January 19th, 1998

SAN JOSE, CA -- Santa Clara residents weighing the decision of whether to change utility companies are receiving some educational assistance via a video produced by San Jose's Tam Communications. Created in association with San Jose-based advertising and public relations agency Carter Israel, the seven-minute program, currently airing on Santa Clara's community access cable channel, helps inform local residents about the impending deregulation.

Scripted by Carter Israel, the video combines historical still photos of turn-of-the-century Santa Clara with present-day video footage to tell the story of the city's energy sources and usage. "Hosting" the tape are a pair of lively animated characters, "Sherlock Ohms" and "Dr. Watts," who trace the history of Santa Clara's ever-increasing need for reliable, cost-efficient energy, the options that will soon become available to city residents, and why City government has elected not to embrace the deregulation until January 1, 2000.

Tam's graphics department literally gave life to the project, animating nine still images of "Ohms" and "Watts" supplied by an out-of-state illustrator. Sandra Silva headed up the animation effort, and partnered with Tam Fraser on the post-production phase of the project. Additional footage was shot by Timothy George and John Barrett. Siiri Tuckwood produced for Tam Communications, and Eric Wiegers was in charge of the agency team. "Ohms" and "Watts" are currently being used in a print campaign supporting the educational effort, giving Santa Clara residents further information about alternative energy sources.

"A limited budget posed our greatest challenge on this project," said Peter Carter, president of Carter Israel. "Tam went the extra mile to help produce a high-quality project."

Tam Communications is a leading digital media company, servicing corporate and entertainment clients by combining technical, creative, and communications expertise in the realms of video, interactive multimedia, and web. The company's expanding spectrum of original entertainment programming—developed for broadcast, cable, syndication, and other venues—airs worldwide. Tam Communications is a privately held company located in Scotts Valley, CA. Please visit our web site at www.tamcom.com.