Rory Hurley and Eddie Gomez started their company, Drum Production Studios in Peterborough, to be able to use their creative skills in dance, music and translate them to video to help people deliver their message to audiences.
When the pandemic led to clients cancelling live events, effectively emptying their calendar, the partners changed tack and began livestreaming. This helped them continue to keep audiences engaged and inspired during very difficult times.
We’re proud to share Rory and Eddie’s story, in their own words.
What is your background?
Rory: Both of us didn’t really study filmmaking. I was a history major in college. My background has been in music; I’m in some bands in the area and I’ve always been pretty active playing shows, recording music, that kind of thing. The skill set I brought to video work is specializing in the sound side of it, making sure videos sound as good as they can. I picked up video skills on the job during the internship. I just dove into it.
Eddie: I have a degree in dramatic media, which is a blend of traditional theater, film and new media. I took one cinematography course senior year. After college I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I ended up working at Domino’s (Pizza) as a manager for two or three years but I wasn’t fully satisfied with my career path. I started looking for video production jobs and internships and found the one in Peterborough.
Eddie, I understand you are a dancer. Can you talk a little about that?
Eddie: I bartered video services with the Monadnock Academy of Movement Arts in exchange for (modern) dance classes. When (Rory and I) were first going out and doing things on our own, MAMA was one of the first business videos that was produced. Rory filmed the dance performances. I’m still taking classes at the Academy. Also my friend, Brenna, just created a dance group. We will be dancing to a song by her boyfriend’s band at the Peterborough Night Market. We trained (her boyfriend) on how to use the camera equipment and he filmed us dancing for a video. It’s cool to collaborate with other businesses and creators on side projects.
Filming dance is an art—there’s a lot of movement, opportunities for cool shots and angles and slow motion. (Rory) and I can improvise and pick up on each other’s cues. One thing that bleeds over is being able to intuitively know your partner’s style and complement each other; we know what the other is thinking and what shots to get.
Rory, how would you say being a musician has influenced your work with the video production company?
It’s helped me stay agile and explore possibilities that present themselves. I like to be a fly on the wall, capturing things as they happen.
In what way did you want to use your creative strengths to help people in the community?
Eddie: Our main focus was to reinvigorate local economies. We thought telling stories through video which could reach an audience for a low cost was a key factor. From there it evolved into doing some straight-to-consumer work, wedding and legacy videos. We do a lot of work with nonprofits, such as fundraising videos.
What is your niche in this creative field would you say?
Eddie: One thing that’s remained true is our desire to promote the region. We do a lot of economic development now with the (Greater) Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. A big part of it is spotlighting our little corner of the world and why this is such a great place to live and work.
So tell me what happened during the pandemic after people began cancelling weddings and live events?
Eddie: Events in general are a big slice of what we do. Those types of projects weren’t possible for a while. It was natural and full-circle going back into livestreaming. That’s how Rory and I met. Livestreaming was our video production.
Rory: By the time we got to early fall, there were organizations reaching out about annual meetings and things they would normally have done in-person but were now scrambling to fill that void.
Eddie: Some organizations, like the Cheshire Health Foundation, wanted to add something to annual meetings to still bring that energy and invigorate and inspire. Some we pre-recorded, some we livestreamed. We found with quite a few nonprofits, having the live aspect was desirable.
Has the livestreaming tapered off?
Rory: People are still asking for it but the other type of work that had been missing during the pandemic started to come back. It’s rebalanced.
Eddie: I think we found organizations have found a benefit in adding livestreaming into the mix of their business model. It’s an accessibility issue for the elderly, an issue of mobility and lack of transportation. It’s about how people can have access to information. Before (the pandemic) they would go to an event. Now organizations are making accessibility a priority so people can participate more fully.
How do you see the future of Drum Production Studio?
Rory: We hope to keep doing what we’re doing, which is being pretty flexible. We’re willing to do different types of projects. We’ve taken on a couple of recent projects that are left field for us—it’s fun to do that. We are expanding our capabilities slowly but surely, whether expanding livestreamed offerings or by upgrading our equipment incrementally.
Eddie: We’re finding a collaborative aspect with other creators in the area with whom we work out of our home at the MaxT Makerspace. We have someone we hire out to do the drone process and with new capabilities we can do 3D mapping. We connect (with other maker members) on a creative level. Another company, Echo Finch, we are collaborating with on doing video scapes. With Firelight Theater in Peterborough, we’ve done consulting on soundscape, lighting and web design. I’m acting in one of their plays and Rory is doing soundscape consulting. We recently collaborated with Music on Norway Pond Singers to livestream their play, “The Secret of Captain Midnight.” In this group, children are exposed to veterans in the arts. We are keeping the community engaged with the arts and making the arts accessible this way.