November 1st, 2002

Scotts Valley, CA - In an effort to teach kids how to use public transportation as well as to boost awareness of this transportation option, San Mateo County Transit (SamTrans) turned to Tam Communications to produce their latest outreach project – an educational video targeted at teenagers. The purpose of the video was to show teens how the bus (some times combined with BART and CalTrain) gives them total freedom to go wherever they need to go (with their parents' permission, of course).

The 9-minute video features four young actors in an MTV "Real World" type of treatment. The actors travel through their busy social schedule using public transportation to get to skating practice, to the mall, to a local park, to a skateboard park, and to the movies. In addition, the young audience also learns how easy it can be and, in the process, discovers a lot of other places that are within reach of SamTrans. Using "cool" fonts, art treatments and music, the video really hit home with the target audience. The program has already received raved reviews from school kids who thought that the portrayals and scripting were absolutely on target.

Written by Tam Executive Producer Susan O'Connor Fraser, the script was critical to the success of the video. "We had to make sure it was as realistic as possible," says O'Connor Fraser, "To do that, we had to combine the current teen lingo with important educational information while still making it believable and fun for teens to watch."

The video was shot over three days using over 20 locations in San Mateo County (including scenes on SamTrans' buses). Tam O'Connor Fraser served as Director/Cameraman. Paramita Bhattacharya produced the project. On-line editing was handled by Ed Cook. Michael Baxter provided art direction and production.

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.