sound quality from the band musicians at the reception was poor- they were using omnidirectional microphone pick-up pattern which picked signals from all direction that caused a lot of feed back and as usual, the commercial break was too long

WEEK5: 21ST FEB.2010.
There was a good display of professionalism in today’s show. There was a pre-wedding show where the bride-to-be was getting herself prepared for the occasion. A wedding expert was interviewed and she brought out some useful wedding tips. The camera angles and movements were good. During the recitation of the vows, the pastor put the microphone very close to his month which produced some signals but he was quickly corrected. The signal-to-noise ratio was accepted considering the fact that there was a lot of noise at the background. The sound quality was good so is the picture quality. However, there was some p’s and b’s pop ups from the groom during the interview which could have been taken care of during the editing process.
WEEK6: 28TH FEB.2010.

Today’s wedding ceremonies was no different from the others. The parents of the bride walked her in to the church and the pastor took over. The reception started with the couples and their families and friends dancing in to the tune of some traditional music. The sound and picture quality was good. However, during the vow recitation, the microphone presence was poor so the pastor could be heard very well while the couple could not. When the programme was over, the master monitor was still on but the presenter did not no so all that she said after was aired.