Filming Aaliyah Boston in Soda City: Behind the Scenes of Two Experience Columbia Shoots

When Experience Columbia SC asked us to spend two days filming Aaliyah Boston around her old college town, we were pumped (that's a punny joke). Two-time NCAA champion, WNBA All-Star, the heartbeat of the South Carolina Gamecocks' modern dynasty — and, as it turned out, one of the most down-to-earth people we've worked with in years.

The brief was simple in scope and big in ambition. Experience Columbia SC exists to bring people to the Midlands — to work here, to play here, to stay a weekend, and maybe even decide to plant roots. The campaign needed Columbia to feel alive. Personal. Real. Not a tourism reel of stock B-roll, but a place you could actually picture yourself in.

So we built the production around someone who already lives some of that story. We filmed with Aaliyah twice in 2024 — once in the heart of downtown Columbia, then again months later out in Cayce — and let her show us her city.

Day One: Main Street, Shut Down for Us (Sort Of)

Our first shoot started out strange (and lucky). President Biden was in town, and a chunk of Main Street was locked down for the motorcade. By the time we set up, the street was quieter than Main Street ever gets. That gave us the run of one of Columbia's most photogenic stretches with almost no foot traffic — every videographer's secret wish list.

We met Aaliyah at the coffee window attached to MOA on Main, grabbed a coffee, and started moving. She walked. She dribbled. She popped into local shops. And in one of those unscripted moments you can't manufacture, a Gamecock fan spotted her outside the Gourmet Shop and lit up — Aaliyah gave him a high-five without breaking stride. It's the kind of small, human thing that sells a city better than any drone shot ever will.

From Main Street we crossed over to Cayce for lunch at Reggae Grill, which Aaliyah told us — without prompting — is her actual spot. We're talking the kind of recommendation you can't fake. (We've been back. She wasn't lying.) The afternoon wrapped near the South Carolina State House, with more walking, more photos, a few stops we couldn't have planned for — no scripted narrative, no voiceover, just music laid over a real day in Aaliyah's Columbia.

Day Two: Cayce, a Mural, and a GoPro on the Saluda

The second shoot, months later, leaned harder into the discovery side of the campaign. The goal was a more iPhone-style, walk-with-me feel — footage that reads like a friend showing you around instead of a polished commercial. We headed out to Cayce, hit the riverwalk and the art scene, and let the day breathe. And we didn't use iPhones -- just felt the need to say that.

The big surprise of the trip came courtesy of a local artist named Ija Monet, who was painting a mural in front of D's Wings when we walked up. We asked if Aaliyah could throw a little paint on it. She said yes. She grabbed a brush. Suddenly we had a unique moment we hadn't planned for — another beautiful, organic moment. Man, we love when that happens.

Then came the river. The mural happened to feature people floating in tubes, which gave us a perfect visual transition — paint to tubes to the actual Saluda River. We strapped a GoPro to Aaliyah's hand and let her narrate her own ride. She was spinning. She was cold. The river was running high. She was talking to the camera in real time about not entirely loving it. (There was a professional river guide a few feet away the whole time, so no worries!) We asked for two more trips down the river for filming and she said "one". Ok, fine. Yes ma'am.

Why It Worked

Experience Columbia campaigns are typically all about authenticity. So, we built the shoots around the things Aaliyah genuinely loves about this place — her actual restaurants, her actual streets, her actual reaction to a cold river in spring. She did TikTok dances between setups. She high-fived strangers. She showed up. I dance once.

That, more than any production trick, is what makes a destination film convince anyone. A place looks like home when someone who knows it is actually at home in front of the camera.

What We Took With Us

We're proud of how these films turned out — and even prouder of who we got to make them with. If you're a brand or a destination thinking about how to tell your story with real, local, human energy, that's exactly the kind of work we love doing at Soda City Films. Drop us a line. #AaliyahBoston #ExperienceColumbia #ColumbiaSC #SodaCity #SouthCarolinaGamecocks #WNBA #BrandFilm #VideoProduction #DestinationMarketing #CayceSC #SaludaRiver #BehindTheScenes #SodaCityFilm #MidlandsSC