Finally! A youth radio team that breaks away from the conventional personal essay that seems so popular and over-done on the youth radio airwaves. Santa Fe Youth Radio has produced something extraordinarily refreshing with "Swatch".
"Swatch" is a radio drama that explores the universally-known idea of not knowing what you have until you loose it. It's a concept that we need reminding to keep us grateful and humble.
"Swatch" offers a good deal of humor interjected throughout the plot including the opening scene when some dudes much higher up on the hierarchy-of-popularity throw the buck-toothed main character Trevor in the trash (which Trevor admits is better than the dumpster - although were not told why - this might have been a good opportunity to continue the joke and humor).
There's also a character that takes on a Christopher Walken persona that's simply spot-on.
The sound effects undoubtedly enhances the story, however they can sound a little awkward at times. It's obvious that the sounds were downloaded audio. The producers might have been better off by trying to create the sounds on their own. But obviously equipment might have made this impossible.
Another really cool element of "Swatch" is how it came to be. The producer's description tells us that the story was created in one-class period. The producers sat down with a dry erase board and created the plot on the fly. It sounds wonderfully organic and collaborative. It must have been a blast to produce, it certainly was a blast to listen to. I hope we see more youth radio dramas as a result.
Review of Swatch
Scott Meyers
Posted on August 19, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Finally! A youth radio team that breaks away from the conventional personal essay that seems so popular and over-done on the youth radio airwaves. Santa Fe Youth Radio has produced something extraordinarily refreshing with "Swatch".
"Swatch" is a radio drama that explores the universally-known idea of not knowing what you have until you loose it. It's a concept that we need reminding to keep us grateful and humble.
"Swatch" offers a good deal of humor interjected throughout the plot including the opening scene when some dudes much higher up on the hierarchy-of-popularity throw the buck-toothed main character Trevor in the trash (which Trevor admits is better than the dumpster - although were not told why - this might have been a good opportunity to continue the joke and humor).
There's also a character that takes on a Christopher Walken persona that's simply spot-on.
The sound effects undoubtedly enhances the story, however they can sound a little awkward at times. It's obvious that the sounds were downloaded audio. The producers might have been better off by trying to create the sounds on their own. But obviously equipment might have made this impossible.
Another really cool element of "Swatch" is how it came to be. The producer's description tells us that the story was created in one-class period. The producers sat down with a dry erase board and created the plot on the fly. It sounds wonderfully organic and collaborative. It must have been a blast to produce, it certainly was a blast to listen to. I hope we see more youth radio dramas as a result.