June 15, 2005

SCOTTS VALLEY, CA--Tam Communications and Magma Design Automation teamed up again for the 2005 Design Automation Conference. This year, the theme was about Correct by Construction design (for integrated circuits) so Tam's Executive Producer/Creative Director Susan O'Connor Fraser decided to tap into into the company's reality TV experience and pitched a Trading Spaces concept that would play off the current popularity of make-over television shows.

O'Connor Fraser went to work on the script which would feature an in-booth presenter as the show's host and two engineers that would trade spaces and "meet" their new design flow. Unlike the host, the engineers would appear at the show on DVD so that the trade show audience could witness their efforts to win the "mock" challenges. Associate Producer, Jennifer Haskins, assisted in the up-front planning including setting up auditions. San Francisco based actress Zoe Galvez filled the role of "Trading Spaces" host. The two engineers were John Kovacevich as Sam and Arthur Eng as Joe.

The day long-shoot was held at Magma's Santa Clara offices. The engineers are given their assignments and go to work. Sam, a long-time Magma designer, was forced to work with the "other company's" product, while Joe, who used to struggle with Brand X got the pleasure of working with Magma's design flow. Mock-interviews, confession cams, b-roll of them tackling their various design challenges were all part of the concept. Director/Camera, Tam Fraser worked with talent and crew including Gaffer, Paul Stapleton Smith, and Grip, David Trounstine.

Following production, Tam Fraser moved into the role of Editor to pull the piece together including adding an AfterEffects-based opening title sequence designed by Artist Mike Baxter. Part of the challenge was to design the program to appear like a live interactive experience with Zoe "interviewing" Joe and Sam about their progress as they handled each challenge. The program would play off of DVD at the trade show so a scratch track of Zoe's in-booth presentation was recorded and used for timing purposes. The final product was a big hit with attendees remarking on how real it seemed--that Zoe was really interviewing the on screen engineers.

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.