May 15th, 2003

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA – Both videos feature fast cars, loud music, rousing sound effects, and animated text--all the ingredients necessary to wake up a morning audience and energize a sales team. But the videos were created for two different Tam Communications clients, Network Appliance and Marvell Semiconductor. “It was a complete coincidence,” notes Executive Producer, Susan O’Connor Fraser. “The two companies, which ironically are based probably less than a mile apart in Sunnyvale, approached us a few weeks apart and told us their themes and they both happened to be car racing. It happens that way where specific themes seem to dominate these conferences for a period of time and right now auto racing is hot.”

Despite their similarities including having the individual company’s logo superimposed electronically on the featured and winning car, the videos are also very different. The Marvell program, entitled “Marvell-Driven”, their sales conference theme, is less than two-minutes long. The script tells much more of a story of what Marvell does, its products and the markets it serves, and how the market and customer needs, and the talent that Marvell brings to the table will result in success. The animated graphics in the piece illustrate the various markets and are based on icons used in their corporate collateral. The video played at the company’s sales meeting held in late March.

The NetApp video, entitled “Expect to Win”, focuses on how the company is poised to beat the competition. To illustrate the point, cars bearing the logos of NetApp competitors spin out and crash throughout the three-minute piece. The cars were created in 3D by animator Aaron Dingman who placed them within real racing footage. The narrators were also different for the two programs. For Network Appliance, Tam chose a Chris Economaki sound-alike who made the narrative sound like a auto racing play-by-play. The video, which ends with not just the checkered flag but a winner’s circle celebration made it’s debut in Las Vegas in early May.

Tam O’Connor Fraser edited both programs.

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.