While searching for potential stories that would interest me, I decided upon two testimonials that would showcase alternative elements of digital media. For the story of Tony Royster, an American drummer who found his purpose during the COVID lockdown, the visual shows a picture of Royster emphatically beating away on his snare as his drum line performs in a public setting. In Dreamer’s Gift, the story is accompanied by animated visuals that help introduce context and add personality to the characters within. These elements change how the audience receives each piece and the lasting impact each story can have.
“I believe and I know that this is my life’s calling” is how Tony Royster describes the drum helping him find his rhythm and peace. This story is introduced by a drumbeat, as well as a narrator who explains the importance of drum lines in Philadelphia, setting the stage for Royster to begin his personal narration of the events in his life. After this introduction, Royster is the only speaker, and his remarks are pieced together to form a complete circle of his upbringing and internal struggle to achieve success in educating and lifting others. His voice is the only channel of sound throughout the piece until a light musical outro, which surprisingly doesn’t follow suit of the drum line introduction or Royster’s commentary, and merely sounds like part of a radio transition to another story with a feel-good ending. I envisioned the story as a video while listening to it, which helped humanize Royster and allowed me to understand the joy that playing the drums gives him and how it helped him escape a dark place.
Dreamer’s gift was a little more striking, but followed many of the same auditory strategies as Royster’s story. It too had a feel-good intro and outro music, and the sound dropped out as the characters began speaking. In this animation, the visuals took center stage, emphasizing key phrases and supporting the story with colorful, soothing depictions of Dreamer’s barber shop and the gratitude of his client, Paul Crowley. When Dreamer speaks and is introduced, he is depicted with a welcoming light-blue color and stars surrounding him. Similarly, the animated story is filled with written statements and drawings that support humorous elements, personality, and diversity. Crowley does most of the talking, showcasing the kind nature of Dreamer and how he greets all clients with open arms, but also turns the viewer into a witness.
The stories were similarly grounded in helping and lifting others, but Dreamer’s story incorporated the impact of his work in far more nuanced ways to impact the viewer/listener effectively. In general, this work felt much more like a promotional video than a coming-to-be triumph, but it was similarly heartwarming, as you could feel the connection between Crowley and Dreamer. Generally, each piece kept it simple in terms of conveying information to the audience, isolating the speakers to emphasize that they were the ones who were transformed in each case.