Introducing Ourselves
Seeing as how this is the first blog post on our newly reworked website, we figured now is as good a time as ever to share a little bit more about ourselves.
We are Van (right) and Riah (left)! We started our little LLC in 2022 as a way to explore the possibilities of freelance video and photo work. Taking inspiration from our experiences as queer and neurodivergent creatives, we adopted the "Oblivious Media" moniker to make light of our difference, as well as to commit to remaining oblivious to mainstream stylistic practices. Being self-taught, we have worked in tandem to develop a style that feels authentically "us" and that also differentiates us from other production houses in our area. While we love what our contemporaries are doing, and deeply admire the creatives with whom we collaborate, we want to produce work that feels unique to our own creative vision. And so Oblivious Media has been a day-by-day effort to find and tell important stories in interesting ways.
Finding the Oblivious Style
One of the most instrumental forces in visual storytelling is visual language. So from day one, we have experimented with camera bodies, lenses, composition, sound design, direction, and more to find and speak our own visual language. We've landed on a candid, authentic style that feels natural to us, and this style combines a few distinct elements to create works that are truly unique to themselves.
For example, we shoot only with vintage lenses, which impart their own novel characteristics on the images we capture (which is another post entirely, and one we hope to write!). To complement the less clinical, filmic look of vintage glass, we also capture as much audio on-site as we can and implement this natural sound throughout our pieces. When it comes to post production and editing, we let the sights and sounds of our film-inspired compositions shine through. Our editing style forgoes heavy polish for a more documentary-inspired feel, and we make it a priority to include some of the candid moments from our productions that we don't see in many other finished videos. The result is a visual language that feels familiar and intimate, but also intentional and poetic, which we think this recent engagement story showcases beautifully:
Working Together
While we are happy to share a bit about ourselves and our own creative style, we cannot and do not create alone. There is one other very important piece to our style puzzle--a piece that brings the story itself, and that inspires us through every step of telling that story: you. We have been so grateful and so privileged to be trusted to bring vision to the special moments that our clients have endowed us with. Without them, and without you, we have no story to tell in the first place. We hope that this can be a space where we reflect on those stories and the special people with whom we tell them. We love what we do and who we do it with! Enough about us! If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading. We are so grateful for you. Feel free to explore the new website, check out our work, and even send a message to say "hi". 'Till next time!
